Alvites Rui, Lopes Bruna, Sousa Patrícia, Sousa Ana Catarina, Coelho André, Moreira Alícia, Rêma Alexandra, Atayde Luís, Mendonça Carla, Luís Ana Lúcia, Maurício Ana Colette
Departamento de Clínicas Veterinárias, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas de Abel Salazar (ICBAS), Universidade do Porto (UP), Rua de Jorge Viterbo Ferreira, No. 228, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal.
Centro de Estudos de Ciência Animal (CECA), Instituto de Ciências, Tecnologias e Agroambiente da Universidade do Porto (ICETA), Rua D. Manuel II, Apartado 55142, 4051-401 Porto, Portugal.
Life (Basel). 2023 Sep 15;13(9):1919. doi: 10.3390/life13091919.
Peripheral nerve injury (PNI) remains a medical challenge with no easy resolution. Over the last few decades, significant advances have been achieved in promoting peripheral nerve regeneration, and new assessment tools have been developed, both functional and imaging, to quantify the proportion and quality of nerve recovery. The exploration of new animal models, larger, more complex, and with more similarities to humans, has made it possible to reduce the gap between the results obtained in classic animal models, such as rodents, and the application of new therapies in humans and animals of clinical interest. Ultrasonography is an imaging technique recurrently used in clinical practice to assess the peripheral nerves, allowing for its anatomical and topographic characterization, aiding in the administration of anesthesia, and in the performance of nerve blocks. The use of this technique in animal models is scarce, but it could be a useful tool in monitoring the progression of nerve regeneration after the induction of controlled experimental lesions. In this work, sheep, a promising animal model in the area of peripheral nerve regeneration, were subjected to an ultrasonographic study of three peripheral nerves of the hind limb, the common peroneal, and tibial and sciatic nerves. The main aim was to establish values of dimensions and ultrasound appearance in healthy nerves and landmarks for their identification, as well as to perform an ultrasound evaluation of the cranial tibial muscle, an effector muscle of the common peroneal nerve, and to establish normal values for its ultrasound appearance and dimensions. The results obtained will allow the use of these data as control values in future work exploring new therapeutic options for nerve regeneration after induction of common peroneal nerve injuries in sheep.
周围神经损伤（PNI）仍然是一个难以轻易解决的医学难题。在过去几十年里，在促进周围神经再生方面取得了重大进展，并且开发了新的评估工具，包括功能和成像方面的，以量化神经恢复的比例和质量。对更大、更复杂且与人类更相似的新动物模型的探索，使得缩小在经典动物模型（如啮齿动物）中获得的结果与在具有临床意义的人类和动物中应用新疗法之间的差距成为可能。超声检查是临床实践中经常用于评估周围神经的一种成像技术，它能够对神经进行解剖学和地形学特征描述，有助于麻醉给药以及神经阻滞操作。该技术在动物模型中的应用较少，但它可能是监测可控实验性损伤诱导后神经再生进程的有用工具。在这项研究中，对绵羊（周围神经再生领域一种很有前景的动物模型）的后肢三条周围神经，即腓总神经、胫神经和坐骨神经进行了超声检查。主要目的是确定健康神经的尺寸和超声表现值以及用于识别它们的标志点，同时对腓总神经的效应肌——胫骨前肌进行超声评估，并确定其超声表现和尺寸的正常值。所获得的结果将使这些数据能够在未来探索绵羊腓总神经损伤后神经再生新治疗方案的研究中用作对照值。
