Injectable scaffolds for treatments of neurological disorders

细胞替代疗法为一系列神经疾病提供了潜在的有效治疗方法，但它们发展面临的一个主要障碍是确保在大脑内形成适当的连接。这项提议旨在利用可注射的可生物降解聚合物，证明帮助神经细胞和干细胞修复脑内神经胶质疤痕或明显距离的可行性，并修复受损的神经通路。这项提案将把重点放在自然产生的多糖上，这种多糖将作为生长中的神经元的“支架”。这些支架在调节轴突延伸方面的作用将在体外和体内进行研究。

Cell replacement therapies offer potentially effective treatments for a host of neurological disorders but a major obstacle confronting their development is to ensure appropriate connections are formed within the brain. This proposal aims to utilize injectable biodegradable polymers, to demonstrate the feasibility of assisting neural cells and stem cells to bridge glial scars or significant distances in the brain and repair damaged neural pathways. This proposal will focus on naturally occurring polysaccharides, which will act as "scaffolds" for the growing neurones. The role the scaffolds play in regulating neurite extension will be investigated in vitro and in vivo.