Medical Advances: Designing Bodies in a Lab | Medical News and Health Information

Designing Life:
Part I: “Designing Bodies In a Lab” - Read about researchers Shay Soker, Ph.D., Joesph P. Vacanti, Ph.D. and others at such eminent institutions as Regenerative Medicine at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, Harvard, Cornell, Duke, and Boston University, who are doing such things as growing organs, limbs, wombs and skin in labs from a single cell, testing bacteria-resistant skin cells, and working to regenerate limbs for amputees, to name just a few of their leading-edge research activities.
Medical Advances: Designing Bodies in a Lab | Medical News and Health Information

Reported May 2, 2011
Medical Advances: Designing Bodies in a Lab -- Research Summary

BACKGROUND: According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human services, an average of 75 people receive organ transplants each day. An average of 20 people die each day waiting for transplants that do not happen because of the shortage of donated organs. Every 11 minutes, someone is added to the organ donation waiting list, so the list is always changing.

GROWING MINIATURE LIVERS: Researchers at the Institute for Regenerative Medicine at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center are the first to use human liver cells to successfully engineer miniature livers that function in a laboratory setting just like human livers. The hope is that once the organs are transplanted, they will maintain and gain function as they develop. The engineered livers are about an inch in diameter and weigh about .20 ounces. They would have to weigh about 1 pound to meet the minimum needs of the human body. To engineer the organs, scientists used animal livers that were treated with a mild detergent to remove all cells, leaving only the collagen or support structure. They then replaced the original cells with two types of human cells: immature liver cells known as progenitors and endothelial cells that line blood vessels. These cells were introduced into the liver skeleton through a large vessel that feeds a system of smaller vessels in the liver. Then, the liver was placed in a bioreactor -- special equipment that provides a constant flow of nutrients and oxygen throughout the organ. After a week, the scientists documented the progressive formation of human liver tissue as well as liver-associated function. They also observed cell growth inside the bioengineered organ.
(SOURCE: Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center)

ZEBRAFISH: Zebrafish are highly regenerative animals that are equipped to re-grow amputated fins; injured retinae; transected optic nerves and spinal cord; and resected heart muscle. Within two weeks of amputation, zebrafish can regenerate all of their tail fin. Investigators at Duke are studying the biology of the zebrafish's regenerative events in hopes of discovering new cellular mechanisms. These fish could also help scientists come up with ways to regenerate limbs for amputees. Years ago, these researchers found that zebrafish regenerate cardiac muscle after removal of 20 percent of the ventricle with little or no scarring.
(SOURCE: Duke University)

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Karen Richardson, Sr. Communications Manager
Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine
Winston-Salem, NC
krchrdsn@wfubmc.edu

Medical Advances: Designing Bodies in a Lab -- Research Summary | Medical News and Health Information

Part II. “Bionic Breakthroughs” - Hugh Herr, Ph.D., an associate professor and engineer at MIT, turned his tragedy of losing both legs into a mission by becoming the bionic man who builds bionic people. Learn about his release of the world’s first robotic ankle-foot prosthesis called iWalk, about the military making a prosthetic robotic arm controlled by the user’s thoughts, and how neuroscientists at the National Rehab Hospital in Washington, D.C. are using a robotic arm called the iLimb, which directs each finger to move.
Designing Life: Bionic Breakthroughs | Medical News and Health Information

Reported May 4, 2011
Designing Life: Bionic Breakthroughs -- Research Summary

BACKGROUND: In the United States, there are about 1.7 million people living with limb loss. About one out of every 200 people in this country has had an amputation. Most new amputations occur because of complications of the vascular system, especially from diabetes. These types of amputations are known as dysvascular. Rates of dysvascular amputations are rising. However, rates of cancer and trauma-related amputations are decreasing.

