Nano neurology and the four P's of central nervous system regeneration: preserve, permit, promote, plasticity

Med Clin North Am. 2007 Sep;91(5):937-62. doi: 10.1016/j.mcna.2007.04.005.

Abstract

True nanomaterials are delivered as a specific structure, or combination of structures, designed to deliver the therapeutic intact, directly to the site, requiring a much lower dose. These materials use very specific and deliberate molecular structures that can interact with neurons or protein structures inside the cells. Until recently, functional recovery of the central nervous system (CNS) was an unattainable goal and nanotechnology was an invisible science. A well-planned treatment spaced over time will produce functional return in the CNS. The four P's of CNS regeneration is a new framework for approaching CNS injury and evidence shows that nanotechnology is currently being used for stroke rehabilitation and, in several clinical trials, the treatment of scar formation blockade in the spinal cord. The four components are preserve, permit, promote, and plasticity.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Central Nervous System / physiology*
  • Humans
  • Nanomedicine / methods*
  • Nerve Regeneration / physiology*
  • Neurology / methods*