Spinal cord injury is a devastating condition that results in lifelong paralysis. In Ireland, one person suffers a spinal cord injury every week, and there are over 2,300 individuals and families living with the injury across the country.
After injury, the long axonal projections of many nerve cells in the spinal cord are cut and 'die-back' from the injury site, and at the same time a lesion cavity forms at the wound site that prevents their regrowth necessary to restore function.
Promoting the regrowth of nerve cell axons after spinal cord injury remains a significant obstacle in the development of successful regenerative treatments. Finding a solution for this complex problem has been the focus of the research team at RCSI’s Tissue Engineering Research Group, and the Research Ireland Advanced Materials and Bioengineering Research (AMBER) Centre.
Repair and recovery
Working together, the researchers have created a new implant that transmits electrical signals, potentially promoting the repair of nerve cells following a spinal cord injury.
This implantable, electroconductive 3D-printed scaffold contains small channels designed to mimic the internal structure of the spinal cord and can be placed directly into the injury site. When electrical stimulation is applied to the implant, it conveys that electrical signal to the damaged axons to drive their regrowth through the injury and reconnect with targets to restore function.
At the same time, the scaffold and channels help direct the axons to grow back in the correct direction.
When the researchers applied electrical stimulation for a week to neurons growing on this scaffold, they developed long extensions called neurites. In the body, this kind of growth would be a key step towards repair and recovery after an injury.
The patient voice
RCSI and Research Ireland Advanced Materials and Bioengineering Research (AMBER) Centre researchers teamed up with the Irish Rugby Football Union Charitable Trust (IRFU-CT) on the project and brought together a spinal cord injury advisory group to oversee and guide the research. That group included clinicians, individuals living with spinal cord injury, the research scientists and engineers and public and patient involvement (PPI) researchers.
This advisory group offered valuable insights into the realities of spinal cord injuries and possible treatment strategies. Through regular meetings and laboratory visits, they played a crucial role in guiding the project from its inception to the current publication, resulting in several separate papers on the importance of PPI in preclinical research.
The implant project was supported by the Irish Rugby Football Union Charitable Trust, the AMBER Centre, the Irish Research Council and the research findings were presented at the TERMIS World Congress in Seattle, Washington, USA and published in the journal Materials Today.
RCSI is committed to achieving a better and more sustainable future through the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
