Journal of Pain Research (May 2023)

Short-Term Collagen Nerve Wrapping Facilitates Motor and Sensory Recovery from Nerve Degeneration in a Sciatic Nerve Injury Rat Model

  • Sonohata M,
  • Doi A,
  • Uchihashi K,
  • Hashimoto A,
  • Kii S,
  • Inoue T,
  • Mawatari M

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 16
pp. 1683 – 1695

Abstract

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Motoki Sonohata,1,2,* Atsushi Doi,3,* Kazuyoshi Uchihashi,4 Akira Hashimoto,2 Sakumo Kii,1 Takao Inoue,5 Masaaki Mawatari1 1Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Saga University, Saga, Japan; 2Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Saga Central Hospital, Saga, Japan; 3Department of Rehabilitation, Kumamoto Health Science University, Kumamoto, Japan; 4Department of Surgical Pathology, National Hospital Organization Saga Hospital, Saga, Japan; 5Organization of Research Initiatives, Yamaguchi University, Yamaguchi, Japan*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Atsushi Doi, Department of Rehabilitation, Kumamoto Health Science University, 324, Izumi, Kumamoto-kitaku, Kumamoto, 861-5598, Japan, Tel +81-96-275-2111, Email [email protected]: This study used a sciatic nerve injury rat model to investigate the short-term effects of a polyglycolic acid (PGA)-collagen tube for nerve injury in continuity.Materials and Methods: Sixteen female Wistar rats (6– 8 weeks) were used, and the left sciatic nerve was crushed with a Sugita aneurysm clip. Sciatic nerve model rats were randomly categorized into two groups (n = 8; control group, n = 8; nerve wrapping group). Then, we measured four sensory thresholds, magnetically stimulated the lumbar region to induce motor-evoked potentials (MEPs), and evaluated the sciatic nerve histopathologically.Results: In the sensory thresholds, there were significant differences for the main effect in 250 and 2000 Hz stimulation (p = 0.048 and 0.006, respectively). Further, a significant difference was observed with 2000 Hz stimulation at 1 week (p = 0.003). In the heat stimulation, there were significant differences for the main effect in both weeks and groups (p = 0.0002 and 0.0185, respectively). The post-hoc test showed a significant difference between groups only in 2W (p = 0.0283). Three weeks after the surgery, both 2nd and 3rd MEPs waves-related latencies in the nerve wrapping group were significantly shorter than those in the control group (p = 0.0207 and 0.0271, respectively). Histological evaluation of the sciatic nerve revealed considerable differences in the number of axons between the two groups (p = 0.0352).Conclusion: The short-term PGA-collagen tube nerve wrapping facilitated motor and sensory recovery from nerve degeneration in the sciatic nerve injury rat model.Keywords: polyglycolic acid-collagen tube, nerve wrapping, sciatic nerve injury, sensory threshold, motor and sensory recovery

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