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regenerative medicine

“When we know, in effect, what our cells know, health care will be revolutionized, giving birth to regenerative medicine — ultimately including the prolongation of life by regenerating our aging bodies with younger cells,” Dr. William Haseltine, CEO of Human Genome Sciences Inc., told the New York Times in a November 2000 article. He added that by learning the cell’s language and chemical processes that turn on/off cell repair, we can in essence connect with our internal fountain of youth. That’s not all stem cells research, nanotechnology and regenerative medicine can do though.

Regenerative medicine has great potential to help patients suffering from severe injuries and lost limbs. Take Lee Spievack, for instance. He sliced off his fingertip while working with a hobby shop airplane propeller. His brother happened to be a medical researcher and instructed him to apply a special powder to his wound. After four weeks, Spievack’s entire fingertip had grown back; the skin, nail, blood vessels and all! The powder was made from the extracellular matrix of a pig bladder containing proteins, connective tissues and stemcells. “It tells the body, start that process of tissue regrowth,” explains Dr. Steven Badylak of the University of Pittsburgh. Theoretically, if a person can regrow a body part, they can even regrow a missing limb, he added.

Another focus of regenerative medicine is to replace ailing body parts in a more natural way, using adult stem cell research as a springboard. “The cells have all the genetic information necessary to make new tissue,” says Dr. Anthony Atala of the Wake Forest Institute explained. “That’s what they are programmed to do. So your heart cells are programmed to make more heart tissue, your bladder cells are programmed to make more bladder cells.” Clinical trials are already underway that involve creating a patch of bladder cells or kidney cells or liver cells that may work with surrounding tissue to become a fully functioning transplant. Rather than go through the trouble of finding qualified donors, scientists will one day be able to grow organs from one’s own cells or stimulate the cells to repair the tissue internally.

Much of the progress being made in regenerative medicine involves studying animals that possess this asset. For instance, salamanders can regrow tails or lost limbs. Most stem cells research suggests that mammals have the ability to regenerate skin, bone and liver, but cannot regenerate entire limbs on their own. If scientists can harness regenerative capabilities, then the life span of humans can be extended indefinitely and new ways to reverse the effects of aging will be uncovered.

waki Uncategorized adult stem cell research, regenerative medicine, stem cells research, stemcells

fetal stem cells

In 1981, British scientist Sir Martin Evans isolated the first animal embryonic stem cells. In 1998, American scientist Jamie Thomson led a team that derived the first human stem cells. While little was known about stem cells in animals or people, researchers saw great potential in getting to know these versatile cells, which could hold the key to regeneration and the creation of natural replacement tissue.

There are two types of stem cells research. One involves the use of embryonic stem cells and the other involves the use of adult stem cells. The embryonic cells come from a one-week-old mass of cells called a blastocyte. Many of the fetal stem cells come from in vitro fertilization patients who had leftovers after receiving fertility treatment. A single embryo can create enough lines of cells for use in Stem cell therapies. Tissue from aborted fetuses is not regularly used in stem cell research. What makes an embryonic stem cell so special is that it can develop into any organ or tissue. Stem cell therapies can help treat diseases like heart or Parkinson’s disease, as well as burn or stroke victims and patients with spinal cord injuries, muscular dystrophy, arthritis and diabetes.

The latest stem cell news is that the FDA has approved the use of embryonic stem cells to treat spinal cord injuries, with human trials expected to begin as early as this summer. Geron Corporation has produced masses of specialized cells called “oligodendrocyte precursor cells,” which can be injected into the spine at the site of an injury to produce myelin and stimulate nerve regrowth. The human trials will involve 8 to 10 patients who have sustained complete spinal cord injuries below the third to tenth vertebra. Patients will be selected who have suffered their injuries within 14 days, scientists say, and patients will be monitored for signs of improvement for at least one year.

In recent stem cell news, the Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) and Massachusetts General Hospital discovered that a medication for bone marrow cancer can affect osteoporosis in mice by acting upon mesenchymal stem cells, which differentiate into several tissue types. “Stem cell therapies are often thought of as putting new cells into the body,” said David Scadden, director of the MGH Center for Regenerative Medicine, “but this study suggests that medications can turn on existing stem cells that reside in the body’s tissues, acting as regenerative medicines to enhance the body’s own repair mechanisms.” Therefore, instead of relying on controversial embryonic stem cells, a person’s own stem cells can be used in the treatment.

waki Uncategorized embryonic stem cells, fetal stem cells, human stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells, stem cell news, stem cell therapies, stem cells research