The best medicine in the world is your own healthy stem cells
The best doctor in the world is your own natural immunity
The term regenerative medicine is increasingly associated with research on stem cell therapies. Some academic programs and departments retain the original broader definition, while others use it to describe stem cell research efforts.
There are two main directions of application of stem cells in medicine. The first is regenerative medicine, and the second is cancer medicine. Stem cell therapy is the cornerstone of regenerative medicine, using undifferentiated cells that have the ability to transform into any tissue type in the body. potential. This therapy provides a powerful tool for repairing damaged tissue, treating a variety of illnesses, and promoting recovery. By injecting stem cells into affected areas, they can promote the regeneration of healthy tissue, providing a therapeutic avenue that uses the body's own resources.
The first cell therapy aims to slow down the aging process. It began in the 1930s with Paul Niehans, a Swiss doctor who was credited with treating Pope Pius XII, Charlie Chaplin and King Ibn of Saudi Arabia. ·Famous for famous historical figures such as Ibn Saud. Nyhans injects cells from young animals, usually lambs or calves, into his patients in an attempt to rejuvenate them. In 1956, a more sophisticated method of treating leukemia was created by inserting bone marrow from healthy people into leukemia patients. This process works primarily because in this case, both the donor and the recipient are identical twins. Today, bone marrow can be harvested from people who are similar enough to the patient who needs the cells to prevent rejection.
From 1995 to 1998, Dr. Michael D. West organized and managed the research between Geron Corporation and its academic collaborators James Thomson of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and John Gearhart of Johns Hopkins University to isolate the first human and embryonic stem cells, and was presented on a panel at the 2013 Bloomberg Longevity Economics Conference.
A 2007 animal study on mice in Japan showed that the possibility of regenerating an entire tooth was high. Some mice had a tooth removed, into which bioengineered tooth germ cells were implanted and allowed to grow. The result is a perfectly functioning, healthy tooth, including all three layers as well as the root. These teeth also have the necessary ligaments to anchor themselves in their sockets and allow for natural movement.
In 2009, ex-President Obama approved the country’s executive order on stem cell research. The widespread interest in and funding for regenerative medicine research prompted institutions in the United States and around the world to establish departments and research institutions dedicated to regenerative medicine, including: Columbia University, Stanford University, Northwestern University, Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, University of Oxford, and institutions in China such as the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tsinghua University, and the Chinese University of Hong Kong are committed to the research of regenerative medicine.
Many doctors in the United States, Japan, and Taiwan have been conducting clinical trials for many years and have accumulated rich knowledge in the field of cell therapy, including end-stage cancer, degenerative arthritis, chronic ischemic stroke, craniocerebral injury, spinal cord injury, large-area Skin trauma, as well as the sequelae of malignant tumors after surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, can all be diagnosed and treated with stem cell therapy.
Currently, regenerative medicine (English: regenerative medicine) is the production of functional and vital body organs and tissues to repair or replace unhealthy organs and tissues in the body caused by aging, disease, and damage. Or use other methods to stimulate tissue or organ regeneration in the body.
What are the uses of regenerative medicine?
The transformative potential of regenerative medicine spans a wide range of diseases and conditions, providing innovative treatments that target underlying causes. Here are some specific ways regenerative medicine can be used:
Hematopoietic stem cells: Hematopoietic stem cells extracted from a person's own bone marrow can be safely reintroduced into that person's body without being rejected by the immune system. Therefore, they have become a key project in regenerative medicine research.
- Hematopoietic stem cells: Hematopoietic stem cells extracted from a person's own bone marrow can be safely reintroduced into that person's body without being rejected by the immune system. Therefore, they have become a key project in regenerative medicine research.
- Cardiovascular: Stem cell therapy aims to regenerate damaged heart tissue and improve function after a heart attack and in conditions of chronic heart failure.
- Diabetes: Cell therapy technology used in insulin-producing cells has the potential to restore the body's natural blood sugar regulation.
- Central nervous system:
- Parkinson's disease: Stem cell therapy targets the regeneration of dopamine neurons, offering hope for restoring mobility and alleviating symptoms.
- Alzheimer's disease: Research focuses on using stem cells to regenerate neural pathways, potentially improving memory and cognitive function.
- Orthopedic injuries: Tissue engineering and stem cell applications can repair or replace damaged bone and cartilage, which is critical in treating osteoarthritis and spinal cord injuries.
- Skin wounds and burns: Tissue engineered skin grafts and stem cell treatments can promote healing, speed recovery and reduce scarring from severe skin injuries.
- Liver disease: The medical community is developing liver organoids and stem cell therapies for conditions such as cirrhosis and acute liver failure to repair damaged livers and enhance liver function.
- Kidney disease: The potential of stem cell therapies and engineered tissues offers new hope for treating chronic kidney disease and acute kidney injury.
