Repairing Brain Injuries with 3D Printing

University of Oxford researchers have made a significant breakthrough by 3D printing human stem cells to create engineered brain tissue that mimics the architecture of the cerebral cortex. When implanted into mouse brain slices, the printed cells integrated with the host tissue. According to an article on ScienceDaily.com, this advancement offers hope for tailored treatments for brain injuries, including those caused by trauma, stroke, and brain tumor surgeries, which often lead to damage in the cerebral cortex. Currently, there are no effective treatments for severe brain injuries, impacting quality of life for many. Using human induced pluripotent stem cells, the study demonstrated the potential for regenerating brain tissue. The team plans to refine the technique to create more complex multi-layered cerebral cortex tissues that closely resemble the human brain’s architecture. This development not only holds promise for brain injury treatment but could also have applications in drug evaluation, brain development studies, and understanding cognition.