Translational Approaches to Electrical Stimulation for Peripheral Nerve Regeneration

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Regenerative Medicine
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Peripheral nerve injury (PNI) repair remains a significant clinical challenge.
• Electrical stimulation, specifically brief intraoperative electrical stimulation (BES), is a promising therapeutic strategy for enhancing nerve regeneration.
• Despite extensive animal studies, the precise mechanisms and efficacy of BES for long nerve lesions are not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To bridge the translational gap between preclinical findings and clinical application of electrical stimulation for PNIs.
• To review the latest clinical trials on electrical stimulation for PNI.
• To correlate findings with relevant etiologies, treatments, and nonclinical data.

Main Methods:

• A systematic literature search was conducted across PubMed, IEEE, and Web of Science databases up to February 2020.
• Keywords related to electrical stimulation and peripheral nerve injury were utilized.
• Reference lists of identified articles were screened for additional relevant studies.

Main Results:

• Multiple clinical studies demonstrated that BES enhances functional recovery and nerve regeneration after PNI.
• Variability in outcomes was observed, potentially influenced by injury severity, location, and timing.
• Encouraging results were reported in human studies, despite challenges in clinical translation.

Conclusions:

• Electrical stimulation therapy holds significant potential for improving PNI outcomes.
• Further clinical investigations are crucial to elucidate the full regenerative capacity of electrical stimulation.
• Development of novel delivery platforms is essential for optimizing therapeutic efficacy.