In the second quarter of 2018, regenerative medicine companies raised more than $4.1 billion; a 164% increase compared to the year before.

Over 977 clinical trials around the world are testing regenerative therapies to explore new treatment options. Of these, more than half are trying to discover a treatment for cancer.

The rising popularity in regenerative therapy is helping to improve our natural healing process, evade disease, and reduce the effects of aging.

Interested in learning more? Keep reading to learn all about regenerative therapy and how this cutting-edge treatment can help your health!

What is Regenerative Therapy?

Let’s start with the basics: what exactly is regenerative therapy?

This form of medicine was created to replace organs or tissue damaged by trauma, disease, or a congenital issue. Unlike current clinical studies, regenerative medicine goes beyond treating symptoms.

Regenerative therapy involves cellular therapies, tissue engineering, and the use of medical devices or artificial organs.

Together, these approaches can improve our body’s current healing process. Regenerative therapy also allows doctors to focus the body’s healing abilities where it’s needed most. It’s also used to take over the function of a specific organ after injury or permanent failure.

When our bodies are injured or riddled with disease, our immune system kicks in to heal and defend our cells. Using regenerative medicine, doctors can accelerate this response to help us heal faster and better than before.

As a result, doctors can find methods for healing otherwise permanently damaged organs and tissues.

What once sounded like science fiction is now a promising medical field. In fact, regenerative medicine combines a number of existing fields, including:

• Biology
• Chemistry
• Computer science
• Robotics
• Medicine
• Genetics
• Engineering

Together, experts in each of these fields can develop medical solutions to health concerns such as Alzheimer’s disease and cancer.

Types of Regenerative Medicine

There are a few different concentrations in the field of regenerative medicine. Each field allows regenerative therapy to heal and benefit the body in new and exciting ways.

Tissue & Biomaterials

One of the current forms of regenerative therapy is tissue engineering. Using this strategy, scientists create scaffolds that are a biological match for the patient. The scaffolds are then implanted into the body where new tissue is needed.

Creating the scaffold into the geometric shape of the needed tissue will allow new tissue to form in that shape. As the tissue attracts cells, exercising the tissue can help form new, functional, scientifically engineered tissue.

Millions of patients have received treatment using tissue-engineered devices.

These devices can help regenerate ligaments and tendons. They’re also effective for treating athletes who have experienced damage to the rotator cuff. Since rotator cuff tears are common among adults, this treatment option can help many patients by improving their recovery time.

Many of these cases involved soft tissue regeneration. In addition to improving surgical outcomes, a biocompatible scaffold can also ease a patient’s pain and discomfort.

Cellular Therapies

Another type of regenerative therapy is stem cell therapy.

Every individual has millions of adult stem cells throughout their bodies. We need these stem cells to repair ourselves from disease and damage. These cells are often collected from dental pulp, skeletal muscle, blood, fat, and bone marrow.

Adult stem cells are also found in cord blood.

Harvesting these adult stem cells, then injecting them at the site of diseased and/or damaged tissue, can help the tissue reconstruct itself.

Scientists and clinicians are currently working on new ways to improve how they prepare harvested stem cells. These new methods will improve the process that allows tissue repair.

Devices & Artificial Organs

When organ failure occurs, doctors usually search for a donor with a matching blood type to donate a replacement organ. However, the number of available replacement organs is scarce. Patients receiving the replacement organ also need to take immunosuppression drugs.

Unfortunately, these drugs come with a list of side effects.

Meanwhile, the patient has to struggle to survive with a failing organ. As a result, there’s a limited amount of time available for doctors to find a suitable organ.

To remedy this issue, scientists are creating new methods for developing artificial organs.

There are also new technologies available to provide an interim strategy while patients wait for a new organ. For example, some technologies can help support or supplement the failing organ’s functions until the replacement is available.

These technologies can keep the human body alive in time for a heart, lung, liver, or kidney transplant.

As scientists develop new technologies and techniques, they’re able to extend human life and improve the healing process.

The Importance of Regenerative Therapy

Today, regenerative therapy is used around the world to help prevent or cure disease and injury. A few such cases include:

• Vision and hearing loss
• Osteoarthritis
• Strokes
• Burns
• Alzheimer’s disease
• Muscular dystrophy
• Spinal cord injury
• Heart disease
• Parkison’s disease
• Type 1 diabetes

The FDA has approved a number of regenerative therapy products. Some of these approved uses include improving:

• The appearance of the nasolabial fold
• Cartilage defects from trauma
• Topical mucogingival conditions
• Leg and diabetic foot ulcers
• Hematopoietic and immunological reconstitution after myeloablative treatment
• Diabetic foot ulcers
• Periodontal defects
• Tibia nonunions

The Army has started using regenerative medicine to help wounded soldiers as well. Army surgeons have successfully used regenerative therapy to replace severely burned skin and transplant new hands or faces for their soldiers. This includes 13 hand transplants and eight face transplants.

At Duke University, researchers are studying zebrafish to discover how to regenerate severed human spinal cords.

These clinical trials are essential for expanding the capabilities of regenerative medicine. In addition to improving damaged or diseased tissue, these methods also improve the quality of life for sick patients around the world.

Getting Ahead of The Healing Process: The Amazing Abilities of Regenerative Therapy

Improve the body’s natural healing process with regenerative medicine. The technologies behind regenerative therapy are still growing, offering new solutions to medical problems we face every day.

Still curious? Explore the Interesting Facts section of the blog for more cool content!