StemCell Therapy

The idea behind regenerative medicine is that we can use the bodys own reparative mechanisms to repair tissue without the need for surgery or drugs, says Dr. Zaslav. We may not be like salamanders who regrow their own tails, but we can repair our own tissue using mesenchymal stem cells. Our bodies do it every day.

With all the misinformation swirling around stem cells, Dr. Zaslav is quick to point out that mesenchymal stem cells are naturally occurring cells in our body and are not embryonic. What makes them special and so dynamic in the regenerative medicine field is that mesenchymal stem cells can direct healing cells to the site of inflammation or injury when introduced via injection. Part of the mission of researchers looking into regenerative medicine has been learning how to better concentrate these types of cells, or their secreted factors at the site of tissue damage, whether it be degenerating cartilage in a knee or a weak tendon in the elbow, thereby facilitating healing without invasive measures like surgery.

Cartilage, bone marrow, muscle, tendon this one cell which is found along blood vessels can become all of these, hence the term stem. All our organs have these types of progenitor cells, says Dr. Zaslav. [When used in regenerative medicine treatments], however, they do not grow into anything. Think of mesenchymal stem cells like little subcontractors telling your cells how to heal. Theyre medicinal signaling cells. They bring pro-growth, pro-healing proteins to the site of inflammation, injury, or infection.

Researchers like Dr. Zaslav believe the ability to teach the body to better heal itself could lead to wider applications in health care, from re-teaching the diabetic body to produce insulin, to repairing internal injuries that dont seem to heal themselves, to preventing cardiac issues. Regenerative medicine has the potential to completely revolutionize how we treat disease.

See the rest here:
What is regenerative medicine? | Northwell Health

This entry was posted on July 2, 2024 at 2:39 am and is filed under Regenerative Medicine. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |