The challenge

Spinal cord injuries (SCI) result in devastating outcomes of paralysis and functional impairment and are a major cause of morbidity and mortality, particularly in young adults and children.

The proposed solution

We will implant nanofibre scaffolds that are endowed with growth factors to enhance nerve regeneration. We hypothesise that enhancing tissue regeneration and physiotherapy after SCI are critical to nerve regeneration and function recovery, and may be achieved through regenerative approaches using biological factors and nanofibre scaffolds, coupled with neural rehabilitation.

We propose to pursue the following:

1) Establish a robust platform to provide reproducible and effective delivery of neurotrophic factors for axon regeneration.

2) Establish a robust combinatorial regenerative and rehabilitative approach to enhance axon regeneration and function recovery in SCI treatment.

Results from this study will help advance SCI treatment methods. Our long-term goal is to complement or even change the current clinical SCI treatment from rehabilitation to regeneration.