Functional recovery after implantation of artificial nerve grafts in the rat- a systematic review^[*]

Abstract

Purpose The aim of this study was to compare functional data of different nerve-gap bridging materials evaluated in rat experiments by means of a systematic review.

Materials and methods A systematic review was conducted, searching MEDLINE, HTS and CENTRAL to identify all trials evaluating functional recovery of artificial nerve conduits in the rat model.

Results There was a trend towards a favourable outcome of conduits coated with Schwann-cells compared to the plain synthetics. Histomorphometry, electrophysiology and muscle-weight correlated poorly with functional outcome.

Conclusion Schwann-cell coated conduits showed promising results concerning functional recovery. Further standardization in outcome reporting is encouraged.

^*This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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