Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) containing various growth factors can promote nerve regeneration. An inside-out vein graft can substitute nerve autograft to repair short nerve defects. It is hypothesized that an inside-out vein graft filled with platelet-rich plasma shows better effects in the repair of short sciatic nerve defects. In a study reported on the Neural Regeneration Research (Vol. 9, No. 14, 2014), an inside-out vein autograft filled with platelet-rich plasma was used to bridge a 10 mm-long sciatic nerve defect in rats. At 6 and 8 weeks, the sciatic nerve function of rats with an inside-out vein autograft filled with platelet-rich plasma was better than that of rats undergoing nerve autografting. Compared with the sciatic nerve repaired with a simple inside-out vein autograft, the number of myelinated axons was higher, axon diameter and myelin sheath were greater in the sciatic nerve repaired with an inside-out vein autograft filled with platelet-rich plasma and they were similar to those in the sciatic nerve repaired with nerve autograft. These findings suggest that an inside-out vein graft filled with platelet-rich plasma can substitute nerve autograft to repair short sciatic nerve defects.
Source: Neural Regeneration Research