title: Engineering therapies in the CNS: what works and what can be translated.
abstract: Engineering is the art of taking what we know and using it to solve problems. As engineers, we build tool chests of approaches; we attempt to learn as much as possible about the problem at hand, and then we design, build, and test our approaches to see how they impact the system. The challenge of applying this approach to the central nervous system (CNS) is that we often do not know the details of what is needed from the biological side. New therapeutic options for treating the CNS range from new biomaterials to make scaffolds, to novel drug-delivery techniques, to functional electrical stimulation. However, the reality is that translating these new therapies and making them widely available to patients requires collaborations between scientists, engineers, clinicians, and patients to have the greatest chance of success. Here we discuss a variety of new treatment strategies and explore the pragmatic challenges involved with engineering therapies in the CNS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106-1712, USA.
authors.forename: Andrew J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Shoffstall
authors.forename: Dawn M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.forename: Erin B
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Lavik
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D001698:Biomedical Engineering / Q000191:economics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D002493:Central Nervous System Diseases / Q000628:therapy*; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D004867:Equipment Design / Q000191:economics; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / Q000008:administration & dosage; D033183:Interdisciplinary Communication; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000191:economics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins