ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICAL, MORPHOLOGICAL, AND MORPHOMETRIC EFFECTS OF AGING ON NERVE REGENERATION IN RATS

Citation
Sj. Choi et al., ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICAL, MORPHOLOGICAL, AND MORPHOMETRIC EFFECTS OF AGING ON NERVE REGENERATION IN RATS, Scandinavian journal of plastic and reconstructive surgery and hand surgery, 29(2), 1995, pp. 133-140
Citations number
19
Categorie Soggetti
Surgery
ISSN journal
02844311
Volume
29
Issue
2
Year of publication
1995
Pages
133 - 140
Database
ISI
SICI code
0284-4311(1995)29:2<133:EMAMEO>2.0.ZU;2-T
Abstract
To investigate the influence of age on the process of nerve regenerati on, the right common peroneal nerves of 14 2 month old and 14 10 month old rats were transected and resutured. At four and eight weeks after the nerve repair, the motor nerve conduction velocity (MNCV), latency , and amplitude of the evoked potential from the peroneus longus muscl e were measured. The number of regenerated myelinated fibres, axon dia meter, axon area, axon circumference, and myelin thickness were also m easured. Compared with the control side (left common peroneal nerve an d muscle), MNCV, latency, and amplitude showed higher recovery rates ( recovery rate (%) = operated/control x 100) in 2 month old rats than i n 10 month old rats, particularly at four weeks after the operation. I n the morphometric study, axon diameter, axon area, and myelin thickne ss also recovered more quickly (recovery rate (%) = operated/control x 100) in 2 month old rats, particularly four weeks after the operation . Morphologically, myelin remnants were not found in 2 month old rats eight weeks after the operation, though they remained in 10 month old rats. These studies show that the recovery rate was significantly grea ter in 2 month old rats than in 10 month old rats. The explanation see ms to be the difference in the speed of Wallerian degeneration, axonal regeneration, and myelin regeneration.