Collagen filaments as a scaffold for nerve regeneration

This article describes repair of peripheral nerve defect using collagen fil aments instead of tubes. Many tube-shaped nerve guides induce regeneration of severed peripheral nerve axons within a limited distance. Substantial re generation of nerve axons has not been reported without a tubular conduit. Here we show the regeneration of peripheral nerve axons along filaments of collagen without a tube. Cables of collagen filaments were grafted to repai r 20-mm defects of rat sciatic nerves. Nerve autografts and collagen tubes were grafted as controls. The mean number and the mean fiber diameter of re generated myelinated axons were approximately 4800 and 3.3 mum in the dista l end of the nerve autograft at 8 weeks postoperatively while in the distal end of the collagen-filaments nerve guide, they were approximately 5500 an d 2.3 mum. Collagen tubes failed to bridge the nerve defect. Histologic stu dies suggest that nerve axons regenerated substantially along the collagen filaments, (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.