The human body has natural abilities to heal itself, whether it's a minor cut, broken bones, or liver transplants. This brings up the idea: can scientists capture this process in real-time and apply it to chronic disease? New skin cells replace old ones about every seven days. Red blood cells last about four months, and a bone regenerates all its cells over ten years. When you experience an injury or develop an infection or disease, your body also has a built-in overdrive system that works to speed up this cell-replacing action and heal the damage.
The world of medical therapy is forever growing, with new advancements and treatment methodologies. There are over 10,000 diseases worldwide and about 500 treatment methods. Imagine using your own cells to heal your ailments. This is just one of the many interventions that healthcare professionals have developed to improve people's lives. It may seem taboo, but there is extensive research to support its effectiveness. The future could see regenerative medicine helping with a lot of complicated diseases.
What is Regenerative Medicine?
Regenerative Medicine (RM) is the science of replacing or regenerating tissue or organs damaged by disease, trauma, age, and congenital issues to help them restore normal function. This is totally different from the current method of managing diseases, which focuses mainly on the symptoms. This field combines practices from biology, chemistry, computer science, medicine, genetics, engineering, robotics, and other fields to resolve complex problems and achieve the goals of RM. RM aims to help restore the function and structure of damaged tissues and organs, extending to organs that are permanently damaged. This approach can lead to potentially curing previously untreatable injuries and diseases.
How Does It Work?
Understanding how RM works requires an understanding of stem cells, as they play a huge role. Stem cells are specialized cells that perform two main functions: they continuously renew themselves, and they can transform into other cells that have different functions. Stem cells also trigger tissue repair, forming the basic building blocks of human cells. The stem cells come from donated umbilical cord tissue of healthy live births. Mothers of the newborns give consent for the collection of the material, which includes stem cells and other powerful growth factors. This material is called amniotic allograft serum. Other stem cells come from adult stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells.
Three Examples of RM in Action
1. Cell Therapy:The injection of stem cells at the site of diseased or damaged tissue, where the stem cells work to regenerate the tissue.
2. Immunomodulation Therapy:Regeneration by biologically active molecules administered alone or as secretions by infused cells.
3. Tissue Engineering:Transplantation of laboratory-grown organs and tissues. These laboratory organs are implanted at the site where new tissue is to be formed, attracting cells and resulting in new functional tissue.
RM Case Studies
There are currently a variety of clinical studies underway to help assess RM in various diseases. In China, cell therapy has been applied to type 2 diabetes. The study, conducted in 2021 on a 59-year-old patient, involved an innovative cell transplant, and the patient has been medication-free since 2022. The cell therapy procedure involved creating Beta cells (insulin-producing cells) found in the pancreas. The patient’s own peripheral blood mononuclear cells were used to reconstitute islet tissue in an artificial environment.
Another patient from the United States was treated using cell therapy for severe neck pain. The patient had been suffering for almost six months with upper cervical pain that affected his sleep. After trying corticosteroid injections with only temporary relief, the patient underwent abdominal liposuction and bone marrow aspiration to produce stem cells and bone marrow concentrate. These cells were then processed and prepared for injection. The patient underwent intra-articular facet injections at the C2-5 levels. Within six weeks, the patient reported mild improvement in his pain. After a year, the patient reported about a 90% improvement in his pain.
The Future of Regenerative Medicine
The leading research in RM is promising the engineering of whole organs and tissues. Rapidly advancing medical knowledge is leading to the development of powerful new gene-based therapies that will transform medical practice, allowing most people to live much longer and healthier lives. Pharmaceutical drugs have no effect on aging, but with the advancement of RM, there could be changes in aging. Cells steer our development, maintain and repair our bodies, and can also stimulate the regrowth of aging tissue. There are tests conducted on human substances to boost the immune system, repair cartilage, strengthen bones, and serve a variety of other purposes. However, it is worth noting that these procedures are quite expensive and may not be accessible to everyone. Regenerative medicine may become the most powerful tool available to improve the human condition.
References
- [Facts About Cellular Therapies](https://www.aabb.org/news-resources/resources/cellular-therapies/facts-about-cellular-therapies/regenerative-medicine#:~:text=Examples%20include%20cell%20therapies%20(the,laboratory%20grown%20organs%20and%20tissues)).
- [Neck Pain Stem Cell Treatment Case Study](https://thrivemdclinic.com/patient-case-studies/neck-pain-stem-cell-treatment/)
- [Chinese Doctors Claim Breakthrough with Cell Therapy for Diabetes](https://www.business-standard.com/world-news/can-diabetes-be-cured-chinese-doctors-claim-breakthrough-with-cell-therapy-124052800272_1.html)
- [About Regenerative Medicine - Mayo Clinic](https://www.mayo.edu/research/centers-programs/center-regenerative-biotherapeutics/about/about-regenerative-medicine)
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