Farhid Farahmand - Novel Drug Delivery Systems Dept., Iran Polymer and Petrochemical Institute, Tehran, Iran

Spinal cord injuries (SCI) are one of the major causes of human disabilities without any widely accepted treatment until now. The global incidence of SCI is more than 100,000 people annually. Patients with SCI are encountered high rehabilitation costs and limited treatment options. Although there is currently no cure for SCI, various strategies including rehabilitative, cellular and molecular therapies have been tried in a various animal models. Nowadays new approaches are suggested for curing of spinal cord injury. New regenerative medicine strategies are based on using smart biomaterials able to carry and deliver cells and/or drugs in the damaged spinal cord. These approaches can be classified into drug delivery or cell delivery strategies. Hydrogels, polymeric particles and fibers/conduits are used for controlled release of therapeutic biomolecules or drugs when delivered directly at the injury site. These biomaterials provide a chance to achieve proper treatment options through the improvement of the delivery of therapeutics and cells to the injured spinal cord. It is expected that polymer biomaterials can effectively release drug to target specific aspects of SCI and will leading to better regeneration and recovery following SCI

Spinal cord injury, Drug delivery, Biomaterials, Nanoparticles