UNMC researchers have published new research highlighting the potential of synthetic materials and electrical stimulation to help heal traumatic nerve injuries.
In research published in March in the journal Bioactive Materials, researchers led by UNMC’s Sangamesh Kumbar, PhD, explained their findings on the benefits of engineered synthetic and biodegradable scaffolds that can be surgically implanted into traumatic injuries.
The research found that the specially engineered scaffolds can deliver a chemical agent known as 4-aminopyridine and incorporate electrical stimulation directly at the injury site.
The combination significantly accelerates the regeneration of large-gap peripheral nerve injuries in animal models, enhancing cell activity and boosting release of neurotrophins, a vital growth factor for nerve repair.
Large-gap peripheral nerve injuries are debilitating injuries — often common with trauma, disease or combat wounds — that cause intense pain and are challenging to treat, said Dr. Kumbar, professor in the department of growth and development at the UNMC College of Dentistry.
It’s estimated that peripheral nerve injuries affect more than a half million people in the U.S. each year, resulting in nearly $2 billion in health care costs.
In such cases, restoring nerve function is critical to provide patients a functional recovery if they have residual limbs or have hope of interfacing with prosthetics in cases of amputation, Dr. Kumbar said.
“By harnessing stable chemical and electrical stimulation, we aim to enhance the body’s natural healing mechanisms — offering a promising strategy to overcome poor recovery outcomes in nerve and musculoskeletal injuries,” Dr. Kumbar said. “The approach outlined in our work holds strong potential for clinical translation as a non-invasive, patient-friendly therapy to accelerate healing and restore function.”
Dr. Kumbar’s overall research and his UNMC lab explore the development of biocompatible, electrically conductive polymers for tissue repair.
Growing evidence has shown that tissues such as bone, cartilage, skin and nerves respond positively to electrical stimulation, Dr. Kumbar said. These tissues, he said, naturally generate electrical fields in response to physiological stimuli, which play a key role in regeneration.
The latest published research was funded with support through a National Institutes of Health R01 grant and the U.S. Department of Defense, and had cooperating researchers from the University of Connecticut Health Center, Stevens Institute of Technology and National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
Dr. Kumbar said the specially designed scaffolds are fabricated using FDA-approved biomedical polymer excipients, with modifications that enable ionic conductivity but also their controlled degradation over time.
They mimic natural tissue conductivity, he said, to promote nerve regeneration without the limitations of traditional growth factors or cells.
In their publication, the researchers wrote that the findings suggest the delivery of electrical stimulation using the scaffold accelerates large-gap nerve regeneration, achieving results comparable or superior to autograft nerve transplants from another part of the patient’s body.
Dr. Kumbar said the innovative approach holds significant promise for improving outcomes for patients with severe peripheral nerve injuries. Furthermore, he said, the findings suggest that these principles could be adapted for use in other electroactive tissues, such as muscle, opening up broader applications in the field of regenerative medicine.