Summary
A study was made on the permeability of the perineurium to protein tracers following crush injury to mouse and rat sciatic nerves. Albumin labelled with Evans blue (EBA) was injected around the nerves at various times after the injury and then localized by fluorescence microscopy. The following observations were made:
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1.
The perineurium of control nerves acted as an efficient diffusion barries to EBA but crush injury caused an abnormal permeability of the perineurium at the site of the trauma.
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2.
This abnormality started within the first day after the crush and persisted in most animals throughout the period of observation i.e. 4 months. Once inside the endoneurium protein tracers spread mainly in distal direction.
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3.
The permeability of the perineurium distal to the trauma remained unchanged.
Accordingly, localized trauma to a nerve may for long time change the environment of the nerve fibres even far away from the primary injury by diffusion of substances into the endoneurium.
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Olsson, Y., Kristensson, K. The perineurium as a diffusion barrier to protein tracers following trauma to nerves. Acta Neuropathol 23, 105–111 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00685764
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00685764