Exogenous sources of some nutrients and growth factors for peripheral nerve regeneration

Exogenous sources of some nutrients and growth factors for peripheral nerve regeneration
Maliheh Jahromi,^1,* Shahnaz Razavi,² Reihaneh Seyedebrahimi,³
1. Department of Anatomical Sciences, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
2. Department of Anatomical Sciences, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
3. Department of Anatomical Sciences, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
Introduction: Peripheral nerve injuries can be caused by accidental lacerations, congenital defects, surgical intervention, or other related conditions. Upon peripheral nerve damage, downregulation of neurotrophic factors results in reducing the chance of nerve regeneration. Therefore, using exogenous sources of some nutrients and growth factors including vitamins, glucocorticoids, gangliosides, and plant extracts can improve nerve damage recovery.
Methods: Some of the growth factors that have been widely used in the peripheral nerve regeneration include NGF, GDNF, CNTF, BDNF, neurotrophin 3, VEGF, insulin‐like growth factor 1, leukemia inhibitory factor, glial growth factor, platelet‐derived growth factor, and fibroblast growth factor 1. Many studies have shown that various types of vitamins such as vitamin B complex, vitamin B12, vitamin E, vitamin D3, vitamin D2, and vitamin C are effective in nerve regeneration. In addition, joint application of Radix Hedysari plant extract, an herbal preparation often used in traditional Chinese medicine, combined with a chitin conduit could efficiently promote the growth of lateral buds in the proximal nerve stump and considerably improve regeneration in a peripheral nerve injury model have also demonstrated that Salidroside, a derivative of Rhodiola rosea L. plant, can promote nerve regeneration in cellular nerve scaffolds through salidroside‐induced neurotrophin secretion in SCs. Another key factor in tissue engineering is the addition of nanoparticles that can enhance nerve regeneration. Currently, nanoparticles have shown great potential in diverse therapeutic applications. For example, it has been shown that gold nanoparticles have beneficial effects on nerve regeneration. Some examples of effective nanoparticles in nerve repair include silver nanoparticles, magnetic nanoparticles, and iron oxide nanoparticles.
Results: Therefore, it seems that the administration of nutritional supplements has additional useful effects on nerve regeneration
Conclusion: In this review presents different types of exogenous factors used to repair peripheral nerve injuries. These include some nutrients and growth factors.
Keywords: Peripheral nerve, Regeneration, Growth factors, Nutrients