Injury to the spinal cord results in partial or complete loss of sensory perception and motor function. After spinal cord injury (SCI), damaged tissue dies and a cavity will form. This cavity prevents the regeneration of tissue and any functional recovery. One way to address the cavity is the insertion of an electrospun scaffold that our lab has created. This provides a substrate for regenerating tissue to grow on, and it is thought that reestablishing the blood supply within the scaffold will allow cells necessary for regeneration to thrive. This could ultimately lead to meaningful recovery for patients who have suffered SCI. Full spinal cord transections were performed on rats, and the scaffolds were inserted into the lesion site. Two different types of scaffold were tested to see if altering the fiber size in the scaffolds produced more blood vessels, and ultimately better regeneration of tissue.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:vcu.edu/oai:scholarscompass.vcu.edu:etd-3831 |
| Date | 09 July 2012 |
| Creators | Brown, Damien |
| Publisher | VCU Scholars Compass |
| Source Sets | Virginia Commonwealth University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Theses and Dissertations |
| Rights | © The Author |
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