title: Biocompatible hydrogels in spinal cord injury repair.
abstract: Spinal cord injury results in a permanent neurological deficit due to tissue damage. Such a lesion is a barrier for "communication" between the brain and peripheral tissues, effectors as well as receptors. One of the primary goals of tissue engineering is to bridge the spinal cord injury and re-establish the damaged connections. Hydrogels are biocompatible implants used in spinal cord injury repair. They can create a permissive environment and bridge the lesion cavities by providing a scaffold for the regeneration of neurons and their axons, glia and other tissue elements. The advantage of using artificial materials is the possibility to modify their physical and chemical properties in order to develop the best implant suitable for spinal cord injury repair. As a result, several types of hydrogels have been tested in experimental studies so far. We review our work that has been done during the last 5 years with various types of hydrogels and their applications in experimental spinal cord injury repair.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Experimental Medicine, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hejcl
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lesný
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Prádný
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Michálek
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jendelová
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Stulík
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Syková
mesh_terms: D020341:Absorbable Implants; D000178:Acrylamides / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000737:chemistry / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D045164:Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation; D009416:Nerve Regeneration; D011102:Polyhydroxyethyl Methacrylate / Q000627:therapeutic use; D051381:Rats; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000628:therapy*; D023822:Tissue Engineering; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds
chemical_list: D000178:Acrylamides; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D020100:Hydrogels; D011102:Polyhydroxyethyl Methacrylate; C032976:N-(2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide