Sport Medicine Principles Augment Healing Response in Spinal Cord Injury in a Rat Model Treated with a Curcumin-Loaded Nanocomposite Hydrogel

Abstract

In this research, the potential healing function of regular exercise on spinal cord injury healing response was investigated in a rat model. The animals were treated with curcumin-loaded chitosan nanoparticles dispersed in a calcium alginate hydrogel containing endometrial stem cells. Study showed the animals that received both regular exercise and hydrogel showed significantly better histopathological signs and functional recovery than the other groups. Histopathological studies showed that edema, vacuolation, and fibrosis were significantly lower in this group. Gene expression studies showed that the hybrid treatment upregulated the expression levels of VEGF, b-FGF, and TGF-β genes.