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Axon repair: surgical application at a subcellular scale
Author(s) -
Chang Wesley C.,
Hawkes Elizabeth,
Keller Christopher G.,
Sretavan David W.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
wiley interdisciplinary reviews: nanomedicine and nanobiotechnology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.175
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1939-0041
pISSN - 1939-5116
DOI - 10.1002/wnan.76
Subject(s) - regeneration (biology) , spinal cord injury , medicine , nanomedicine , neuroscience , axon , axon guidance , nanotechnology , spinal cord , biology , anatomy , materials science , nanoparticle , microbiology and biotechnology
Injury to the nervous system is a common occurrence after trauma. Severe cases of injury exact a tremendous personal cost and place a significant healthcare burden on society. Unlike some tissues in the body that exhibit self healing, nerve cells that are injured, particularly those in the brain and spinal cord, are incapable of regenerating circuits by themselves to restore neurological function. In recent years, researchers have begun to explore whether micro/nanoscale tools and materials can be used to address this major challenge in neuromedicine. Efforts in this area have proceeded along two lines. One is the development of new nanoscale tissue scaffold materials to act as conduits and stimulate axon regeneration. The other is the use of novel cellular‐scale surgical micro/nanodevices designed to perform surgical microsplicing and the functional repair of severed axons. We discuss results generated by these two approaches and hurdles confronting both strategies. WIREs Nanomed Nanobiotechnol 2010 2 151–161 This article is categorized under: Therapeutic Approaches and Drug Discovery > Nanomedicine for Neurological Disease Implantable Materials and Surgical Technologies > Nanotechnology in Tissue Repair and Replacement Implantable Materials and Surgical Technologies > Nanoscale Tools and Techniques in Surgery