Platelet-Rich Plasma for Injured Peripheral Nerves: Biological Repair Process and Clinical Application Guidelines

Abstract

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is a biological therapy that uses the patient’s own blood to obtain products with a higher platelet concentration than in blood. It provides a transient fibrin scaffold as a controlled drug delivery system of growth factors suitable for regenerative medicine. PRP has been used as medical strategy to treat diverse types of injuries in the field of orthopedics, including peripheral nerve lesions. In vitro and in vivo studies showed the neuroprotective, neurogenic and neuroinflammatory modulator effect of PRP. In addition, it has been demonstrated clinically that PRP infiltrations improve clinical symptoms and enhance the sensory and motor functional nerve muscle unit recovery. Potential effects of PRP could be applied in treatments for neuropathies, as conservative treatment by means of nerve ultrasound-guided infiltrations or as biological adjuvant during surgery.