MINECHPS-SCI · Development of minimally invasive neuromodulatory electroconductive hydrogel in combination with physical stimuli for spinal cord regeneration

Development of minimally invasive neuromodulatory electroconductive hydrogel in combination with physical stimuli for spinal cord regeneration

The MINECHPS-SCI project addresses the debilitating impact of spinal cord injury (SCI), a condition that currently has no cure. With no effective treatments for functional recovery after injury, SCI remains one of the unresolved healthcare challenges till date. SCI affected 6.4 million people in Europe with an incidence of 0.19 million during 1990-2016. SCI, which is primarily caused by vehicle accidents, falls, and violence, affects the most productive age group (less then ~40 years old) of people. SCI disrupts connection between the brain and muscle, resulting in varying degrees of paralysis below the level of injury, including loss of movement, sensation, bowel and bladder control, and sexual function, as well as depression in 11-37% of patients. Current SCI management options are expensive, with a SCI patient in the United States incurring a staggering $2.4-5 million lifetime cost depending on the nature of the injury and yet not fully restoring functions. Existing regenerative and rehabilitation approaches are largely palliative and neuroprotective, targeting the spared neural tissue after injury with limited efficacy in regeneration. While the spinal cord has poor regenerative ability, the degenerative processes further complicate the SCI pathophysiology. Hence, no regenerative and rehabilitation approaches, individually, have resulted in complete and near complete functional recovery to date. To fully restore the injured spinal cord's functionality, a coordinated combinational approach addressing particular degenerative processes is necessary. Our goal is to develop a minimally invasive, combinational approach to spinal cord regeneration (SCR) that combines regenerative methods with rehabilitation techniques to enhance functional outcomes. It involves the development of an injectable electroconductive hydrogel (ECH) with immunomodulatory effects that can induce regeneration by counteracting the degenerative processes after injury. The project integrates these regenerative approaches with rehabilitation techniques using electrical stimulation (ES) to maximize the functional regenerative outcome. The ECH will be used as a physical support for axonal growth, which can also deliver ES and biologics to cells at the same time. ES through the ECH will be used to stimulate the neurons and glial cells to enhance regeneration and neuroplasticity.

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз