In the context of repair, replacement, or regeneration of nerves after
an injury, what does "anti-fibrogenic" mean, and why would it be
important for conduits to be anti-fibrogenic?  Does this idea refer to
avoiding generating fibers in the muscles, or avoiding generating
nerve fibers, or something else?

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Request for Question Clarification by andrewxmp-ga on 29 Jun 2004 20:27 PDT

Hi qurious,

Fibrogenic means "promoting the development of fibers" and so
anti-fibrogenic would simply be something that hinders the development
of fibers, in this case, nerve fibers.
[ http://www2.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/mwmednlm?book=Medical&va=fibrogenic ]

I found many instances of the term "anti-fibrogenic" but they almost
all referred to fibers of sorts in the liver, related to liver
diseases.  I can tell you very basicaly that the growth of nerve
fibers is an extraordinarily complicated one that consists of just as
much hindering growth as it does promoting it, in order to result in a
properly configured and functional nervous system.  In that sense,
yes, it would be important for there to be some anti-fibrogenic
factors, however I feel as though I would have trouble finding more
exact details about these processes. Still, if you could provide more
information about what exactly you would like to know, and where you
got this term from (the exact sentance and source, if possible) we
would likely be able to assist you better.  Thanks.

-Andrewxmp

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Clarification of Question by qurious-ga on 29 Jun 2004 21:03 PDT

Hi, Andrewxmp,
I'm currently reviewing a paper on biomaterials, and some of the
medical discussion is a bit beyond me.  I suppose my main confusion is
over the fact that nerve fibers are generally considered good
(necessary even), although it seems that there is a lot of effort
focused on preventing their growth.  And muscle fibers are good, too,
in that muscle is made of them.  So to clarify, what are the bad
things that can happen when fibers grow?  Are there particular times
and places where fibrogenesis is good and others when it is bad?  Why
is it so important during tissue repair that they not grow?  What
exactly is tissue regeneration if not fiber growth, anyway?  Thanks
for throwing any light on this.

Actually fibrogenic has a more specific meaning than just the
formation of any old fibers.  Something that is fibrogenic causes the
growth of fibroblasts, which are cells which produce
collagen/connective tissue.  The result of excessive growth and
activity of fibroblasts is called fibrosis.  It is recognizable in the
skin as a scar, but forms in other tissues as well.  In repairing
nerves, you don't want a scar to form around the nerve as this may
interfere with the actual growth of the nerve and/or it's blood
supply.  Scars also tend to contract after they form, which could
disrupt a repair.  Thus the anti-fibrogenic is aimed at preventing the
formation of scars which could interfere with the nerve repair or
regeneration.

Depending on the tissue type(for instance in the treatment of certain
fissures and connective tissue), formation of scar tissue will prevent
the wound from healing completely.  In addition to inhibiting range of
motion, etc.