Nerve autograft is the gold standard for reconstruction of peripheral nerve loss. The alternative is the interposition of a synthetic regeneration conduit. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the in vivo feasibility and interest of Adipose-Derived Stem Cells (ADSCs) using the Nanofat technique and chitosan conduit for peripheral nerve defect repair.
In vivo, after the creation of a 10 mm defect of the sciatic nerve, 2 groups were defined according to the nerve repair in rats: "chitosan" group (n = 10) and "chitosan and ADSCs" group (n = 10) with a clinical and paraclinical evaluation at 7 weeks.
The in vivo results seem to show that the adjunction of ADSCs was favorable clinically, histologically and functionally compare to a chitosan reconstruction alone.
Peripheral nerve repair with defect using a chitosan conduit associated with ADSCs would constitute a surgical alternative in a single surgical step.