- Regenerated teeth: As we all know, human deciduous teeth contain stem cells. Teeth developed from the patient’s own stem cells (dental pulp stem cells, iPS cells, etc.) can be used to repair missing or damaged original teeth. Because it is developed from one's own stem cells, it avoids rejection, which is an important direction for the future development of dental medicine.
Beyond these specific conditions, regenerative medicine plays a key role in extending longevity and improving the quality of life of aging individuals. By repairing or replacing aging tissue and improving organ function, these therapies open up new avenues for healthy aging. Here, regenerative medicine holds the promise not only to extend lifespan but also to provide additional quality of life, becoming the cornerstone of future healthcare advancements.
Discovery Channel "Regenerative Medicine" - [Japanese Research] The opportunity to use stem cells to treat diseases from the examples of three patients
Types of regenerative medicine
Regenerative medicine includes a variety of innovative treatments, each designed to harness the body's natural healing abilities in a unique way. Major types include stem cell therapies, immunomodulatory therapies, tissue engineering, and the use of medical devices and artificial organs. Together, these methods are at the forefront of repairing, regenerating, and improving human tissues and organs. This section introduces these key therapies, laying the foundation for an in-depth exploration of their mechanisms, applications, and recent advances that continue to push the boundaries of medical science.
1. Stem Cell Therapy
Stem cell therapy is the cornerstone of regenerative medicine, utilizing undifferentiated cells that have the potential to transform into any tissue type in the body. This therapy provides a powerful tool for repairing damaged tissue, treating a variety of illnesses, and promoting recovery. By injecting stem cells into affected areas, they can promote the regeneration of healthy tissue, providing a therapeutic avenue that uses the body's own resources.
2. Immunomodulatory therapy
Immunomodulatory therapies focus on modifying the immune system's response to promote healing and fight disease. This approach is particularly effective in treating autoimmune diseases. In these diseases, the body's defense system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue. By recalibrating the immune response, immunomodulatory therapies can help restore normal body function and relieve symptoms, demonstrating the delicate balance between immunity and health.
3. Tissue engineering
Tissue engineering combines biological and engineering principles to create functional tissues and organs in the laboratory. This approach holds great potential for generating customized replacement tissues, which may address the critical shortage of organ donations. By developing bioengineered organs and tissues, tissue engineering can significantly shorten transplant wait times and provide new hope for those in need.
4. Medical equipment and artificial organs
The development of medical devices and artificial organs provides vital support to patients with organ failure or damage. These technologies can temporarily assist body function until natural healing or can be used as a permanent replacement. Innovation in this field continues to advance, providing more sophisticated solutions that can significantly improve the quality of life of those affected.
5. CRISPR-Cas9
Regenerative medicine continues to evolve, driven by breakthroughs and innovations, expanding the realm of possibilities for patient care. One such advancement is in the field of genetic engineering, such as CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology, which allows scientists to edit genes with unprecedented precision. This technology has the potential to correct genetic defects and treat a range of diseases from their genetic roots.
6. 3D bioprinting
Another important area of development is 3D bioprinting, a process that prints living tissues and organs layer by layer, potentially enabling on-demand organ replacement. Additionally, the emergence of biocompatible materials has led to scaffolds that support the growth and integration of engineered tissues into the human body. These materials are designed to mimic the cells' natural environment and promote tissue regeneration and healing.
7. Nanotechnology
In addition, nanotechnology in regenerative medicine, whose nanoparticles are used to deliver therapeutic agents directly to the site of injury or disease, opens up new avenues for targeted drug delivery and tissue repair. Together, these advances lay the foundation for realizing the full potential of regenerative medicine, raising the prospect of more effective, efficient and personalized healthcare solutions.
Conclusion
There is still much that we do not understand about biochemical engineering, renewal and regeneration processes. Perhaps, only after cell biologists have uncovered all the mysteries of cells can we truly know what cell therapy is.
Reference
- Regenerative Medicine - wikipedia
- 再生醫學 - 維基百科全書
- National Institute of Health (PDF). [2009-10-03]
- MedlinePlus (2017). What are genome editing and CRISPR-Cas9?: MedlinePlus Genetics. [online] medlineplus.gov. (Accessed: 14 March 2024).
- UPM BIOMEDICALS (n.d.). What is 3D bioprinting? How does 3D bioprinting technology work? [online] What is 3D bioprinting? | 3D Bioprinting technology | UPM Biomedicals. (Accessed: 14 March 2024).
- Applications of Nanotechnology for Regenerative Medicine; Healing Tissues at the Nanoscale. (2019). Principles of Regenerative Medicine, [online] pp.485–504.
- “2013 年彭博長壽經濟會議小組成員簡介”。原始內容存檔於2013-08-03。
