Electrically Mediated Trauma Repair.
Abstract
Historically our group has been interested in the way that naturally produced currents of injury and their associated electrical fields are involved in controlling a cell or tissue's response to damage. Studies of these fields has led to novel applications of current to injury systems which have demonstrated that indeed a tissue (for example, bone) or a cell's (for example, a nerve fiber) regenerative capacity can be enhanced. In recent years we have focused on the nervous system and bone. We have demonstrated that severed nerves within the adult guinea pig spinal cord can be induced to regenerate and form functional connections. This electrically enhanced spinal cord regeneration is associated with a functional recovery of an otherwise permanent defect in a significant proportion of experimental animals in preliminary experiments. We have also learned that we can facilitate or enhance peripheral nerve regeneration in the adult guinea pig. This facilitated regeneration has the important property of significantly reducing the time between nerve lesion and the onset of functional recovery. In bone we have developed a thorough approach to testing the possibility that the clinical use of applied fields may enhance the rate and biomechanical properties of normal fracture repair using a canine tibial fracture model. Our mission is to develop all of these techniques to the stage where they can be realistically considered for Human clinical trials. Keywords: Mission profiles.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 1987
- Accession Number
- ADA192047
Entities
People
- Richard B. Borgens
Organizations
- Purdue University