Are engineered organs finally becoming reality in medicine?
By Yella Hewings-Martin, PhD
published Thursday 6 July 2017
The bowel is difficult to repair, owing to the complexity of the processes it normally performs.
The concept behind tissue engineering is simple: grow the patient's stem cells in the laboratory, add them to a scaffold material, and you have a laboratory-grown organ. But few patients have benefited from this technology so far. Could change be on the horizon?
Scientific studies are frequently hailed as bringing novel, breakthrough treatments to patients. But the stark reality is that a long road must be travelled to turn a discovery in the laboratory into a viable clinical option.
For patients with severe gastrointestinal problems, new solutions are sorely needed; current medical treatments are marred with problems.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318287.php
