Millions around the world suffer from stroke or trauma that may result in the paralysis of limbs opposite to the site of brain injury. A team from Peking University’s Faculty of Medicine led by Professor Jiang, Dean of Medicine, has reported in this issue an ingenious approach to restore the function of the paralyzed limbs: “Peripheral nerve intersectional repair by bi-directional induction and systematic remodelling: biodegradable conduit tubulization from basic research to clinical application” (Peixun et al. Citation2017).
For example, they use a biodegradable growth factor releasing conduit to connect a proximal C7 branch on the normal side to the opposite distal C7T1 trunk on the paralyzed side. This results in neural connection and the restoration of the function of the paralyzed limbs. They have moved from studies in the laboratory to the treatment of 30 patients as reported in the article.
References
- Peixun, Z, Na, H, Kou, Y, et al. Peripheral nerve intersectional repair by bi-directional induction and systematic remodelling: biodegradable conduit tubulization from basic research to clinical application. Artif Cells Nanomed Biotechnol. 2017;8:1464–1466.