Some of the most challenging medical conditions are acute brain injury and progressive neurodegenerative disease. Aiming to examine these issues, Frontiers in Neuroscience recently published the review article entitled “Bioscaffold-Induced Brain Tissue Regeneration” by Michel Modo, PhD, Professor in the Department of Radiology at the University of Pittsburgh with secondary appointments in the Department of Bioengineering and the Center for Neural Basis of Cognition.
Dr. Modo writes, “Although little is currently known about mechanisms involved in brain tissue regeneration, this review outlines the various components and their interplay to provide a framework for ongoing and future studies. It is envisaged that a better understanding of the mechanisms involved in brain tissue regeneration will improve the design of biomaterials and the methods used for implantation, as well as rehabilitation strategies that support the restoration of behavioral functions.”
Dr. Modo’s article explores the options towards brain tissue healing. The article spans these topic areas:
- Tissue Repair Versus Regeneration
- The Brain’s Failure to Regenerate
- Wound Healing Versus Tissue Regeneration
- Fetal CNS Tissue Transplants and Brain Development
- Neural Stem Cells: From Tissue Repair to Regeneration
- Inductive Bioscaffolds to Promote Brain Tissue Regeneration
- Immune System Response to Implantation
- Biodegradation of Scaffolds
- Neural Tissue Formation and Connectivity
- Cell-Bioscaffolds and Engineered Micro-Tissue Constructs for Repair and Regeneration
- Training of Functional Circuitry
- Criteria to Evaluate Functional Brain Tissue Regeneration
Dr. Modo concludes, “The utility of brain tissue regeneration is not to perfectly restore the damaged brain, but to produce a sufficient tissue substrate that can reduce behavioral deficits. It is expected that this review provides the context for future studies to improve engineering strategies that will produce a robust regeneration of brain tissue.”