Preservation of Denervated Muscle by Sensory Protection in Rats

The goal of this study was to determine whether sensory motor nerve crossover could alter post-denervation atrophy of skeletal muscle. Sixty adult Lewis rats were divided into three groups: 1) unilateral transection of the tibial nerve alone; 2) unilateral transection of the tibial nerve with immediate repair; and 3) unilateral tibial and sural nerve transections with repair of the proximal sural nerve (sensory) to the distal tibial nerve …