[Effect of fibrin on nerve regeneration in a silicone chamber]

When regenerating from an injury, fluid containing nerve growth-promoting components such as the nerve growth factor (NGF) will accumulate around the stump of a cut nerve within 24 hours. It has been found that this fluid also contains fibrin. To evaluate the effect of fibrin on nerve regeneration, we cut both facial nerves of 40 guinea pigs and sutured both ends of the nerve stumps to silicone tubes. The distance between the stumps were kept at around 8 mm in the silicone chamber. Autogenous fibrin isolated from the blood of each guinea pig was injected into the silicone chamber on the left side, while lactate Ringer's solution was injected into the silicone chamber on the right side as a control. The status of nerve regeneration in both sides of the silicone chambers were later evaluated at 3 and 5 weeks. Histological study revealed that after regeneration for 3 weeks, the total axon number and the fascicular number increased significantly in the fibrin-filled chamber. However, after 5 weeks, there was no significant difference in nerve regeneration between the two groups.