Etifoxine provides benefits in nerve repair with acellular nerve grafts.

Acellular nerve grafts are good candidates for nerve repair, but the clinical outcome of grafting is not always satisfactory. We investigated whether etifoxine could enhance nerve regeneration. Seventy-two Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 3 groups: (1) autograft; (2) acellular nerve graft; and (3) acellular nerve graft plus etifoxine. Histological and electrophysiological examinations were performed to evaluate the efficacy of nerve regeneration. Walking-track analysis was used to examine functional recovery. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used to evaluate changes in mRNA level. Etifoxine: (i) increased expression of neurofilaments in regenerated axons; (ii) improved sciatic nerve regeneration measured by histological examination; (iii) increased nerve conduction velocity; (iv) improved walking behavior as measured by footprint analysis; and (v) boosted expression of neurotrophins. These results show that etifoxine can enhance peripheral nerve regeneration across large nerve gaps repaired by acellular nerve grafts by increasing expression of neurotrophins.