Most scientists agree that the future of healing is regenerative medicine. Regenerative medicine is based on a relatively simple concept: When we are injured or when or are stricken with disease, our bodies begin a natural defense or healing process. Scientists are working on methods to harness the body’s power to heal and then accelerate it in clinically significant ways.
What if we could make ourselves heal faster or better? What if we could harness the power from within our own bodies to eradicate cancer, or heart disease? What if we could grow organs from our own cells to replace those that can no longer function? Well, this is already happening and it’s beginning to change lives.
In 2006 Dr. Anthony Atala and his colleagues at Wake Forest University in North Carolina dramatically changed the lives of seven children and young teens who were suffering with spina bifida, a congenital birth defect that stunts brain and spinal cord development. The disease can leave patients with bladders that don’t function normally causing a host of issues including incontinence. Read more ›
