Neural tissue engineering and regenerative medicine

Abstract

Neural tissue engineering and regenerative medicine is a research area that emerges at the interfaces of neuroscience, cell biology, and engineering, where research tools in cell biology and neuroscience are combined with engineering principles to facilitate the regeneration/repair of neural tissues and organs that are damaged due to ischemic, thermal, chemical, mechanical, pathological, or aging factors. Cells, biomaterial scaffolds, and bioactive agents may contribute to nervous system repair in different ways. Research data on the applications of individual components of cells, biomaterials, or agents, or their combinations in neural repair are reviewed. Emphasis is placed on the design of biomaterials scaffolds, choice and manipulation of cells (e.g., stem cell engineering), and appropriate delivery systems for the constitution of a tissue engineering approach that leads to anatomical reconstruction and functional recovery in the damaged nervous system. © 2009 Springer Berlin Heidelberg.