Previously, cell transplantation therapies for nervous system injuries have been unsuccessful due to the formation of glial scar tissue and the cells draining from the site of injury in the amount of time axons would have been able to regenerate in the CNS. Now, a new biomaterial call “single-channel tubular conduits based on hyaluronic acid” (1) has been developed. This biomaterial blocks leakage of implanted cells while still allowing them to have necessary nutrients transported to them. It also gives Schwann cells, neuroglial cells that provide support and myelinate the axons of neurons, typically in the PNS, a template to form in the CNS.
