Traumatic peripheral nerve injury represents a major clinical challenge, particularly when accompanied by a loss of tissue leading to long nerve gaps. Even with advanced microsurgical techniques, functional recovery following repair of long nerve gap injury is usually very poor. In addition, the use of autologous nerve grafts to bridge the gap results in morbidity at the donor site. To improve the functional outcome of nerve gap repair, retrograde death of sensory and motor neurons should be prevented by local survival factors. Secondly, axons should be stimulated to regrow and find their way to appropriate targets. Hence, a combination of growth stimuli and guiding structural cues are essential. For this purpose, a bioengineered scaffold incorporating neurotrophic growth factors, or genetically engineered cells producing such factors, would serve both to support neuronal survival and axonal regeneration, and to replace lost nervous tissue.

Research objectives
Following peripheral nerve injury, our research aims at
- studying the responsiveness of different groups of injured neurons to nerve growth factors and guidance molecules.
- investigating the expression in normal and injured nerve tissue of guidance molecules and other signals that influence axonal regeneration.
- studying the synergism of trophic factors and extracellular matrices in promoting and guiding regeneration of injured axons.
- examining the actions of stem cells and Schwann cells in regeneration and remyelination of injured axons.
- developing versatile implantable materials and cell lines facilitating axonal regeneration over and beyond injury gaps.
- validating nerve repair strategies by monitoring of structural repair and functional recovery

Information
Professor Mikael Wiberg
Phone: + 46 90-7852672 (secr)
E-mail: mikael.wiberg@handsurg.umu.se

Sidan ändrad: 2007-11-28 19:40