Miracle Powder Regrows Fingers, Now Thigh Muscle for Marine

Regenerative Medicine

It was only a year ago that ACell’s “miracle powder” was sprinkled on amputated fingers and shown to stimulate the regeneration of fingertips. The world was both awed and skeptical of the powder’s regenerative power, touting that it would revolutionize regenerative medicine or calling it was quack science.
A fingertip is one thing. A thigh, quite another.

Wow, what a break-thru! What was once considered 'quack' science is becoming a reality. It seems this is just in it's infancy too, and that different tissues have different characteristics to consider.

Enter Dr. Stephen Badylak, Director of Tissue Engineering at the University of Pittsburg’s McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine. Dr. Badylak and colleagues offered Corporal Hernandez an alternative to amputation: regrow the muscle. The key to this seemingly miraculous procedure is a material obtained from pig bladders. As the material’s name, the extracellular matrix implies, it is the mix of chemicals that fills the space surrounding the body’s cells. It’s a complex mixture of hormones, structural proteins, and other molecules that maintain the health and function of the cells, as well as mediates cell-to-cell communication. It also guides tissue growth. Following an intense physical therapy program to strengthen the 30 percent of muscle he had left, doctors made an incision deep into Hernandez’s thigh and applied the extracellular matrix. Instead of a powder like ACell’s, Dr. Badylak’s group turned the material into a gel form. “You can’t use a powder to replace a tendon,” remarked Dr. Badylak. It went to work, spurring not only the growth of muscle tissue but tendons, as he mentioned, and the proper vasculature as well. About six weeks after the surgery the Marine began to feel his strength returning. What’s more, he saw muscle bulking up in the area that the extracellular matrix had been applied. “I used to have a hard time walking and going up and down stairs,” he told Purdue alumnus magazine in a feature story on star alum Dr. Badylak. “I can pretty much walk and do stairs fine now.”

70 % of his thigh muscle was removed, and muscle and tendons were regenerated. Pig bladders huh? Who'd a thought a single animal could provide so much, regenerative properties, heart valves and bacon!
6 weeks later the soldier had significant recovery and can now walk 'fine.'

As Dr. Badylak and his colleagues know, every little bit helps. Their ‘MiracleGro For Muscles’ wasn’t always seen as such. Even after years of watching the extracellular matrix successfully morph into whatever tissue it was inserted into–from nerve cells to muscle and bone–the research stubbornly refused to get funded. As Dr. Badylak told the Purdue alumnus, “Nobody thought it was worth funding because it was such a crazy idea. Why would anyone want to put pig tissue in a human?” But profit-minded entrepreneurialism saved the day from pundit-advised conservatism. Eli Lilly and Co. and DuPuy, an orthopedic company in Indiana, put real money into the idea. With the help of drug company coffers Dr. Badylak’s research took off and eventually Washington came aboard. The current study that gave Corporal Hernandez much of his thigh back is a trial in collaboration with the U.S. government. As part of a $70 million government program for regenerative medicine, it’s hoped that Hernandez’s will be the first of many such success stories.

singularityhub.com...
Yea, it would be nice to see a large chunk of military spending be re-directed towards these issues, and it seems only fair that as much effort put forth in bringing destruction should be available to direct/related injuries as a result.
Man, this is real hope for all amputees, and the simplicity is amazing.

Peace,
spec

as much as i want to believe it....i just cant

Now if it could only regenrate brain cells.... my sister could use that

reply to post by Playto76

Me and her both! Touch'e

If this were true, we normal folk wouldn't be allowed to afford it, Big Pharm would soon own it, Monsanto would claim the process, it would be monitored by the FDA, controlled by the CDC, the Military would somehow reverse engineer and turn it into a WMD....

Or a variant of the same.

That is, if it were true.

I'm a little sour today but SnF!

That doesn't sound Kosher or Halal.

GM

Well now, if this is the real deal , then that is surely one of the most amazing advances in medical science ever. I wonder how fast acting this crap could be made to be, if we could unlock the mystery of its function.

reply to post by speculativeoptimist

Originally posted by Grey Magic
That doesn't sound Kosher or Halal.

GM

Who cares about Kosher or Halal or whatever else. This REGROWS body parts. I dont care if nutty folks call it non-kosher or the freakin' anti-christ, it regrows body parts for crying out loud!!!

Who cares if its "Kosher"?

SILLY superstitions!!

reply to post by speculativeoptimist


Sort of skimmed the information about the "powder" and if true how does it work? and how long does it take for the limbs to grow back? seems to me that it would take a bit of time for a body part to fully regenerate...and do you need to keep the "miracle" applied on the area at all times?

If it can regrow limbs could it....

1) be used as an anti aging cream?
2) regrow damaged internal organs?
3) be used on plants and crops to either support growth or repair damage by insects.

This sounds exciting but....still skeptical on if its true..... maybe its based on "Alien" tech

I see people using this to get bigger sex organs,... Hey!!! can you make the opposite one for black people, its not fair!

reply to post by Gloster


hrm...not sure this makes things "bigger" or "smaller" but I suppose its possible with the right reverse engineering.

Has anyone else noticed that these supposed "leaps" and "breakthroughs" are coming fast and furious? Am I now so cynical in thinking "I wonder how long have they known about these things"?

Probably a long time seeing how old all TPTB seem to live....

Thanks OP. It will he interesting to see if this comes to Market anytime soon.

reply to post by pplrnuts


Since I'm not Jewish or Muslim I don't care, as long as they don't have to use bacon to make the stuff, but my post was more meant as sarcasm, just like this one.

They will probably make one from a cow in the future.

ACell (the makers of the powder) have a website:

ACell - "Pull My Finger" repair powder

Looks like stem cell research, but also looks like the real deal.

I remember hearing about this awhile ago and it sounded suspect to say the least but there was enough evidence to show there is something behind it.

University page on the Dr.

His lab.


Looks promising.

reply to post by boncho


Quickly found an editorial of a plastic surgeon who says, basically, big pharma and government is one of the reasons there are not more people using this.

Link here.


And continuing:

Here is the Acell .pdf, which looks almost like a joke. But a lot of plastic surgery (or specialized medicine) does come off that way sometimes.

I think no matter what, this is one to keep looking out for.

Originally posted by pplrnuts

Originally posted by Grey Magic
That doesn't sound Kosher or Halal.

GM

Who cares about Kosher or Halal or whatever else. This REGROWS body parts. I dont care if nutty folks call it non-kosher or the freakin' anti-christ, it regrows body parts for crying out loud!!!

Who cares if its "Kosher"?

SILLY superstitions!!

edit on 16-7-2011 by pplrnuts because: (no reason given)

Well, Muslims and Jews would to be honest. (That's not a dig at either of them).

I am just wondering how many amputees would convert if this powder was widespread in use. (That's a dig)

I wonder what would happen if you put some Miracle Powder in the toilet papper, it would be a bad joke right? ...............would it grow a finger too...

This is possible.My father lost half of his pinky and ring finger during a gun fight while serving in the mexican army in the mid 80's.When i was about 7 he showed me a couple of pictures of the severed fingers and what not.He tells me doctors on a base that was in southern zacatecas treated him using a yellowish,rough powder and a red syrup-like substance.His fingers are of normal length now,everything is normal except his nails never grew back.