Current applications and future perspectives of artificial nerve conduits

Artificial nerve guide conduits have the advantage over autografts in terms of their availability and ease of fabrication. However, clinical outcomes associated with the use of artificial nerve conduits are often inferior to that of autografts, particularly over long lesion gaps. There have been sig...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Experimental neurology 2010-05, Vol.223 (1), p.86-101
Main Authors: Jiang, Xu, Lim, Shawn H., Mao, Hai-Quan, Chew, Sing Yian
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Biochemicals
Biocompatible Materials
Cells
Contact guidance
ECM molecules
Electrospinning
Gene therapy
Guided Tissue Regeneration - methods
Humans
Nerve Regeneration - physiology
Neural tissue engineering
Peripheral nerve regeneration
Peripheral Nervous System Diseases - physiopathology
Peripheral Nervous System Diseases - surgery
Polymers
Proteins
Topographical cues
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Artificial nerve guide conduits have the advantage over autografts in terms of their availability and ease of fabrication. However, clinical outcomes associated with the use of artificial nerve conduits are often inferior to that of autografts, particularly over long lesion gaps. There have been significant advances in the designs of artificial nerve conduits over the years. In terms of materials selection and design, a wide variety of new synthetic polymers and biopolymers have been evaluated. The inclusion of nerve conduit lumen fillers has also been demonstrated as essential to enable nerve regeneration across large defect gaps. These lumen filler designs have involved the integration of physical cues for contact guidance and biochemical signals to control cellular function and differentiation. Novel conduit architectural designs using porous and fibrous substrates have also been developed. This review highlights the recent advances in synthetic nerve guide designs for peripheral nerve regeneration, and the in vivo applicability and future prospects of these nerve guide conduits.
ISSN:0014-4886
1090-2430
DOI:10.1016/j.expneurol.2009.09.009