PAINTING THE PIA, ARACHNOID, AND SPINAL CORD PARENCHYMA

摘要

A PEG based hydrogel and a procedure for Its topical application to the surface of the pia mater of the spinal cord that can be used for intrathecal delivery of diverse drug and biomolecular therapies for the treatment of traumatic central nervous system injuries and disorders including spinal cord injury (SCI), multiple sclerosis (MS) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are provided. This "painting of the pia" with biofunctionalized hydrogel material may be used as a prelude strategy in the therapeutic management of these CNS diorders. The strategy may be designed to create a microenvironment within the damaged regions of the spinal cord that is more conducive to the successful application of subsequent regeneration based treatments such as cell replacement therapies or endogenous regeneration and plasticity stimulation via application of growth factors or gene therapy.