title: Nerve regeneration: is there an alternative to nervous graft?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In nerve injury with nervous gap, no restitution method was found better than the autograft, however, it has the disadvantage of damaging a normal nerve to be used as a graft. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is a possible filler material for vein grafts used as conduits for nerve regeneration, preventing its collapse, and providing growth factors and osteoconductive proteins.
  
  
  METHODS
  Isogenic rats were randomly divided into three groups. They received nerve autografts (GRF), PRP-containing vein grafts or a sham operation. Outcomes were evaluated by the sciatic functional index (SFI), morphometric, and morphologic analyses of the nerve distal to the lesion, and the number of spinal cord motoneurons positive for retrograde Fluoro-Gold (Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Inc., Dallas, TX) tracer.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The PRP and GRF groups had lower SFI values than the control animals throughout the postoperative period. The SFI was significantly higher in the PRP group than the GRF group at 90 days postoperatively (p = 0.011). Fiber diameter and number of motoneurons were significantly decreased in both the PRP and GRF groups, as compared with the control.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  PRP within a vein conduit may be an effective alternative or adjuvant to GRF, the current preferred treatment for nerve injury with a nerve gap, and further investigations are required to fully define the role of PRP in nerve regeneration.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Rodrigo Guerra
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Sabongi
authors.affiliation: Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Luiz Augusto Lucas Martins
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: De Rizzo
authors.affiliation: Division of Hand Surgery, Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marcela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fernandes
authors.affiliation: Division of Hand Surgery, Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Sandra Gomes
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Valente
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: João Baptista
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Gomes dos Santos
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Flávio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Faloppa
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Vilnei Mattioli
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Leite
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D064592:Autografts; D008297:Male; D009416:Nerve Regeneration; D059348:Peripheral Nerve Injuries / Q000503:physiopathology*; D053657:Platelet-Rich Plasma; D011918:Rats, Inbred SHR; D014680:Veins / Q000637:transplantation*