Bridging the lesion—engineering a permissive substrate for nerve regeneration

Biomaterial-based strategies aim to restore connectivity after spinal cord injury by bridging the lesion and providing a favorable environment for axon regrowth. Implantable scaffolds can offer mechanical support, physical guidance for axon regrowth, and deliver therapeutic molecules or cells to alleviate the hostile environment. To address the multifaceted inhibitory environment of a spinal cord injury, a multifaceted therapeutic approach is crucial.

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  Multiple inhibitory mechanisms hamper regeneration after spinal cord injury, establishing a hostile environment for neuronal cell growth.
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  Scaffold design is evolving from simple hollow conduits to complex architectures that can modulate cell fate.
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  Combining scaffolds, cells, drugs, and nucleic acids shows promise in preclinical studies for spinal cord injury treatment.