Renewing Humans-Regenerative medicine is set for explosive growth. Proponents believe that some of the advances in this field will evolve into therapeutic practices that will forever change healthcare.

摘要

A bout 2:30 pm on July 13, 2008, Darwin C. was on his Ducati motorcycle, heading home in the Chicago suburb of Elk Grove Village, when a car suddenly turned in front of him. Thrown from the bike, Darwin suffered a T4/T5 compression/ burst fracture-dislocation of his spine. What started as a quick trip to get some lunch ended in paraplegia. Darwin's prognosis was dispiriting. But regenerative therapies now being tested hold out some hope for improvement. Recent preclinical studies have shown that human stem cell transplants have restored motor function in mice with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI), and at least two phase 1/2 trials of stem cell therapies for SCI are now enrolling human patients. Several early-stage trials are also underway to test regenerative therapies for age-related macular degeneration, type 1 diabetes, cancer, Parkinson's disease, chronic wounds, and AIDS.