University of Kentucky researchers have developed a new method to treat nerve injuries with fewer side effects than existing techniques.
Traumatic nerve injuries can lead to chronic and debilitating health issues. The researchers said that when nerves are severed (saw injuries, farm equipment injuries and gunshot wounds), they must be repaired only through surgical process as they do not heal on their own.
To fill the resultant gap in the nerve, surgeons normally use two methods: a nerve autograft (closing the gap with nerves taken from elsewhere in the patient's body) or nerve conduits (synthetic tubes). Nerve autograft can cause nerve deficit at the donor site, while nerve conduits can lead to foreign body reactions or infections.
The new method, nerve allograft, involves the use of human nerves harvested from cadavers. The nerves are processed in such a way that it removes all cellular material, preserves architecture and prevents disease transmission or allergic reactions.
For the study, the researchers subjected participants with nerve injuries to either nerve conduit or allograft repair groups. Following the surgeries, their sensory or motor recovery was closely observed.
The researchers found that nerve allografts were associated with consistent results and produced better outcomes than nerve conduits. The allografts also prevented donor site morbidity of a nerve autograft.
"Nerve grafting has remained relatively unchanged for nearly 100 years, and both of the existing nerve repair options had serious drawbacks," UK Medical Director of Hand Surgery Service Dr. Brian Rinker said in a statement. "Our study showed that the new technique processed nerve allograft - provides a better, more predictable and safer nerve gap repair compared to the previous techniques."
