The research has been carried out on rats, in which scientists have found that biodegradable balls filled with stem cells replaced damaged brain tissue within weeks. The team, whose study was published in Biomaterials, are now intending to introduce a protein that will stimulate the growth of new blood vessels.
Previous research in injecting stem cells into rats with stroke damage has had some success but, because they lack structural support, the cells end up migrating into surrounding healthy tissue, the researchers said.
To try to overcome this problem, the researchers developed tiny polymer balls, a tenth of a millimetre across, and loaded them with neural stem cells.
They then injected thousands of these into the void left behind when a stroke kills of healthy brain tissue. The ready-made support structure helped the stem cells to form new brain tissue in the cavity, the team said.
Over a few days the team were able to see cells migrating along the scaffold particles and forming a primitive brain tissue that interacts with the host brain.
In time, the particles biodegrade leaving more gaps and conduits for tissue, fibres and blood vessels to move into.
Working with researchers at Nottingham, they now plan to use a protein called VEGF that encourages new blood vessel growth in order to link up the new tissue with the rest of the brain.
They also need to compare the scaffold technique with results from just injecting stem cells alone.
