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Updated: Mar 29, 2026
Coculture of Axotomized Rat Retinal Ganglion Neurons with Olfactory Ensheathing Glia, as an In Vitro Model of Adult Axonal Regeneration
Published on: November 2, 2020
Early Axonal Area Measurement Predicts Early Nerve Regeneration Outcomes
Michael Neilson1, Yuhui Yan1, Lin-Ling Zhang1
1Department of Plastic Surgery, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Background:
Study of peripheral nerve injury and regeneration in laboratory animals can be time consuming and expensive. This study determines if it is possible to reduce time and cost for a peripheral nerve regeneration study.
Purpose:
The purpose of this study was to determine if nerve axonal area (NXA) or nerve fiber counting (NFC) correlates with compound muscle action potential (CMAP) recovery which is known to predict functional muscular recovery in the early stage of nerve regeneration.
Methods:
In this study, six rats had a crush injury of the sciatic nerve without treatment. These rats were evaluated at 4 weeks of recovery with the following assessments: CMAP readings from the extensor digitorum longus, NXA measurement, and NFC.
Results:
NXA correlated with CMAP; NFC did not correlate with CMAP.
Conclusion:
NFC is not a reliable method for predicting muscular recovery in the early stages. NXA is a dependable assessment for muscular recovery in the early stages of nerve regeneration. Using NXA measurement can predict later electrophysiological and functional recovery. Using NXA with CMAP measurement for nerve injury, repair, and treatment in the animal study can save cost and time.
