Abstract:
Background Complete nerve regeneration and clinical healing remain a challenge
despite considerable advances in the treatment of peripheral nerve injuries. To improve
nerve regeneration, several experimental molecular procedures have been attempted.
This study aimed to investigate the effects of folic acid on peripheral nerve healing after
transection and end-to-end suture repair of the tibial nerve in rats.
Methods In this study, 20 adult male Wistar Albino rats weighing 225 to 250 g were
used. The right tibial nerves of 20 rats were explored, transected, and sutured using the
end-to-end technique. The rats were randomly allocated to either the intraperitoneally
administered folic acid group (test group) or the control group. Preoperative and
6-week postoperative neurophysiological studies were performed by the same researcher.
Myelin-sheathed axons were counted.
Results The results demonstrated that the folic acid–treated group exhibited improved
electromyographic results compared with the control group. Histological
evaluation revealed that the axons were well preserved and that the axon quantity
and density were increased in the test group compared with the control group.
Quantitative results also increased in the test group compared with the control group
(p ¼ 0.001).
Conclusion In this study, 6-week intraperitoneal administration of 80 μg/kg of folic
acid significantly improved peripheral nerve healing. Histological analysis of the group
that received folic acid revealed increased axon myelination with little granular tissue or
fibrosis. We propose that folic acid supplementation may be an effective component of
peripheral nerve injury treatment.
