Risky behaviors like smoking or drug use could increase because of these assumptions, creating greater burdens of healthcare costs and other social and medical issues. The good that these therapies lead to is thus somewhat tempered by the bad they may encourage.
Other Applications of Regenerative Therapies
Regenerative therapies do not solely consist of age-reversing and life-saving applications. An examination of some other real and imagined uses to which these therapies can be put reveals the true breadth of these therapies' power and scope in everyday life. In the field of dentistry, where artificial implants have become increasingly sophisticated and well-integrated with the natural body, "the therapeutic potential of platelets in promoting and accelerating tissue regeneration" has led to a new trajectory in oral implantology because it allows for the growth of the body's own tissue at a faster rate that incorporates more completely and more efficiently with dental implants (Fugazzotto 113). Though not an instance of pure regeneration, researchers have found methods to enhance and amplify the regenerative function of platelets to build up tissues in a way that supports dental implants.
The above describes a method whereby artificial implants are enhanced through the body's own regenerative capabilities, assisted by medical technology. In somewhat opposite applications, artificial substances have been developed that enhance natural regenerative processes in the body:
The AutoloGel System harnesses the patient's natural healing processes with the delivery of a platelet releasate gel containing growth factors, cytokines and chemokines required for cell growth and formation of new tissue. Restoring the balance in the wound environment can transform a non-healing wound to a wound that heals naturally.
(Cytomedix).
Essentially, this company has produced a gel that can be placed in wounds to enhance the natural healing processes of the body, increasing the cascade of functions that take place in any wound in order to make healing occur both faster and more safely than it otherwise would.
Conclusion
Moving from repairing heart tissue to rebuilding fictional supernatural killers might seem like a large leap, but both are examples of regenerative therapies. Through stem cells at spinal cords to platelets at the site of dental implants and countless applications in between, regenerative therapies are changing the face of medicine and the possibilities of the human body. The future is happening now, and more people will be able to stay healthier longer in order to watch it progress.
Works Cited
Cytomedix. Autologel System, 2009. Accessed 20 October 2010. http://www.cytomedix.com/
Fugazzotto, Paul. Implant and Regenerative Therapy in Dentistry: A Guide to Decision Making. Ames, IA: Wiley Blackwell, 2009.
Isaac, James (dir.). Jason X. New Line Cinema, 2002. Film.
Longevity Meme. Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine, 2010. Accessed 20 October 2010. http://www.longevitymeme.org/topics/stem_cells_and_regenerative_medicine.cfm
Magdi, Yacoub, Ken Suzuki and Nadia Rosenthal. "The Future of Regenerative Therapy in Patients with Chronic Heart Failure." Nature Reviews Cardiology 3(1), pp. 133-36.
However, there would also need to be an extended period of longitudinal analysis of the effects of the therapy on the experimental group mice's health to see if the improvement continued and did not produce damaging side effects. The MSCs in the liver therapy are not derived from human embryos and thus the objections to discarding human embryos are not a factor in the ethical discussion about the therapy. In
Stem cells are a hot topic for the media today because our understanding of them has potential for incredible scientific advances in the field of biotechnology, yet we struggle because there are questions of morality raised by the methods by which they might be used. While in centuries past, it was commonly accepted within the scientific community to vivisect the mentally insane or criminally convicted for the purpose of scientific
The exchange of the defective gene could be brought about by a process called homologous recombination. One of the first gene therapy experiments, though well intentioned, caused the death of the patient. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania introduced a normal gene into a boy's body by using the rhino virus as a carrier. The body's immune system attacked this as a pathogen. This led to eventual organ failure
Unfortunately, these undifferentiated cells cannot be harvested or removed from an adult because an adult's cells have already matured. Once matured, cells can't be overwritten to become another type of cell. but, embryonic cells are technically at a stage of growth where they are clearly cells but they have not yet reached a stage of becoming a specialized cell. Therefore, the stem cells can still be rewritten or redirected so
Scientists have been aware of the existence of these stem cells for many years but have only recently realized the potential medical applications of the cells. More than a decade ago, scientists discovered that if the normal connections between the early cellular progeny of the fertilized egg were disrupted, the cells would fall apart into a single cell progeny that could be maintained in a culture. These dissociated cells, otherwise
Stem Cell Ethics Debating the Ethics of Stem Cells The term 'stem cells' can mean different things to different people. For some, it conjures images of medical miracles providing solutions for heart disease, diabetes, and dementia. For others, it terrifies with a future filled with cloned humans. Still others cringe at the thought of mass producing cultured human embryos for the sole purpose of providing organs and tissues for a paying public.
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now