Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Polylactic acid (PLA)-polyglycolic acid (PLGA) membrane has good biocompatibility, stable mechanical strength, non-toxic side effects and controllable degradation rate.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the repair effect of PLA-PLGA membrane on the injury of sciatic nerve in rats.
METHODS: Health 36 male Wister rats were selected to expose the sciatic nerve after surgery and randomly divided into sham operation group, control group and experimental group. Rats in the sham operation group received no treatment after the free of sciatic nerve; those in the control group underwent direct end to end nerve anastomosis; while those in the experimental group were wrapped by PLA-PLGA membrane after the end to end nerve anastomosis.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: ①Electrophysiology detection: The nerve conduction velocity and wave amplitude in the control and experimental groups were better than those in the sham operation group, and the control group was better than the experimental group (P < 0.05). ②Histological detection: Adhesion between nerve in the control group and surround tissues was severe. The anastomosis in the experimental group was smooth and flat, besides, PLA-PLGA membrane was degenerated and absorbed obviously, and no adhesion with surround tissues. The number of myelinated nerve in the control group was obviously decreased, compared with the sham operation and experimental groups, moreover, the regeneration ratios and degree of maturity of neural axis was lower. ③Horseradish peroxidase retrograde tracing: The number of positive myelinated nerve fiber marked by horseradish peroxidase of the control group was decreased significantly than that of the other two groups. These results suggest that PLA-PLGA membrane can prevent neural adhesion after surgery and promote nerve regeneration.