Regenerative Therapies for Spinal Cord Injury

Abstract

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a serious problem that primarily affects younger and middle-aged adults at its onset. To date, no effective regenerative treatment has been developed. Over the last decade, researchers have made significant advances in stem cell technology, biomaterials, nanotechnology, and immune engineering, which may be applied as regenerative therapies for the spinal cord. Although the results of clinical trials using specific cell-based therapies have proven safe, their efficacy has not yet been demonstrated. The pathophysiology of SCI is multifaceted, complex and yet to be fully understood. Thus, combinatorial therapies that simultaneously leverage multiple approaches will likely be required to achieve satisfactory outcomes. Although combinations of biomaterials with pharmacologic agents or cells have been explored, few studies have combined these modalities in a systematic way. For most strategies, clinical translation will be facilitated by the use of minimally invasive therapies, which are the focus of this review. In addition, this review discusses previously explored therapies designed to promote neuroregeneration and neuroprotection after SCI, while highlighting present challenges and future directions.

Digital Light Processing Based Three-dimensional Printing for Medical Applications

“…Due to the importance of CNS, SCI causes significant influence on patients and is hard to cure. Recently, the artificial spinal cord shows great potential in assisting SCI repair[ 54 , 62 , 63 ].…”

Spinal Cord Injury: Pathophysiology, Multimolecular Interactions, and Underlying Recovery Mechanisms

“…Biomaterials also possess the potential as a therapeutic option for SCI treatment. Several bioengineering technologies have been considered, but many of them are still in preclinical stages and in vitro stage of investigation [ 120 ]. The commonly reported biomaterials for treatment of SCI includes are phase-separated poly (2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (pHEMA), alginate, HPMA copolymers, hyaluronic acid, agarose/carbomer hydrogels, BD puramatrix synthetic peptide, and collagen [ 120 ].…”

“…Several bioengineering technologies have been considered, but many of them are still in preclinical stages and in vitro stage of investigation [ 120 ]. The commonly reported biomaterials for treatment of SCI includes are phase-separated poly (2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (pHEMA), alginate, HPMA copolymers, hyaluronic acid, agarose/carbomer hydrogels, BD puramatrix synthetic peptide, and collagen [ 120 ]. The bioengineered approach used for SCI treatment can be formulated as sheets, hydrogels, scaffolds, nanoparticles, nanofibers and magnetic microgels [ 120 ].…”

“…The commonly reported biomaterials for treatment of SCI includes are phase-separated poly (2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (pHEMA), alginate, HPMA copolymers, hyaluronic acid, agarose/carbomer hydrogels, BD puramatrix synthetic peptide, and collagen [ 120 ]. The bioengineered approach used for SCI treatment can be formulated as sheets, hydrogels, scaffolds, nanoparticles, nanofibers and magnetic microgels [ 120 ]. Bioengineered therapies benefit the release of administered drug or cells to the host tissues and thus promote neural regeneration.…”

“…Several biodegradable biomaterials such as poly lactic co-glycolic acid (PLGA), poly-l-lysine (PLL), poly ethylene glycol (PEG), poly vinyl alcohol (PVA), poly(ɛ-caprolactone) (PCL), gelatin, fibrin, laminin and grapheme have been used to produce hydrogels, nanoparticles, scaffolds, nanogels and magnetic nanofibers and were incorporated with single or multiple therapeutic agents to promote neuroprotection, immuno-modulation and neuro-regeneration [ 121 ]. Bioengineered therapeutic approaches benefit the delivery of therapeutic agents and cells and support the survival of delivered cells in situ [ 120 , 121 ].…”