Effect of Platelet-Rich Plasma on Peripheral Nerve Regeneration

Abstract

Activated platelets release various growth factors, some of which are recognized to improve nerve regeneration. This study evaluated the effect of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) in end-to-end neurorrhaphy. A total of 45 Wistar rats were used, with the initial five used for PRP preparation. The right hind limbs were used as experimental, with the left as control. The animals were treated in five groups. Group A (n = 4): The right sciatic nerve was dissected only from the sciatic notch to the bifurcation. In all other groups, the nerve was sharply transected and repaired with: group B (n = 8): two sutures; group C (n = 8): six sutures; group D (n = 10): two sutures and PRP; and group E (n = 10): six sutures and PRP. Groups D and E were compared with groups B and C, respectively. Group E had a shorter latency time in electromyography ( P < 0.01) and a thicker myelin layer in the histological evaluation ( P < 0.003) in comparison with group C. These positive effects of PRP were not detected in the nerves were repaired with two sutures. In this animal model, the application of PRP to the repair site helped to improve remyelinization of the sciatic nerve in rats when the epineural repair was done with six sutures.

Olfactory Mucosa Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Biomaterials: A New Combination to Regenerative Therapies after Peripheral Nerve Injury

“…The addition of these factors to the wall or lumen of the conduits and their slow release by diffusion at the lesion site are techniques currently applied and without which the synthetic conduits may fail to aid the regenerative process over longer graft lengths [65]. Among the neurotrophic factors identiied and commonly used are transforming growth factor, beta superfamily, nerve growth factor, insulin-like growth factors, neurotrophins 3, 4, and 5, ciliary neurotrophic factor, neuregulin-1, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, glial cell linederived neurotrophic factor [63] and platelet-rich plasma [66].…”

Clinical Applications of Plasma Growth Factors

“…Similarly this opens a door to the possibility of nerve stimulation in patients with neurological hypoxic ischemic tare origin especially following active neurorehabilitation programs. Still needed are appropriately supported in this respect clinical trials to assess the potential clinical benefit that PRP can contribute in this field [38,40].…”

Regeneração de nervos periféricos: terapia celular e fatores neurotróficos

“…PRP has been used by areas such as oral and bucomaxillofacial surgery for some time (94)(95)(96) , and it has aroused considerable interest in cosmetic (97,98) and orthopedic (99,100) surgery. In experimental studies, PRP was used in peripheral nerve lesions, promoting remyelination in the facial (91) and sciatic nerve of rats (8) . The application of PRP increases the number of nerve fibers after peripheral nerve lesions, and can produce a neurotrophic effect, stimulating the proliferation of Schwann cells and myelination, important components during peripheral nerve repair (6,101) .…”

“…It also serves as a guide for the nerve growth of the broken or sectioned ends (2,4) , protecting the nerve fibers of the scar tissue and avoiding neuroma formation (5) . Tubulization presents another interesting characteristic: it can be optimized with the addition of regenerative factors (6)(7)(8) . It is known that tissue repair requires a complex interaction between cells, extracellular matrix and trophic factors, which are all important elements involved in nerve regeneration (9) .…”