A Human Hair Keratin Hydrogel Scaffold Enhances Median Nerve Regeneration in Nonhuman Primates: An Electrophysiological and Histological Study

    October 2013 in “ Tissue Engineering Part A ”
    Lauren A. Pace, Johannes F. Plate, Sandeep Mannava, Jonathan Barnwell, L. Andrew Koman, Zhongyu Li, Thomas L. Smith, Mark Van Dyke
    TLDR Keratin hydrogel improves nerve regeneration and motor recovery.
    The study evaluated a human hair keratin hydrogel scaffold as a nerve conduit luminal filler in 10 Macaca fascicularis nonhuman primates with median nerve transection injuries. A 1 cm nerve gap was treated with a NeuraGen® collagen conduit filled with either saline or keratin hydrogel. Over 12 months, the keratin hydrogel group showed significant improvements in compound motor action potential latency and nerve conduction velocity compared to the saline group. Histological analysis revealed a larger nerve area and higher myofiber density in the keratin group. This study was the first to demonstrate that an acellular biomaterial hydrogel conduit filler could enhance peripheral nerve regeneration and motor recovery in a nonhuman primate model.
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