Skip to main content
Download PDF
- Main
Translational Approaches to Electrical Stimulation for Peripheral Nerve Regeneration.
Published Web Location
https://doi.org/10.1177/1545968320962508Abstract
Background
Achieving functional repair after peripheral nerve injury (PNI) remains problematic despite considerable advances in surgical technique. Therein, questions lie regarding the variable capacity of peripheral nerves to regenerate based on environmental influence. In-depth analyses of multiple therapeutic strategies have ensued to overcome these natural obstacles. Of these candidate therapies, electrical stimulation has emerged a frontrunner. Extensive animal studies have reported the ability of brief intraoperative electrical stimulation (BES) to enhance functional regeneration after PNI. Despite these reports, the exact mechanisms by which BES enhances regeneration and its effects on long nerve lesions are largely unknown. Indeed, clinical translation of this seemingly simple therapeutic has not been so simple, but a few studies performed in humans have yielded highly encouraging results.Objective
We aimed to help bridge this translational gap by presenting the latest clinical trials on electrical stimulation for PNIs in combination with relevant etiologies, treatments and nonclinical findings.Methods
To do so, a systematic search was performed on PubMed, IEEE, and Web of Science databases up to February 2020 using keywords significant to our study. References of each manuscript were screened for additional manuscripts of relevance to our study.Results
We found multiple BES clinical studies reporting enhanced functional recovery or increased nerve regeneration. Although improved outcomes were reported, high variability after BES is seen between and within species likely due to injury severity, location and timeline along with other factors.Conclusion
Further clinical studies and introduction of novel delivery platforms are vital to uncover the true regenerative potential of electrical stimulationtherapy.Many UC-authored scholarly publications are freely available on this site because of the UC's open access policies. Let us know how this access is important for you.
Main Content
For improved accessibility of PDF content, download the file to your device.
Enter the password to open this PDF file:
File name:
-
File size:
-
Title:
-
Author:
-
Subject:
-
Keywords:
-
Creation Date:
-
Modification Date:
-
Creator:
-
PDF Producer:
-
PDF Version:
-
Page Count:
-
Page Size:
-
Fast Web View:
-
Preparing document for printing…
0%