The disclosure provides local delivery of a trace element to a site of tissueinjury, which triggers the body' inherenttissue repair mechanism. Local delivery of copper to the site of injuryinduces migration (i.e., homing) of stem cells to the site ofinjury, triggers differentiation of stem cells at the site of injury, inducestissue regeneration at the site of injury, induces signalingmolecules that trigger tissue regeneration, reverses damage at the site ofinjury, and/or reconstructs the microenvironment of neurofibrilcells and neurosecretory cells at the site of injury. In another aspect,delivering a trace element (for example, copper) directly to thesite of injury and associated methods are disclosed.
