Regenerative medicine approaches for the treatment of peripheral nerve injuries: progress and challenges

Peripheral nerve injury (PNI), a prevalent clinical disorder induced by trauma, immune diseases and genetic factors, can result in sensory, motor and autonomic dysfunction, with this dysfunction seriously compromising patients' quality of life. Although traditional treatment methods such as autologous nerve transplantation are the gold standard, there are limitations such as insufficient donors, poor repair effect of long segmental defects and low functional recovery rate. Effective repair after nerve injury is still a challenge in neurosurgery. Therefore, new strategies need to be found to treat peripheral nerve injuries. Regenerative medicine has attracted much attention as an effective alternative therapy to promote the repair and regeneration of damaged peripheral nerves. Regenerative medicine provides new ideas for breaking through the bottleneck of traditional treatment by integrating cutting-edge technologies such as cell therapy, tissue engineering and gene therapy. However, current regenerative medicine needs to overcome challenges such as efficacy stability, long-term safety and cost-effectiveness. In this review, we summarize the structure and function of peripheral nerves, the mechanism and classification of injury and the pathological progression of PNI. Importantly, regenerative medicine strategies for the treatment of PNI are emphasized, and the challenges and future development of regenerative medicine are envisioned.