Not so long ago, the medical world was excited by discoveries in the field of a new application of induced pluripotent stem cells: scientists managed to grow cartilage tissue from them and begin laboratory experiments on its survival.
Cartilage tissue is considered the most vulnerable in the human body. She suffers from injuries, wears out with age, especially when it comes to the cartilage tissue of the joints.
And now the Basel scientists are reporting progress in replicating the cartilage tissue of the nasal septum and restoring the shape of the nose with artificial cartilage.
Why is the ability to restore cartilage tissue important
Non-melanoma skin cancer patients may be the first patients who most need the ability of doctors to grow cartilage tissue. This disease often affects the wings of the nose, and during the operation, surgeons are forced to remove part of the nasal cartilage along with the tumor.
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Previously, nose reshaping was done using grafts that the surgeon took from the patient's rib or ear. At the same time, it was possible to quite effectively restore the cosmetic shape of the nose, but this operation is very painful, very invasive, and requires several consecutive surgical interventions. In addition, complications often arise at the site of removal of a cancerous tumor when trying to place an implant.
What can stem cells do when creating cartilage tissue
The essence of induced pluripotent stem cells, which are used to grow cartilage tissue, is that they are able, under certain conditions, to transform into cells of any tissue due to epigenetic reprogramming. Depending on the conditions under which such cells are grown, the tissue that the surgeon needs, including cartilage, may well be obtained.
Scientists at the University of Basel attempted to extract cells from the cartilage in the patient's own nasal septum, then placed them on a special collagen membrane and grew new cartilage tissue, which was then transferred back. As a result of reconstructive surgery, several elderly patients with severe lesions of the nasal cartilage received a restoration of the shape of the nose. One year after the operation with laboratory-grown cartilage tissue, each of the patients was absolutely satisfied with the appearance of their nose and breathing capabilities, while no postoperative complications were observed in any of them.
A year after surgery with laboratory-grown cartilage tissue, each of the patients was absolutely satisfied with the appearance of their nose and breathing capabilities, while no postoperative complications were observed in any of them.
According to the observations of scientists, the transplanted cartilage tissue was quite successfully integrated with the rest of the patient's nasal cartilage. The laboratory method of growing the desired tissue helps to avoid several surgical interventions when restoring the shape of the nose, prevent complications after transplantation, and at the same time significantly improve the quality of life of the patient after surgery to remove part of the nasal cartilage.
Further research in this area will allow, as scientists suggest, to find the possibility of growing whole organs from induced pluripotent stem cells, which can successfully replace those damaged by the disease.
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