Traumatic peripheral nerve lesions affect hundreds of thousands of patients every year; their consequences are life-altering and often devastating and cause alterations in movement and sensitivity. Spontaneous peripheral nerve recovery is often inadequate. In this context, nowadays, cell therapy represents one of the most innovative approaches in the field of nerve repair therapies. The purpose of this systematic review is to discuss the features of different types of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) relevant for peripheral nerve regeneration after nerve injury. The published literature was reviewed following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. A combination of the keywords “nerve regeneration”, “stem cells”, “peripheral nerve injury”, “rat”, and “human” were used. Additionally, a “MeSH” research was performed in PubMed using the terms “stem cells” and “nerve regeneration”. The characteristics of the most widely used MSCs, their paracrine potential, targeted stimulation, and differentiation potentials into Schwann-like and neuronal-like cells are described in this paper. Considering their ability to support and stimulate axonal growth, their remarkable paracrine activity, their presumed differentiation potential, their extremely low immunogenicity, and their high survival rate after transplantation, ADSCs appear to be the most suitable and promising MSCs for the recovery of peripheral nerve lesion. Clinical considerations are finally reported.

AIM: To identify the range of dimensional morphometric variability correlated to the basilar and condylar part of the occipital bone, which may affect the choice of approach to ventral intradural foramen magnum (FM) lesions. MATERIAL and METHODS: In total, 25 dry skulls and 50 head computed tomography (CT) scan results have been assessed in detail, focusing on the FM, occipital condyles, jugular tubercles (JT), and hypoglossal canals (HC). A morphometric analysis has been carried out using linear and angular measurements to estimate the range of the dimensional variability of these structures. Data were presented as mean ± standard deviation, ranges, and interquartile range on a boxplot. The sagittal intercondylar angle (SICA) and anterior condylar angle (ACA) have been found to be important in estimating the axial orientation of the condyles, whereas the JT-HC interline ratio has indicated the prominence of the tubercles. RESULTS: The SICA and ACA have exhibited high variability. The average JT-HC interline ratio was 0.8. Wider SICA-ACA and higher JT-HC interline ratio make the posterolateral approach advantageous. An anterior medial or far-medial endoscopic route is indicated in opposite conditions. In this study, two illustrative cases have been reported. CONCLUSION: A cautious preoperative morphometric evaluation of the FM region must be considered prior to using tailored and safe anterior endoscopic and posterolateral approaches to ventral intradural lesions to identify the advantages of a certain corridor as much as possible, thereby minimizing the risk of complications.

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