Spinal cord injury repair based on drug and cell delivery: From remodeling microenvironment to relay connection...

Spinal cord injury (SCI) presents a formidable challenge in clinical settings, resulting in sensory and motor function loss and imposing significant personal and societal burdens. However, owning to the adverse microenvironment and limited regenerative capacity, achieving complete functional recovery after SCI remains elusive. Additionally, traditional interventions including surgery and medication have a series of limitations that restrict the effectiveness of treatment. Recently, tissue engineering (TE) has emerged as a promising approach for promoting neural regeneration and functional recovery in SCI, which can effectively delivery drugs into injury site and delivery cells and improve the survival and differential. Here, we outline the main pathophysiology events of SCI and the adverse microenvironment post injury, further discuss the materials and common assembly strategies used for scaffolds in SCI treatment, expound on the latest advancements in treatment methods based on materials and scaffolds for drug and cell delivery in detail, and propose future directions for SCI repair with TE and highlight potential clinical applications.