EFFECT OF THE ARTIFICIAL NERVE GRAFT ON NERVE REGENERATION IN RAT SCIATIC NERVE OF TWO MONTHS DEFECT MODEL

Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of bridging a gap in rat sciatic nerve of 60-day defect with artificial nerve graft. Methods Left sciatic nerves of 20 Sprague-Dawley rats were transected at the mid-thigh level to form nerve defect.After two months,eight rats with artificial nerve graft bridged defect were used as the experiment group.Autologous nerve grafts were used as the positive control in six rats,and another six rats keep defect as the negative control.Three months after the operation,a combination of electrophysiology examination,gastrocnemius muscle wet weight,histological assessment including light microscopy,transmission electron microscopy and immunohistochemistry were utilized to evaluate the nerve repair effects. Results In the artificial nerve graft group,the motor nerve conduction velocity,gastrocnemius muscle wet weight,the average thickness of regeneration myelin sheath and G ratio were similar to those of the autologous nerve graft group.Conclusion Artificial nerve graft can be used for bridging a gap in 60-day nerve defect rat model.