Hyaluronic Acid Promotes the Peripheral Nerve Regeneration in the Experimental Rabbit Model of Common Peroneal Nerve Crush Injury

This study demonstrated that hyaluronic acid (HA) accelerated peripheral nerve regeneration after crush injury to common peroneal nerve in experimental rabbit model. Ten male New Zealand White rabbits, weighing 1.8 to 2.0 kg, were used. After creating the nerve crushed model in every right legs, rabbits were divided into two groups. Group A was the HA application into surrounding crushed nerve area, and group B was the sham control. Electrophysiological assessment was estimated every weeks. After 10 weeks, nerve histological examination, muscle weight and muscle histology were used to evalutate the regeneration of injured common peroneal nerve. There were no differences in the electrophysiological assessment between two groups. The peripheral nerve histology showed that myelinated nerve fibers were observed more frequently and connective tissue was less in the crushed nerve of group A. Muscle degenerative changes such as fibrosis, atrophy and centrally located myonuclei were less detected in group A than group B. In conclusion, the HA could become a potential neuroprotective agent for improvement of peripheral nerve regeneration after the crush injury.