Regenerative Medicine: Re-growing Teeth and Healing Wounds Without Scars
Written by Patrick Keeffe | Published on January 25, 2017
Scientists in two countries announced these medical breakthroughs this month as regenerative medicine continues to gain traction.
Medical science may be about to achieve two things once thought impossible.
One is re-growing teeth, something that would eliminate the need for dental fillings.
The other is healing surgical wounds without leaving scars, a process that involves using a drug designed to treat Alzheimer’s disease.
Teams of scientists in England and the United States, following years of research with mice, announced these discoveries this month.
They hope to begin clinical trials soon.
No more scars?
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine say they have discovered a way to manipulate wounds to heal as regenerated, normal skin rather than as unsightly scar tissue.
The scientists transformed the most common type of cells found in wounds into fat cells. This had been considered impossible to accomplish in humans.
The research team conducted a large, multiyear study in collaboration with the Plikus Laboratory for Developmental and Regenerative Biology at the University of California, Irvine.
They published their findings in early January in the journal Science.
“We can manipulate wound healing so that it leads to the regeneration of normal skin without scars,” said Dr. George Cotsarelis, who chairs the Department of Dermatology at Penn, and is the Milton Bixler Hartzell Professor of Dermatology, and principal investigator of the project.