While the human body is astonishingly able to heal itself, there are some diseases and injuries the body isn’t able to heal itself. Many chronic health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease or stroke that do not go away and the best people have been able to hope for is symptom management and to slow the decline of the body.
What is Regenerative Medicine?
Regeneratative medicine seeks to take the body’s natural ability to heal itself and use that ability to heal organs or tissue damaged through injury or illness. By restoring or replacing these organs, regenerative medicine hopes to cure previously chronic conditions. There are three main approaches to regenerative medicine.
- Tissue Engineering and Biomaterial. This method involves implanting a biologically compatible scaffold in the body where the damaged tissue or organ is to encourage growth of new tissue that will hopefully become functional replacement tissue. This method has mostly been successful in soft tissue replacement.
- Cellular Therapy. Adults contain stem cells in their blood, fat, bone marrow, dental pulp and even more places in their body. These cells are used by the body to repair damaged tissue and organs. Extracting a concentrated amount of stem cells from the patient and injecting it at the site of the damaged tissue or organ could encourage accelerated and more effective healing.
- Medical devices and Artificial Organs. When an organ is on the edge of complete failure, an organ donor is needed. However, it can take longer than the organ has left to find an organ donor that matches their needs. Medical devices and artificial organs allow the patient to recieve a more immediate replacement. So far, there have been devices developed that can replace or supplement the heart, lung, liver and kidneys.
Does Regenerative Medicine Work?
Although many of the different forms and applications of regenerative medicine are still in the research stages, there have been promising results using all methods in assisting patients with a range of disorders from artheritis to heart disease.
Conclusion
Regenerative medicine LA is a relatively new approach to medicine that seeks to enhance the body’s natural ability to heal itself. Whether using the body’s stem cells or introducing a medical device, regeneratie medicine hopes to cure previously chronic condition. Though still in the research stages, regenerative medicine has the potential to improve millions of peoples’ health and wellbeign.