Regenerative Medicine is the process of replacing or engineering cells, tissues and organs to restore or establish normal function. This is a very broad field that includes cell and stem therapies, tissue engineering, gene therapy, and medical devices, like artificial organs, aimed at enabling the body to repair itself rather than merely treating symptoms with medication.
Scientists in this area of research study the molecular and cellular processes that control regeneration where it occurs naturally in the human body. They seek to understand the differences between the mechanisms of regeneration and the more destructive process of scarring that occurs when an injury heals itself. This understanding will enable scientists to engineer new tissues and organs that can replace damaged ones.
This is an exciting and challenging field that draws upon expertise from many different fields, including biology, chemistry, computer science, material science, engineering, genetics, mathematics, physics, psychology, and medical science. Regenerative medicine also uses many existing technologies and procedures, such as medical imaging, surgical tools, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and artificial organs.
Most Regenerative Medicine Arvada strategies require an adequate supply of therapeutic cells to support growth and differentiation of the tissues or organs being targeted. These can be derived from either embryonic or adult tissues, with most clinically available therapies to date using autologous one’s own tissue-derived cells such as chondrocytes for the treatment of cartilage defects. Embryonic stem cells are also being studied but have not yet reached the clinical stage.
Some regenerative medicine therapies have received Food and Drug Administration approval and are commercially available, such as tissue scaffolds and biomaterials that stimulate neovascularization in the wounded skin, or growth factor-releasing materials to promote wound healing. A number of other therapies are at the preclinical or clinical stage of development, ranging from recapitulating organ and tissue structure through scaffold fabrication, 3D printing, and self assembly to techniques for integrating grafts with host vasculature through vascularization and innervation.
The regenerative medicine field is advancing rapidly, but there are still obstacles that need to be overcome before the full potential of this new area of medical research can be realized. For example, some of the technologies in this area are incredibly complex and require a great deal of time to develop. In addition, translation of these technologies to the clinic is frequently unsuccessful due to a range of factors.
The need to address these and other issues motivates researchers to continue to work on regenerative medicine. It is important for scientists in this area to work closely with those who are studying the cultural, social, and ethical implications of their work. Collaboration between those who study the effects of regenerative medicine and those who perform it will help to ensure that this new and potentially transformative area of scientific inquiry is developed in an informed, responsible manner. This is vital if it is to be successfully implemented in real-world healthcare settings.