Introduction: Falls, with subsequent fracture and muscle injury are very commonly encountered in the elderly. Platelet rich plasma has been found to have marked ability to enhance regeneration of various tissues and organs and is widely used nowadays in a variety of medical sectors.
Aim of the Work: To study the effect of PRP on skeletal muscle repair in senile male albino rats.
Material and Methods: Forty-two senile male senile albino rats, aging 24 months and weighing 280 grams, were used. Six rats were used as PRP donors and thirty-six were equally divided into three groups. Group I was equally subdivided into subgroup IA; rats were left without intervention and subgroup IB; rats were sham operated on the right hind limb. Group II: gastrocnemius muscle injury was induced in the right hind limb and rats were left for spontaneous healing and were further equally subdivided into subgroups IIA and IIB where rats were sacrificed on the 1st day and the 7th day post-injury respectively. Group III: gastrocnemius muscle injury was induced as group II, and rats were treated with 100 microliters PRP on the same day of injury then rats were further equally subdivided into subgroup IIIA: rats were sacrificed on the 1st day post-injury and subgroup IIIB: rats were given 100 microliters of PRP on the 3rd day and 5th day post- injury then were sacrificed on the 7th day. At the end of experiment for each subgroup, the gastrocnemius muscle was excised and processed for light and transmission electron microscopic examination.
Results: PRP led to stronger post injury acute inflammatory response and prevented the persistence of age-related delayed inflammatory state. Moreover, it markedly enhanced myogenesis and decreased fibrous tissue scaring.
Conclusion: PRP treatment accelerated the rate and improved the quality of skeletal muscle healing in senile rats.