Perspectives on Tissue-Engineered Nerve Regeneration for the Treatment of Spinal Cord Injury

Tissue Engineering, 2014 · DOI: 10.1089/ten.tea.2014.0094 · Published: March 19, 2014

Spinal Cord Injury Regenerative Medicine Biomedical

Simple Explanation

Spinal cord injury (SCI) results from trauma leading to symptoms ranging from pain to paralysis due to loss of nerve functions. Complete SCI causes discontinuous parenchyma, resulting in poor nerve recovery, while incomplete SCI involves partial nerve tissue disruption. Current SCI treatments focus on reducing pain and paralysis, not promoting nerve function regeneration. Initial treatments include surgical decompression and administering methylprednisolone to decrease inflammation. Tissue engineering, using scaffolds loaded with drugs and cells, offers a promising approach by promoting neuron extension, acting as a delivery system, and protecting transplanted cells, potentially leading to synergistic effects and enhanced nerve regeneration after SCI.

Study Duration

Not specified

Participants

SCI patients

Evidence Level

Review/Perspective

Key Findings

1
Progress has been made in using cell therapy, including embryonic stem cells (ESCs), mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), neural stem cells (NSCs), and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), for nerve regeneration in SCI patients.
2
Tissue-engineered nerve regeneration using drug- and cell-loaded scaffolds shows potential for treating both chronic and acute SCI patients, including those with cavities, cysts, and/or glial scars at the injury site.
3
Scaffolds used in tissue engineering can serve as a local and tunable delivery system for drugs and cells, prolonging therapeutic effects and protecting transplanted cells from immune attack.

Research Summary

Substantial progress has been made in improving nerve function in SCI patients through nerve tissue regeneration. This perspective provides an overview of SCI research and tissue-engineered nerve regeneration for SCI treatment. Current SCI treatments aim to reduce pain and paralysis, not promote nerve function regeneration. Clinical research explores therapeutic neuroprotective drugs and cell therapy using ESCs, MSCs, NSCs, and iPSCs. Tissue engineering, employing drug- and cell-loaded scaffolds, holds potential for SCI treatment. However, effective translational research is needed to identify optimal combinations of scaffolds, cells, and drugs, and to improve therapy safety.

Practical Implications

Improved Treatment Strategies

Tissue-engineered nerve regeneration offers a novel approach to promote nerve regeneration after SCI, potentially leading to better functional outcomes for patients.

Enhanced Drug and Cell Delivery

Scaffolds can serve as a tunable delivery system for drugs and cells, prolonging therapeutic effects and protecting transplanted cells, thereby improving treatment efficacy.

Personalized Therapy

Identifying the optimal combination of scaffolds, cells, and therapeutic drugs will allow for personalized treatment strategies tailored to individual patient needs.

Study Limitations

1
More preclinical experiments are required before advancing to clinical trials.
2
Identifying the optimal combination of the scaffold, cells, and/or therapeutic drugs, because certain combinations can produce complicated results.
3
The rehabilitative capacity of most of the tissue-engineered nerve regeneration strategies has only been examined in animal models.

Your Feedback

Was this summary helpful?

Back to Spinal Cord Injury