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Tissue engineered bladders implanted....

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  • Tissue engineered bladders implanted....

    Here come synthetic organs. Wake Forest University has started implanting lab-grown bladders in patients;



    U.S. doctors have successfully implanted bladders grown in the laboratory into patients with bladder disease. These custom bladders grew from the patients' own bladder cells on a specially shaped mold. The surgeons hope to use the technique to repair or replace other complex internal organs.

    Seven youths aged four to 19 are the first beneficiaries of new bladders engineered by Dr. Anthony Atala and colleagues at Wake Forest University in North Carolina. "In terms of actually engineering a complex construct that we engineer outside the body and then we implant inside the body, this is really the first time we have been able to do that," he said.

    The youthful patients Dr. Atala treated had congenital bladder disease that caused unnaturally high pressures inside the organ. This problem can damage the kidney, which produces the urine passed by the bladder.

    Traditional bladder reconstruction usually involves grafts from the small intestine or stomach. But the use of such tissue can cause complications because it is different from bladder tissue. Intestinal or stomach tissue absorbs liquids, while the bladder is designed to excrete them.
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    Dr. Atala says his laboratory at Wake Forest University is studying the procedures for growing new bladders for possible use with other internal organs. "Currently we are working on several other projects, including regeneration of cardiac muscle, liver, pancreas, nerve, kidney, blood vessels," he said.

    A U.S. company formed to market the bladder construction technique, Tengion, plans to apply later this year for U.S. government approval for larger clinical tests.
    Dr. Mordrid
    Dr. Mordrid
    ----------------------------
    An elephant is a mouse built to government specifications.

    I carry a gun because I can't throw a rock 1,250 fps

  • #2
    Sweet, I want one.

    edit: err, not implying i NEED a new one, but it would be cool to have few extra organs on hand if I needed them
    Q9450 + TRUE, G.Skill 2x2GB DDR2, GTX 560, ASUS X48, 1TB WD Black, Windows 7 64-bit, LG M2762D-PM 27" + 17" LG 1752TX, Corsair HX620, Antec P182, Logitech G5 (Blue)
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