Considerations for the use of biomaterials to support cell therapy in neurodegenerative disease

Abstract

Using biomaterials to complement cell therapies for a range of neurodegenerative disorders provides a potential opportunity to improve cell survival, integration and regeneration. Materials can be developed to serve as cell or drug delivery systems, temporary scaffolds or longer-term encapsulation structures. However, as yet clinical translation has been limited, with much work still required to achieve this. This chapter discusses a number of considerations for using biomaterials to support cell therapies, which are likely to be essential to achieve successful translation.

Keywords: Biomaterials; Cell therapy; Neurodegenerative disease; Tissue engineering; Translation.