All sciences are constantly evolving, followed by technologies that humanity uses in many ways to improve everyone’s life. One of the progressive areas of such development is medicine. This is an extensive branch of human knowledge and skills. Recently, it has replenished with another area, called regenerative medicine.
Regeneration as an opportunity for health and longevity
People often regret that nature did not give people the opportunity to restore organs and systems that have been injured or destructively affected by the disease. And just approaching old age leaves its mark on the state of both external and internal. Therefore, science seeks to find opportunities to help the human body get new organs, erase the traces of time. Regenerative medicine is one of the last directions in this practically unexplored sphere of human activity.
The term "regeneration" itself comes from the Latin word "rebirth" - regeneratio. It indicates the ability of a living organism to repair damaged or lost organs, tissues. For example, the tail of the salamander, which it can lose in order to save life, grows over a fairly short time. But science operates with two concepts:
- Physiological regeneration - self-renewal of body systems, for example, a change in skin cells in humans occurs every 15-18 days. Such an update is a natural process necessary to ensure the vital functions of the body.
- Reparative regeneration - the ability to restore the structure of the body after damage. This includes the body’s ability to heal damage after burn injuries.
But modern regenerative medicine is trying to help not only the healing of injuries, but also the complete restoration of the lost organ as much as possible. Modern knowledge and technology allows us to hope that after some time, humanity will be able to "grow" lost or damaged organs and even organ systems.
Recovery medicine
The study of the ability and ability to regenerate is carried out by science and clinical medicine. Many experts are trying to find an opportunity to provide humanity with tools to restore health and youth. The Clinical Institute of Regenerative Medicine is one of the modern institutions where scientific research, clinical trials and the practical application of the ways of regeneration of various body structures are carried out. Today, such institutions of science and medicine do not always correspond to the declared qualities. Often, under the catchy name, an ordinary cosmetology clinic hides, in which standard procedures for rejuvenation, removal of visible damage to the skin, plastic surgery are already carried out. Or the institution specializes in carrying out diagnostic procedures of various kinds, without engaging in quality therapy. However, regenerative medicine is a multifaceted science, striving to help preserve both beauty and health. Given this focus and modern scientific research, when talking about recovery medicine, we are talking mainly about the use of so-called stem cells, which have two main qualities - self-renewal and potency, that is, the ability to differentiate into different types of cells.
New science?
Regenerative medicine only seems to be a new area of knowledge and skills of mankind. But this is far from the case. The term "stem cells" was first coined at the beginning of the twentieth century in Berlin at a meeting of hematologists. He voiced it and explained the Russian-American histologist Maximov. For many years, technology did not allow this science to develop effectively. But the development of scientific and technical areas of biology and medicine allowed us to study, develop and use the ability to regenerate in practical medicine. The Academy of Regenerative Medicine announces the emergence of a new direction in science - the biology of regenerative processes. This makes it possible to use stem cells as the basis for obtaining the components of a certain type of body tissue, from which the necessary organ can be "grown". Naturally, these technologies are far from perfect.
Research and Practice Areas
Regenerative medicine with stem cells is the future of medicine and cosmetology, which can replace a lost or damaged organ, tissue, structure. Biotechnologies suggest several directions for this application of the main source of self-renewal of the body.
Today, scientists are exploring the possibility of using regenerative medicine to treat many diseases and pathologies. Almost all spheres of the human body can receive the necessary resources using biotechnologies and stem cells.
Blood Disease and Regeneration
The hematopoietic system is the basis of the quality functioning of the whole organism, because a violation of its function leads to the development of numerous health problems. For several years, the Clinical Institute of Regenerative Medicine and the Faculty of Fundamental Medicine of Moscow State University have been successful in research on the successful application of regenerative regeneration of damaged liver using multipotent mesenchymal stromal bone marrow cells fixed and working on a biodegradable gel. Also, combinations of protein factors have been tested in the treatment of liver diseases, and tissue-engineering constructs can be successfully used in the treatment of biliary tract diseases.
Used for several decades, bone marrow transplantation for some blood diseases is the only way to preserve not only health but also life. This method, in fact, is a possibility of regenerative medicine, when biomedical technologies are able to renew the patient’s bone marrow.
Industry Opportunities for Diabetes
Diabetes is a disease that can undermine a person’s health without directly pointing out the problem of developing or absorbing a component such as insulin. This hormone is mainly produced by pancreatic cells. But science has revealed that there are cells in human adipose tissue that are similar in their capabilities to those that produce and supply insulin to the human body. Regenerative medicine uses these cells for transplantation into the liver, which ensures the restoration of the amount of insulin in the blood for a high-quality glucose metabolism, which means eliminating the main cause of diabetes.
