Past, Present, and Future of Nerve Conduits in the Treatment of Peripheral Nerve Injury.
BIOMED RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2015;
2015:237507. [PMID:
26491662 PMCID:
PMC4600484 DOI:
10.1155/2015/237507]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 105] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2015] [Revised: 05/12/2015] [Accepted: 05/19/2015] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
With significant advances in the research and application of nerve conduits, they have been used to repair peripheral nerve injury for several decades. Nerve conduits range from biological tubes to synthetic tubes, and from nondegradable tubes to biodegradable tubes. Researchers have explored hollow tubes, tubes filled with scaffolds containing neurotrophic factors, and those seeded with Schwann cells or stem cells. The therapeutic effect of nerve conduits is improving with increasing choice of conduit material, new construction of conduits, and the inclusion of neurotrophic factors and support cells in the conduits. Improvements in functional outcomes are expected when these are optimized for use in clinical practice.
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