The process aims to extrapolate this capacity in the future to people in order to help them recover limbs amputated due to illness or an accident.
The process
With this breakthrough, US scientists are moving closer to making regenerative medicine a reality .
Working on the basis that adult frogs do not have the ability to regenerate their legs, researchers at Tufts University and the Wyss Institute at Harvard University linkedin database administered a combination of five drugs through a portable silicone bioreactor attached to their stump for 24 hours.
After 18 months, the frog's limb was "almost completely functional," according to scientists who followed the process.
The first phase after the loss of a limb is the formation of a mass of stem cells that will be used to gradually rebuild the damaged area .
The wound is covered by cells for 24 hours, protecting the tissue underneath.
In the human body, the only organ that has the capacity to regenerate is the liver, although it does have the capacity to grow new tissue after losing it to cover wounds.
Drugs administered
The silicone compound that adheres to the frogs' stump, called BioDome, envelops the wound and contains a kind of protein gel into which the five drugs are introduced.
The purpose of these drugs is to reduce inflammation, inhibit collagen production for healing, and promote the growth of nerve fibers, blood vessels, and muscle.
As the researchers explain, the regenerated limb could move, respond to stimuli and allow them to swim , in a manner similar to that of a normal frog.
The next step, according to Michael Levin, professor of synthetic biology and director of the Allen Center, will be to determine how to apply this treatment to mammals.
Finally, FUNIBER sponsors a variety of course opportunities for training in the area. Several of these programs are the Master's Degree in Nursing with a specialty in Health Management , the Doctorate in Public Health and the Master's Degree in Design, Management and Direction of International Cooperation Projects.
