Researchers from Oxford University and MedUni Vienna have found that a new type of nerve guide, made from a combination of silk from silkworms and spiders, is highly effective in repairing injured nerves.
The study, published in Advanced Healthcare Materials, suggests that this new technique could greatly improve treatment options for nerve injuries.
The nerve guide was made by using silk from silkworms to create the tube wall and then filling it with dragline silk fibres from golden orb-web spiders.
“At Newrotex, we have developed silk nerve repair devices to bring to market for the first time a truly practical, sustainable, and effective treatment for large gap nerve injuries. This will improve the care that can be offered to patients, with a really accessible alternative to harmful autograft surgery, and will significantly increase the number of patients who can now hope to have their sensation and function restored after suffering injuries from trauma, or as a side effect of cancer surgery” stated Dr. Alex Woods, CEO, Newrotex.
Additionally, professor Fritz Vollrath, Department of Biology and Oxford Biomaterials adds, “These findings are a great step forward towards producing next-generation nerve guides that emulate the nervous architecture and possess advanced biological and mechanical features that support regeneration”
