Combined Therapeutic Strategies for Chronic Spinal Cord Injury in Rodents: Scaffold Supported Regionally Specific Human Neural Stem/Progenitor Cells with and without Electrical Stimulation

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating event that frequently becomes a chronic condition. The consequences of neurological damage are multifaceted, with no effective clinical treatments. The majority of rodent studies have been conducted on acute and subacute SCI, while chronic SCI remains an unmet need. Strategies for treatment aim to achieve functional independence, optimize residual function, and minimize complications associated with chronic SCI. It is unlikely that there will be one single therapy for chronic SCI, which suggests that combinatorial strategies, such as scaffold-supported cellular transplantation with or without neuromodulation, may be required for effective functional improvement. In this review, we focus on one specific strategy, transplantation of scaffold-supported human stem/progenitor cells (NSPCs) in rodent models, with or without neuromodulation therapies, in particular electrical stimulation (ES), that will further elucidate the therapeutic potential in the treatment of chronic SCI.