November 11th, 2005
Building New Nerves
Tissue engineering of nerves is moving forward nicely, as this News@UofT piece notes: "The design used coil-reinforced hydrogel tubes that promoted nerve regeneration equivalent to that of nerve autografts; a polymeric coil embedded within the wall structure of the nerve guidance channel created a reinforced polymeric channel that significantly enhances regeneration by ensuring that the tube stays open, allowing severed peripheral nerve ends to regenerate both inside and beyond the tube. ... What was innovative about this design was that it used a coil-reinforced hydrogel, a soft material. Nerve is a very soft tissue, and we wanted to match the mechanical properties of soft tissue to the channel we're implanting."