The state of the cardiovascular system
Problems of the cardiovascular system lead not only to a large number of diseases, but also become the main cause of deaths. Regenerative medicine seeks to help such patients by the fact that tissues grown from stem cells are able to replace the tissues of the heart and blood vessels that are injured by hypertension, stroke, and heart attack. Currently, in practical medicine, several areas of restoration of the functional cardiovascular system are actively beginning to be used. It:
- hardware techniques for indirect revascularization, that is, restoration of normal blood circulation in the coronary arteries;
- the introduction into the body of recombinant proteins-inducers of angiogenesis, the so-called growth factors;
- the use of cell therapy aimed at restoring the functionality of tissues at the cellular level;
- the introduction of gene constructs encoding risk factors and self-healing.
These techniques are constantly being improved, however, like all areas of regenerative medicine.
Diseases of the nervous system
Of particular importance is regenerative medicine and cell therapy in the treatment of diseases of the nervous system, because it is the conduction of nerve impulses that is the basis for the qualitative functioning and interaction of all body structures. This is especially important for paralyzed people with functional impairment of certain structures of both the spinal cord and the brain, as well as the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. Tests are currently underway in clinical laboratories. But, it seems, the moment is near when the use of stem cells will help patients with disorders of the nervous system.
Cosmetics for various areas of the body
Today, the majority of inhabitants know about stem cells only in a cosmetological vein. Rejuvenation with the help of special hoods from various tissues works wonders. And in many respects the regenerative medicine clinic deals with just such issues. It is noteworthy that such cosmetology can be both purely aesthetic and therapeutically necessary. For example, the healing of extensive wounds and burns, urethroplasty in some diseases of the genitourinary system can keep the patient healthy and have a fairly high level of vital activity. Modern regenerative medicine is trying to improve the methods of obtaining, implanting and restoring cells that provide a high-quality solution to the problem. Stem cell-based dental technology is widely used to restore gum tissue for various disorders. Oral and maxillofacial surgery is a leading field in the application of regenerative techniques for the general population.
Ophthalmological Direction
In some clinics that call themselves the "Center for Regenerative Medicine", you can find in the list of provided procedures and methods of ophthalmic focus. So, stem cells have already been successfully used to restore vision in patients with injuries or congenital defects of the ocular cornea.
Ethics of the Question
The Institute of Regenerative Medicine, which is part of the Moscow State University named after MV Lomonosov, constantly raises the question of the ethics of this bio-industry in areas based on the use of stem cells. The main source of this biomaterial is bone marrow and embryonic tissues. The ethical and moral difficulty of obtaining pluripotent structures is that a large number of undifferentiated cells are contained in the bone marrow of newborns and young children, as well as in the tissues of the embryo for several days after fertilization of the egg. A sufficient number of stem cells are also found in the blood of the umbilical cord. In the body of an adult, such substances are found in the tissues of the pancreas, brain, as well as adipose tissue and some other structures. Many believe that the use of adult stem cells does not have as many moral and ethical prohibitions as taking biomaterial from aborted embryos, specially cloned bio units, in newborns or infants. But there is a big problem - adult stem cells are not absolutely pluripotent, that is, they are able to differentiate into cells of any body tissues. Moreover, over time, as a result of the natural processes of aging of the body, the potential of genetic mutation accumulates in the cells, which makes such a biomaterial unsuitable for use in regenerative medicine. The two main ethical and moral aspects imply a large number of separate issues regarding the use of stem cells. Science is involved in their decision, and further development depends on the quality of the decision. But despite all the problems, regenerative medicine is the most promising industry in extending the quality of human life.
Pharmacy drugs?
The desire of a person to preserve youth and health, to deceive time and old age has been and will always be. Modern medicine tries, taking into account all the latest achievements of various fields of science, to help a person in the implementation of these desires. Regenerative medicine is a whole complex of measures aimed at prolonging youth and maintaining health. Therefore, today, even a simple layman is available methods for high-quality rejuvenation and healing of the body. Indeed, if you look, then all the vitamin and mineral complexes, cosmetic products for cleansing, skin elasticity, fitness, body sculpting, various types of physiotherapy exercises are aimed specifically at preserving and improving life potential. Arriving at any pharmacy, you can purchase funds for the skin, activation of the immune system, which also contributes to the preservation of youth and health. The pharmacology of regenerative medicine is both affordable pharmacy drugs and quite expensive drugs that can be purchased in specialized stores.
Regenerative medical facilities
Today, many medical institutions with a cosmetological orientation position themselves as belonging to such an industry as restorative medicine, remaining, in fact, only diagnostic centers with a range of services in hardware cosmetology. For example, many people are familiar with the “Clinic of Regenerative Medicine” on 7 Michurinsky Prospekt.
This institution enjoys the trust of its customers for the quality of assistance provided in many areas: from preparation and management of pregnancy to recovery from sports injuries and functional diagnostics. But the clinic does not conduct scientific research in various areas of restorative medicine, only collecting information on the results of the use of certain medical procedures that help maintain health, beauty and a high level of quality of life.
Regenerative medicine has a great future, because a person’s desire to live as young as possible without diseases is natural. And this branch of helping people solve the tasks using all the latest biotechnologies.