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Review
. 2020 Jan 1;16(1):116-134.
doi: 10.7150/ijbs.35653. eCollection 2020.

Current Status of Therapeutic Approaches against Peripheral Nerve Injuries: A Detailed Story from Injury to Recovery

Ghulam Hussain  1 , Jing Wang  2 , Azhar Rasul  3 , Haseeb Anwar  1 , Muhammad Qasim  4 , Shamaila Zafar  1 , Nimra Aziz  1 , Aroona Razzaq  1 , Rashad Hussain  5 , Jose-Luis Gonzalez de Aguilar  6   7 , Tao Sun  2
Affiliations
Review

Current Status of Therapeutic Approaches against Peripheral Nerve Injuries: A Detailed Story from Injury to Recovery

Ghulam Hussain et al. Int J Biol Sci. .

Abstract

Peripheral nerve injury is a complex condition with a variety of signs and symptoms such as numbness, tingling, jabbing, throbbing, burning or sharp pain. Peripheral nerves are fragile in nature and can easily get damaged due to acute compression or trauma which may lead to the sensory and motor functions deficits and even lifelong disability. After lesion, the neuronal cell body becomes disconnected from the axon's distal portion to the injury site leading to the axonal degeneration and dismantlement of neuromuscular junctions of targeted muscles. In spite of extensive research on this aspect, complete functional recovery still remains a challenge to be resolved. This review highlights detailed pathophysiological events after an injury to a peripheral nerve and the associated factors that can either hinder or promote the regenerative machinery. In addition, it throws light on the available therapeutic strategies including supporting therapies, surgical and non-surgical interventions to ameliorate the axonal regeneration, neuronal survival, and reinnervation of peripheral targets. Despite the availability of various treatment options, we are still lacking the optimal treatments for a perfect and complete functional regain. The need for the present age is to discover or design such potent compounds that would be able to execute the complete functional retrieval. In this regard, plant-derived compounds are getting more attention and several recent reports validate their remedial effects. A plethora of plants and plant-derived phytochemicals have been suggested with curative effects against a number of diseases in general and neuronal injury in particular. They can be a ray of hope for the suffering individuals.

Keywords: Non-surgical intervention; Pathophysiology; Peripheral Nerve Injury; Plant-derived compounds; Surgical interventions.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interest exists.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Graphical representation of pathophysiology of wallerian degeneration
Figure 2
Figure 2
Types of surgical and non-surgical intrusions against peripheral nerve injury
Figure 3
Figure 3
Surgical interventions for peripheral nerve repair
Figure 4
Figure 4
Available medications for nerve pain
Figure 5
Figure 5
Phytochemicals and their role in peripheral nerve ingury
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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MeSH terms