Molecular mechanisms to improve nerve regeneration following damage to the immature peripheral nervous system

Nerve damage during growth and development has a uniquely detrimental effect on limb function, at least partially due to the adverse consequences of the lack of target-tissue innervation during nerve regeneration. Facilitation of nerve regeneration in the developing infant requires a different approach than it does in adults because of differences in the physiology of neonatal nerves and target tissues. The results of surgical intervention to treat nerve damage at the level of the brachial plexus are suboptimal; novel concepts, such as manipulating the nerve-regeneration environment, are on the horizon, but first these mechanisms must be better understood, including with regard to how they differ in the immature nervous system.