Breakthrough in clinical research of biomaterial transplantation for acute complete spinal cord injury
Release date: 2016-06-22 Spinal cord injury is a serious type of central nervous system injury. After spinal cord injury, due to injury and a series of pathophysiological reactions, the sensory and motor function below the injury plane will be lost, leading to paraplegia, which will seriously affect the quality of life and impose a heavy burden on families and society. So far, spinal cord injury repair has been a worldwide problem and there is no effective treatment. Source: Major Science and Technology Task Force, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology Frozen Squid Flower Cut,Frozen Squid Flower,Squid Carving Flower,Pineapple Cut Squid Flower Zhoushan Haiwang Seafood Co., Ltd. , https://www.haiwangseafoods.com
Figure 1: Dai Jianwu (second from left) is concerned about the surgical process 
Figure 2: Medical staff prepares to place the nerve-regenerating collagen scaffold into the patient's body
Dai Jianwu, a researcher in the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, has been engaged in the research of regeneration and repair of spinal cord injury. They found that after spinal cord injury, endogenous neural stem cells respond to the stimulus and rapidly proliferate and migrate to the injured area. These neural stem cells provide a valuable source of cells for the regeneration and repair of acute spinal cord injury. However, since the damaged site has formed a microenvironment that inhibits nerve regeneration, the migrated neural stem cells mainly differentiate into glial cells and rarely differentiate into neurons. In response to the above problems, Dai Jianwu team first proposed a scientific strategy based on biomaterials to construct a microenvironment suitable for spinal cord regeneration, to promote the differentiation of neural stem cells into neurons, and to guide the regeneration and repair of acute spinal cord injury.
Under the support of the Strategic Class A Science and Technology Pilot Project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences "Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Research", Dai Jianwu team designed and developed a collagen-based nerve regeneration scaffold, developed a product standard for nerve regeneration collagen scaffolds and completed type testing. The team pioneered a large segmental spinal cord transection injury model in rats and dogs, and confirmed by a large number of animal experiments, functional nerve regeneration collagen scaffold can effectively guide neural stem cells to differentiate into neurons, and can significantly inhibit nerve regeneration inhibition in scars. The production of molecules can effectively promote the recovery of motor function.
On April 22, 2015, Dai Jianwu team conducted the first clinical study of neurogenic regenerative collagen scaffold in the treatment of acute complete spinal cord injury in the Affiliated Hospital of Armed Police Logistics College (Tianjin). The first case of acute spinal cord injury lost sensory motor function below the waist. After one year of rehabilitation, the motor function was significantly improved, the lower limb muscle strength of the subject was significantly enhanced, and the hip joint's activity function was greatly improved. Walk with the aid of the hip joint. Electrophysiological examination showed that both the sensory evoked potential and the motor evoked potential could be transmitted across the damage plane, indicating that there was a neural connection at the injury site. At the same time, the subject was able to accurately perceive the urination and the self-care ability was significantly improved. In September 2015, the team conducted a clinical study of acute complete spinal cord injury in the cervical segment. After nearly 9 months of rehabilitation, the subject's upper extremity motor function has been greatly improved, and the self-care ability has been significantly improved.
Clinical studies have confirmed that nerve regeneration collagen scaffold can effectively promote the repair of acute spinal cord injury patients, and achieve a major breakthrough in the clinical study of biomaterial transplantation in the treatment of acute complete spinal cord injury. Dai Jianwu team believes that due to acute spinal cord injury, a large number of endogenous neural stem cells migrate to the injury site, and the injured nerve function of the peripheral nervous system and muscle movement system has not been damaged. The timely transplantation of nerve regeneration collagen scaffold will provide valuable regeneration for the injured. Repair opportunities. They plan to increase the clinical scale of regenerative medicine repair in patients with acute spinal cord injury in the near future, and begin to design clinical research programs for patients with acute partial spinal cord injury.
Complete spinal cord injury repair is a worldwide problem, and every step of its progress is significant. Dai Jianwu's team said that no matter how long and hard the clinical research of spinal cord injury regeneration and repair, they will continue to explore and innovate, and continue to make efforts to meet the major needs of regenerative repair of spinal cord injury patients in China, in order to maintain China's clinical research in the field of spinal cord injury regeneration and repair. Leading position and unremitting struggle.