iWALK: The PowerFoot BiOM, made by iWalk, is the first bionic lower-leg system to replace lost muscle function and allow patients to walk without stressing the rest of the body. It relies on precision robotic engineering that actually powers the patient from one step to the next. The idea is the patient can walk with as little effort as possible. The BiOM is a bionic lower-leg system with reflexive powered plantar flexion that simulates the action of the ankle, Achilles tendon and calf muscles by propelling the amputee upwards and forwards during each step. The reflexive action in the BiOM performs net work on every step and returns 100 percent of the energy of a biological limb while accommodating for real time terrain changes.
(SOURCE: www.iwalkpro.com)

i-LIMB: The i-LIMB is the world's first fully articulating and commercially available bionic hand. The artificial limb looks and acts like a real human hand. The i-LIMB is controlled by a unique system that uses traditional two-input muscle signaling to open and close the hand's life-like fingers. This signal is picked up by electrodes that sit on the surface of the skin. Each individually powered finger can be quickly removed simply by removing one screw. It was developed using mechanical engineering techniques and is manufactured using high-strength plastics. The device is lightweight but robust. The i-LIMB is a commercially available device being used in the United States and Europe. Scientists at the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Washington DC and elsewhere are currently studying and testing the device.
(SOURCE: www.touchbionics.com) MORE

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Rahsaan Holley
The NRH Amputee Research Program
National Rehabilitation Hospital
Washington, DC
(202) 877-1000

Designing Life: Bionic Breakthroughs -- Research Summary | Medical News and Health Information

Part III. “Genes for Sale!” - Unbelievably, someone else now owns 20-percent of your genes. Biotech companies are grabbing up the patent rights to your genes, giving them sole control of any test, therapy or cure for certain diseases. Genetic professors Jim Evans from the University of North Carolina and Steven Salzberg at the University of Maryland agree that under the law you cannot patent nature. Even so, 10,000 human genes have been patented. Read the story to learn how much is owned by private companies and universities, and how the issue of patenting our genes is being played out in court.
Designing Life: Genes For Sale | Medical News and Health Information


Reported May 6, 2011
Designing Life: Genes For Sale! -- Research Summary

BACKGROUND: According to the National Cancer Institute, the BRCA1 and BRCA2 are human genes that belong to a class of genes known as tumor suppressors. Mutations of these genes have been linked to the development of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. BRCA1 stands for breast cancer susceptibility gene 1, and BRCA2 stands for breast cancer susceptibility gene 2. A woman's lifetime risk of developing breast and/or ovarian cancer is greatly increased if she inherits a harmful mutation in BRCA1 or BRCA2. Men with harmful BRCA1 mutations also have an increased risk of breast cancer and may have an increased risk of pancreatic cancer, testicular cancer and early-onset prostate cancer. However, male breast cancer, pancreatic cancer and prostate cancer appear to be more strongly associated with the BRCA2 gene mutations.

WHAT ARE THE RISKS? According to estimates, about 12 percent of women in the general population will develop breast cancer sometime during their lifetime compared to about 60 percent of women who have inherited a harmful mutation in BRCA1 or BRCA2. A woman who has inherited a harmful mutation in these genes is about five-times more likely to develop breast cancer than a woman who does not have such a mutation. Lifetime risk estimates for ovarian cancer among women in the general population show that 1.4 percent will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer compared to 15 to 40 percent of women who have a harmful BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation. (SOURCE: National Cancer Institute)

GENE PATENTING: According to the American Civil Liberties Union, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office grants patents on human genes, which means patent holders own the exclusive rights to those genetic sequences, their usage, and their chemical composition. Anyone who makes or uses a patented gene without permission of the patent holder is committing infringements and can be sued. Gene patents are granted for 20 years. Currently, Myriad Genetics, a private biotechnology company based in Utah, controls patents on the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. Because of its patents, Myriad has the right to prevent anyone else from testing, studying or even looking at the genes. The company also holds the exclusive rights to any mutations along those genes. A 2005 study found that nearly 20 percent of human genes are patented.

CONCERNS ABOUT GENE PATENTING: Many patients and doctors are concerned about the implications of gene patenting. Some argue that genes are naturally-occurring parts of the body -- not inventions. They say researchers identify genes, but they don't invent them. However, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has continued to issue gene patents on the basis that genetic sequences are "isolated and purified."

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

American Civil Liberties Union
http://www.aclu.org/free-speech/brca-genes-and-patents

Stephen Salzberg, Ph.D.
genome.fieldofscience.com

Designing Life: Genes For Sale! -- Research Summary | Medical News and Health Information