Materials and methods for nerve grafting, selection of nerve grafts, and in vitro nerve tissue culture

Patent Number: 6972168

This patent teaches ways of generating an plethora of compounds which are useful for regeneration of damaged nervous system tissue. Specifically, the patent has 2 independent claims. The first covers growing nerves in conditions that are not associated with degeneration, then killing the nerves, harvesting the material, and introducing the material into an area where damaged neurons are present. The second covers essentially similar subsject matter with the exception that conditions in which the nerves are grown are "permissive" to the activation and proliferation of nerve cells, as well as enhance enzymatic activity. Since dead cell material is injected into the host, it may be possible to use cell lines for practicing this invention that have been de-immunogenized so that allogeneic or even xenogeneic cells may be used. Such a de-immunogenization may be performed, at least theoretically by taking out immunogenic molecules such as HLA or xenogeneic related sugars through column chromatography or other means known in the art.

View this patent on the USPTO website.