Restoration and protection of brachial plexus injury： hot topics in the last decade

• Published in: Neural regeneration research 2014-09, Vol.9 (18), p.1723-1728
• Main Authors: Zhang, Kaizhi, Lv, Zheng, Liu, Jun, Zhu, He, Li, Rui
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Bibliometrics; Brachial plexus; Care and treatment; Communication; Diabetic neuropathy; Hand surgery; Injuries; Neurosurgery; Rehabilitation; Spinal cord injuries; Surgeons; Surgery; 保护; 修复方法; 医疗技术; 意外事故; 神经损伤; 神经营养因子; 索引数据库; 药物治疗
• ISSN: 1673-5374; 1876-7958
• DOI: 10.4103/1673-5374.141809

Brachial plexus injury is frequently induced by injuries, accidents or birth trauma. Upper limb function may be partially or totally lost after injury, or left permanently disabled. With the de- velopment of various medical technologies, different types of interventions are used, but their effectiveness is wide ranging. Many repair methods have phasic characteristics, i.e., repairs are done in different phases. This study explored research progress and hot topic methods for pro- tection after brachial plexus injury, by analyzing 1,797 articles concerning the repair of brachial plexus injuries, published between 2004 and 2013 and indexed by the Science Citation Index database. Results revealed that there are many methods used to repair brachial plexus injury, and their effects are varied. Intervention methods include nerve transfer surgery, electrical stimula- tion, cell transplantation, neurotrophic factor therapy and drug treatment. Therapeutic methods in this field change according to the hot topic of research.