Peripheral nerve regeneration after injury with vein conduit filled with fat graft: a pre-clinical study

Nowadays the physiopatology of nerves regeneration is well-known. The utilization of nerve graft to repair a nerve gap, enables the axonal regeneration and constitutes a source of Schwann cells, growth factors and components of the basal lamina. Additionally, it acts as a mechanical guide for the axonal progression between proximal and distal stumps. Autologous graft nerve is the gold standard technique in nervous gap repair. Anyway this technique is not adequate for a complete recovery of physiological function Just perineural or epineural micro-suture, should influences the way and axonal growth. Recent works conducted in vitro and in vivo has been demonstrated the presence of pluripotent stem cells into cells of adipose tissue enable to differentiating into nerve cells. Other studies on rats demonstrate the presence of NGF on the adventitia and intima of veins. The aim of this study is to clinically evaluate the recovery of nerve conduction in rats using the “Cat Walk” analysis. Recovery of nerve conduction by vein graft filled with autologous fat graft is compared with repair by vein conduit.