The human body is a miraculous thing. When you hurt yourself or get sick with a cold, it heals and in a few weeks’ time, it’s like nothing ever happened. However, the human body does have its limitations. While it will heal itself when you scrape your knee or cut your finger, it has a harder time with other diseases, injuries, and age-related conditions. It cannot, for instance, regrow lost hair or erase scars. In those instances, it needs a little extra help with regenerative medicine treatments.
What is regenerative medicine?
Regenerative medicine rose in popularity during the 1990s. It seeks to replace damaged tissue or organs through engineering, cellular therapies, and more. Regenerative medicine is in stark contrast to most other treatments as it seeks to replace damaged tissue rather than simply treating the symptoms of a disease or injury.
Regenerative medicine treatments can vary, but in general, there are three concentrations:
Tissue Engineering and Biomaterials
With tissue engineering, doctors create biomaterials called scaffolds (3D-printed items made from metals, ceramics, and/or polymers) and shape them into the tissue that needs to be generated. They then insert the scaffolds into the body to attract cells and fuel tissue growth.
Medical Devices and Artificial Organs
In some cases, organs have been damaged so much it is near impossible to repair them. Doctors will usually suggest a transplant, but sometimes a replacement organ cannot be found in time. As such, regenerative medicine treatments can use ventricular assist devices (VADs) to help support failing organs until a replacement is found.
Cellular Therapies
The average adult has millions of stem cells. These cells help the body to repair itself. With cellular therapies, stem cells and grouped and injected into damaged areas of the body to help fuel new tissue growth. Stem cells can be taken from various areas of the body including the blood, fat, bone marrow, and more. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is one kind of cellular therapy.
Dr. Kirit Kothari offers PRP therapies for pain, hair loss, and more. To learn more about his regenerative medicine treatments, schedule a consultation with him today.
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