Neurotrophic factors, gene therapy, and neural stem cells for spinal cord repair

Several experimental strategies have been employed to minimize tissue damage and to enhance axonal growth and regeneration after spinal cord injury. The transplantation of suitable cell types to provide an axonal growth substrate and the application of growth factors have been shown to augment morphological and sometimes functional recovery. In this review we discuss the use of neural stem cell transplants and neurotrophic factor delivery by gene therapy to improve axonal regeneration in animal models of spinal cord injury. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Inc.