Paul Gardner, MD, Clinical PI
Associate Professor of Neurological Surgery
Email: pagst28@pitt.edu
Phone: (412) 802-8259
Bryan Brown, PhD, Scientific PI
Assistant Professor of Bioengineering
Email:bnb9@pitt.edu
Phone: (412) 624-5273
Travis Prest, MS, PhD, Graduate Student
Email: tap56@pitt.edu
Phone: (412) 648-7875
In the U.S., more than 900,000 procedures per year are performed to address traumatic and surgical nerve injuries, representing a $1.68 billion market. While there are currently a variety of devices such as conduits, wraps, and sponges that are used to try to bridge transected nerves, most have shown only limited benefit. As a result, surgeons prefer to use nerve autografts where possible, despite the potential for permanent loss of sensation at the donor site. But even these grafts have shown limited success. NeuroGel provides a new regenerative matrix that promotes healing of the original nerve tissue. Neurogel is composed of a solution of nerve-specific structural and functional components that are present in normal healthy nerves, and obtained through a proprietary decellularization and enzymatic treatment process. In pre-clinical studies, injection of NeuroGel at the site of a transected nerve has been shown to speed recovery and improve nerve regeneration. To-date, three preclinical animal studies have been performed that have demonstrated that NeuroGel is more effective than traditional approaches in a number of nerve injury scenarios, including end-to-end nerve repair, nerve gap repair, and nerve graft support.