Regenerative Medicine Norway
Regenerative medicine aims to replace the tissue or organs damaged by disease, trauma, injury, or congenital issues. This approach differs from traditional medicine, which seeks primarily to treat the symptoms of health conditions.
How Does Regenerative Medicine Work?
It Starts with an Entirely New Form of Healing
Regenerative medicine includes treatments like tissue engineering, cellular therapies, medical devices, and artificial organs. This form of medicine uses new technology and advanced treatment methodology to provide patients with a healing solution. At its core, regenerative medicine seeks to restore the structure and function of damaged tissues and organs grievously harmed by illness and injury, essentially finding ways to cure untreatable injuries and diseases.
If regenerative medicine sounds new and different, that’s because it is. When compared to other practices that have been around for decades or centuries, regenerative medicine is a relatively new field that brings together experts in biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering, genetics, medicine, robotics, and nanotechnology to find solutions to some of humanity’s most challenging medical problems.
Benefits of Regenerative Medicine
From new findings with stem cell research and platelet-rich plasma to stunning evolutions in tissue engineering and artificial organs, regenerative medicine benefits are constantly evolving and expanding. Some of the most common benefits reported by patients of regenerative medicine include:
- Chronic pain relief without painkillers
- Better results for healing stubborn injuries
- Improved health in joints, tendons, and ligaments
- Rejuvenation of skin health and regrowing of hair
- Improved health and pain relief without harmful side effects
- Fewer unwanted health outcomes caused by musculoskeletal injuries and degenerative diseases
That is by no means a complete list, but it provides insight into the potential for significant and life-changing benefits from regenerative medicine.
Types of Regenerative Medicine
Tissue Engineering and Biomaterials
Regenerative medicine is a rapidly expanding field, including a wide variety of healthcare services, from stem cell work and platelet-rich plasma injections to tissue engineering and biomaterials.
Tissue engineering is one of the most exciting areas of regenerative health. Quoting the University of Pittsburgh, “Tissue engineering is a strategy where biologically compatible scaffolds are implanted in the body at the site where new tissue is to be formed. If the scaffold is in the geometric shape of the tissue that needs to be generated, and the scaffold attracts cells the outcome is new tissue in the shape desired. If the newly forming tissue is subjected to exercise as it forms, the outcome can be new functional engineered issue.” This area of regenerative health could provide endless benefits to people who have suffered injuries, burns, auto accidents, and severe skin disorders.
Cellular Therapies
Regenerative medicine also utilizes advanced cellular technology to promote anything from skin rejuvenation to more rapid wound healing or improved joint function.
The human body uses stem cells to repair itself, and a significant part of regenerative medicine involves harnessing the power of stem cells. Citing research from the University of Pittsburgh, “Studies have illustrated that if adult stem cells are harvested and then injected at the site of diseased or damaged tissue, reconstruction of the tissue is feasible under the right circumstances. These cells can be collected from blood, fat, bone marrow, dental pulp, skeletal muscle and other sources.” In addition to stem cells, regenerative medicine doctors can provide their patients with improved skin health and faster healing at injury sites using platelet-rich plasma injections.
Types of Regenerative Medicine
Medical Devices/Artificial Organs
In previous decades, organ failure meant a transplant was necessary, often putting patients on long waiting lists. But with new advances in regenerative medicine, devices are now available and constantly being improved that can either serve as a placeholder while a patient is on a waiting list or, in some cases, serve as an actual organ replacement. Quoting University of Pittsburgh research, “There are technologies in various stages of maturity, initially using ventricular assist devices (VADs) as a bridge to a heart transplant, and now there are VADs that are used for long-term circulatory support (destination therapy). Scientists and clinicians around the world are developing and evaluating devices to supplement or to replace the function of many organ systems including the heart, lung, liver and kidney.
Regenerative Medicine, the Next Step Forward in Medicine
Regenerative medicine can apply to a wide range of treatments. From simply providing new, platelet-rich blood to ailing tissues and tendons to creating and performing major organ replacement with an artificial organ, regenerative medicine may be the future to truly healing the body’s ailments rather than just treating symptoms. And wouldn’t most patients prefer a medical model that heals them rather than one that just treats symptoms? To see if regenerative medicine is a good fit for you, contact Foundations Health and Physical Medicine.