The Medical Use of Spider Silk
Treating epilepsy – with nature’s help
Spider silk has remarkable properties: it is tear-resistant, extremely elastic, waterproof, as well as antibacterial and bio-degradable. Centuries ago, spider silk was already used to heal wounds. Today it shall be put to use again, e.g. as new treatment option for epilepsy patients. Scientists at the Foundation of the University of Veterinary Medicine Hanover (TiHo) and Hanover Medical School use spider silk as anchoring system to fix transplanted nerve cells to the brains of epilepsy patients. This new research project is supported by Volkswagen Foundation.
