If all goes according to plan, this August will mark the start of the first clinical trial using cells that have had their genes edited by CRISPR technology. Sichuan University’s West China Hospital has recently been granted permission to begin using the therapy in people with lung cancer1, while earlier in the year a US [Read More]
In a study by a team at King’s College in London, a drug that was originally developed for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease has shown potential as a local treatment for dental cavities. The findings, published in Scientific Reports in January 2017, show compelling evidence for regenerative medicine benefits in tooth decay1. Dental cavities, caries [Read More]
Regenerative medicine’s ongoing search for new sources of cells, tissues and organs has led to a major leap forward with the development of a human chimeric embryo. A chimera refers to an organism that is genetically made of two different sets of genetic codes. Naturally, this can occur by the fusion of two fertilized eggs [Read More]
Using a 3-D printer, a group of researchers in Spain has been able to produce functional human skin in record time1. Printing a combination of ‘bioinks’ of human plasma as well as human skin cells, fibroblasts and keratinocytes the group has bio-engineered a skin substitute that can be used for in vitro models for dermal [Read More]
Developmental biologists of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden have joined only a handful of others in a quest to genetically edit human embryos using CRISPR/Cas-9 technology. The controversial endeavor has underlined ethics talks on modification of human embryonic DNA, also known as ‘germline modification’. The Swedish group has pushed the boundaries by using viable [Read More]
The end of September 2016 marked the first FDA approval of an artificial pancreas for the treatment of type 1 diabetes1. This new device measures the patient’s glucose levels every 5 minutes and determines whether and how much insulin needs to be given. The new treatment promises better control of glucose and a significant easing [Read More]
Preliminary results have recently been presented on a early-phase clinical trial that aims to treat paralysis as a result of spinal cord injury. Embryonic stem cells differentiated into early nerve cells are used to repair injury to nerves in the spinal cord. The researchers hope to restore muscle function in these recently paralyzed patients. Other [Read More]
One of the challenges in regenerative medicine is the 3-dimensional construction of the complex human tissue that is being attempted to replace. Two-dimensional cultures of functioning cells are a relatively simple laboratory technique for studying cells and disease, yet they are only a simple representation of the true function of an organ. To replicate real [Read More]
Recent results from a phase 2 clinical trial using stem cell transplantation have offered new hope for the treatment of aggressive multiple sclerosis. Multiple sclerosis (MS), while not a deadly disease, is known as severely debilitating, slowly deteriorating a patient’s entire nervous system. An aggressive form of MS rapidly results in failure of the nerves [Read More]
For more than 60 years, we have been expanding the transplantation of organs from the kidneys to the liver, lungs and even the heart. Likewise, the altruistic donation of other bodily tissues and materials has become a mainstay of modern medicine, exemplifying our ability to heal one another. Blood transfusions are used on a daily [Read More]
Infertility, or the inability to reproduce, has major social and psychological consequences for couples who want children. As many as 25 percent of couples experience childlessness following one year of contraceptive-free intercourse. In the majority of cases, factors from both the man and woman contribute to infertility of the pair, but in 30-50 percent of [Read More]
The use of ice packs for a sports injury is well known in sports medicine and recreational athletic use. Cooling of the skin and its underlying tissue has a number of beneficial effects, including reduced swelling, less pain and quicker recovery of the affected area. Recent commercial incentives have sparked a trend in what’s known [Read More]
