title: Nerve transfer helps repair brachial plexus injury by increasing cerebral cortical plasticity.
abstract: In the treatment of brachial plexus injury, nerves that are functionally less important are transferred onto the distal ends of damaged crucial nerves to help recover neuromuscular function in the target region. For example, intercostal nerves are transferred onto axillary nerves, and accessory nerves are transferred onto suprascapular nerves, the phrenic nerve is transferred onto the musculocutaneous nerves, and the contralateral C7 nerve is transferred onto the median or radial nerves. Nerve transfer has become a major method for reconstructing the brachial plexus after avulsion injury. Many experiments have shown that nerve transfers for treatment of brachial plexus injury can help reconstruct cerebral cortical function and increase cortical plasticity. In this review article, we summarize the recent progress in the use of diverse nerve transfer methods for the repair of brachial plexus injury, and we discuss the impact of nerve transfer on cerebral cortical plasticity after brachial plexus injury.
authors: Department of Trauma Surgery, East Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
authors: Guixin
authors: G
authors: Sun
authors: Department of Trauma Surgery, East Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
authors: Zuopei
authors: Z
authors: Wu
authors: Department of Physiology & Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
authors: Xinhong
authors: X
authors: Wang
authors: Medical School of the University of Queensland, Brisbane, St. Lucia, Queensland, Austualia.
authors: Xiaoxiao
authors: X
authors: Tan
authors: Department of Hand Surgery, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
authors: Yudong
authors: Y
authors: Gu
keywords: brachial plexus injury; cerebral functional reconstruction; cortical plasticity; intercostal nerve; nerve regeneration; nerve transfer; neural regeneration; phrenic nerve; radial nerve; review
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