Electric Stimulation Combined with Biomaterials for Repairing Spinal Cord Injury

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a central nervous system (CNS) disease with a high disability rate, and reconstructing motor function after SCI remains a global challenge. Recent advancements in rehabilitation and regenerative medicine offer new approaches to SCI repair. Electrical stimulation has been shown to alter cell membrane charge distribution, generating action potentials, and affecting cell behavior. This method aids axon regeneration and neurotrophic factor upregulation, crucial for nerve repair. Biomaterials, used as scaffolds or coatings in cell culture and tissue engineering, enhance cell proliferation, migration, differentiation, and tissue regeneration. Electroactive biomaterials combined with electrical stimulation show promise in regenerating nerve, heart, and bone tissues. In this paper, different types of electrical stimulation and biomaterials applied to SCI are described, and the current application and research progress of electrical stimulation combined with biomaterials in the treatment of SCI are described, as well as the future prospects and challenges.