When it comes to nerve injuries, many readers may be unfamiliar with them. So what is nerve injury? Nerve injury is mainly a transient or lifelong neurological dysfunction caused by strains, cuts, firearm injuries, compression injuries, ischemia, etc. It is pathologically manifested by the degeneration of dopamine (DA) neurons in the substantia nigra, resulting in a decrease in the content of the central neurotransmitter DA, which causes a series of clinical symptoms, such as muscle stiffness, encounter difficulties, postural disorders, etc.

In fact, nerve damage is not uncommon in life. Some studies have reported that up to 1 million people worldwide suffer from Parkinson's every year. In the United States, the average annual prevalence was 36.9% between 2009 and 2018, and the prevalence in 2018 was 51.9%. The number of people affected in China is 300,000 to 500,000, accounting for 2.8% of trauma patients. And the disability rate after nerve injury is high, and most cases will leave sequelae, leading to a reduced quality of life for patients and a heavy burden for families and society.

Three major symptoms of nerve injury threaten life and health

The central nervous system is composed of the brain and spinal cord. The central nervous system is very important to us, and it has long been believed that the nervous system cannot recover from an injury. However, some patients' families still actively train their patients and do not give up on their families lives. If you understand the symptoms of CNS injury, you can treat it better. Here are some symptoms of central nervous system injury.

1, the contralateral trunk and extremities of the reduction are often heavier than the face, and deep sensation is often lower than the sensation of weight. Touch, pain, and temperature sensory thresholds tend to increase, and minor stimuli can produce unpleasant sensations, even radiation, burning, and tearing pain. General visual and auditory stimuli (beautiful music) can also cause unpleasant sensations. Contralateral motor (intentional) tremor or ataxia-related dance may be lesions, thalamic tracts, red nucleus tracts, and pallidum tracts. Emotional instability and a tendency to compulsively cry and laugh. Transient contralateral mild hemiparesis

2. Various sensory deficits below the plane of damage, paralysis of the upper motor peduncle transtentorial elements, and sphincter disorders. In the acute phase, spinal shock symptoms often appear, including flaccid paralysis below the damaged plane, low muscle tone, reduced or absent tendon reflexes, and inability to elicit pathological reflexes. 3-4 weeks later, the paralysis gradually turns into central paralysis, including increased muscle tone, hyperactive tendon reflexes, positive pathological reflexes, and reflex urination.

The clinical manifestations of acute cerebellar lesions such as vascular lesions and inflammation are more obvious than those of chronic lesions such as degeneration and tumors because the cerebellum can play a stronger compensatory function in chronic lesions.

After expert research, it has been found that the effects of Cistanche can be very effective in protecting the nerves, together with the following nerve repair methods

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Repair after nerve injury

1. Conventional suturing

For proximal nerve rupture (gap<5 mm), and the proximal stump nerve at the injury site has a good blood supply and soft tissue coverage, clinical repair by microsurgical end sutures is often used; for avulsion injuries, the proximal stump nerve at the injury site is inaccessible, nerve transfer repair or end-lateral sutures can be used.

2. Nerve grafting

For larger nerve defects (>1 cm in rats and >3 cm in humans), autologous nerve grafting is the gold standard of treatment. In this regard, Chevron cells with trophic factors can promote nerve axon regeneration. However, donor sources are limited, limiting clinical application.

Allogeneic nerve transplantation is an alternative to autologous nerve transplantation and is relatively easy to obtain, but the recipient needs to undergo systemic immunosuppressive therapy.

3. Nerve transplantation

A normal nerve is partially or completely dissected and then sutured proximally to the distal end of the damaged nerve to facilitate nerve injury repair. The advantage is that there is often only one nerve anastomosis site, with minimal damage, allowing for rapid reinnervation of the nerve and maximum functional recovery at a later stage.

4. Stem cell transplantation

Stem cell transplantation provides a cell-based alternative therapy for peripheral nerve regeneration, which secretes cytokines to promote peripheral nerve regeneration, and improve myelin formation and nerve survival. Stem cells include embryonic stem cells, neural stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells, myogenic cells, and induced pluripotent stem cells. In vitro studies have shown that a mixture of cytokines secreted by skeletal muscle-derived stem cells also promotes peripheral nerve regeneration. In mice with 6 mm of sciatic nerve excision and collagen tubing attached, cytokines secreted by Sk-MSCs increased axon and myelinated fiber density significantly increased plantar flexor tone, and improved muscle function 6 weeks after surgery. regeneration.

5. neurotrophic factors

Neurotrophic factors are a family of peptides that promote the differentiation and survival of peripheral and central neurons, including nerve growth factor, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, NT-3, NT-4, and NT-5. NT plays an active role in promoting the repair of peripheral nerve injury, and it is more beneficial for peripheral nerve regeneration and functional recovery in combination with stem cells than stem cells alone.

 For example, BDNF is a nutritional factor required for the development of the nervous system, and neurons lacking nutritional support from BDNF are lost during naturally occurring cell death. BDNF has been reported to enhance the proliferative activity of neuronal precursor cells, promote the migration of neurons to the injury zone, and have anti-apoptotic effects. Studies have shown that BDNF-loaded composite catheters containing BDNF maintain BDNF bioactivity for a minimum of 3 months and that the use of this type of catheter promotes the regeneration of 10 mm of rat sciatic nerve defects.

6. Novel materials

Novel biomaterials offer new ways to promote nerve regeneration. Depending on the degree of injury, different types of new biomaterials can be used in combination with the properties of various materials.

For smaller nerve defects, new nanomaterials can promote recovery from peripheral nerve injury. Cerium oxide nanoparticles promote recovery from crush-induced sciatic nerve injury in rats, and high doses of cerium oxide nanoparticles significantly increase the regeneration rate of the injured sciatic nerve and increase the number of myelinated fibers and myelin thickness of the crush-injured sciatic nerve.

For longer nerve injuries, novel biomaterials to construct tissue-engineered nerve grafts can significantly promote the regeneration of injured nerves. TENG reported in recent years include novel chitosan scaffold, 3-hydroxy octanoic-co-3-hydroxy decanoic/polycaprolactone P(3HO-3HD)/PCL75/25, silk sericin fiber, methoxy polyethylene glycol-b-polyγ-ethyl glutamate, etc.

7. Bioelectrical stimulation

Clinical and experimental studies over the years have shown that electroacupuncture stimulation has a positive effect on peripheral nerve injury repair. It has been found that continuous electroacupuncture for 4 weeks, with daily stimulation of the ring jump point and the foot three li point for a min, significantly promotes the recovery of injured sciatic nerve function.

Also, electroacupuncture stimulation in combination with novel materials can promote the recovery of PNI. For example, a nerve conduction catheter was made from hydroxyethylcellulose/soybean isolate/polyaniline sponge, and the results showed that the combination of bioelectrical stimulation and the catheter effectively promoted the recovery of motor function, electrophysiology, and morphology of the damaged nerve. This suggests that combining ES and catheters is an effective neuroprosthetic strategy.

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