Miniature Honeycomb Grows Nerve

Miniature Honeycomb Grows Nerve

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A “miniature honeycomb” – or scaffold – could one day be used to encourage damaged nerves to grow and recover, according to an international group of researchers. The scaffold can channel clusters of nerves through its honeycomb of holes, eventually healing a severed nerve. The findings of their study on mouse nerves are published in the journal Biofabrication.

Academics hope to one day treat spinal cord injuries with the scaffold. When nerves are severed, such as in car accidents, it can result in a loss of feeling and movement. Repairing this damage can be a challenge – but nerves outside of the brain and spinal cord can repair themselves, if only over short distances.