Injured Spinal Cords Repaired With Breakthrough 3D-Printed ‘Scaffolding’–Team Regrows Nerves In Rats

Injured Spinal Cords Repaired With Breakthrough 3D-Printed ‘Scaffolding’–Team Regrows Nerves In Rats

Injured Spinal Cords Repaired With Breakthrough 3D-Printed ‘Scaffolding’–Team Regrows Nerves In Rats Credit: McAlpine Research Group / University of Minnesota A breakthrough in stem cell biology has been 3D-printed in Minnesota—and the lab results show promise for spinal cord injury recovery, and even reversal. A research team at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities demonstrated a groundbreaking process that combines 3D printing, stem cell biology, and lab-grown tissues to provide spinal cord injury recovery. Currently there is no way to completely reverse the damage and paralysis. A major challenge is the death of nerve cells and the inability for nerve fibers to regrow across the injury site. This new research tackles this problem by building a bridge. The team created a unique 3D-printed framework for lab-grown organs, called an organoid scaffold, with microscopic channels. These channels are then populated with ‘spinal neural progenitor cells’ derived from adult stem cells in humans…