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Post by gerald on Oct 9, 2016 14:19:42 GMT -5
I think this is one avenue of research that we have been waiting for, the ability to generate new lungs from our stem cells. It would eliminate a lot of the downside of transplants and rejections. -------------------------------- New device for growing replacement lungs The idea of developing artificial lungs for organ donation remains a goal for the medical establishment, given that a high proportion of people die due to the scarcity of available lungs. A new technique brings this closer. The idea of growing replacement lungs, grown from the cells of the person who needs them, in a laboratory and then transferring these into the patient falls within the field of regenerative medicine. This could come about by using a patient’s own cells to create new organs in decellularized scaffolds. To achieve this a device would be required to hold the lungs and allow them to grow. This is the basis of studies conducted at Yale University. The study to date has been a proof of concept one: to see if lungs can be grown and held under stable conditions. According Dr. Sam Brickman Raredon “It’s a thought experiment. How can you replicate the lungs in a human body?” The researcher then adds, in conversation with Biotechnqiues, “The most important thing for developing successful organ culture is very careful manual work. It's like surgery; how you handle the organ is critical, and it can be hard to replicate results, so the next step is to incorporate automation This has taken the form of a bioreactor, and in trials rat and pig lungs have been supported of a period of over 24 hours. The bioreactor not only preserves lungs for a far greater period than has previously been possible, it can also be used for organ regeneration. The bioreactor contains culture media and it achieves preservation through control of environmental conditions, such as pH, and it prevents microbial contamination. The lung is kept active through the control of breathing and perfusion, which are necessary for maintaining tissue integrity. More details are shown in this video: The reason that considerable investment and research has gone into this area is because current organ transplantation has a very narrow time window, assuming that there are suitable lungs for transplantation available at a particular point in time. The next phase will move beyond rat lungs and test human lungs using a larger reactor. The research to date has been published in the journal BioResearch Open Access. The research is titled “Culture Reactor for Whole-Lung Engineering. www.digitaljournal.com/life/health/growing-bio-lungs-for-organ-donation/article/476701 |
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Post by jarca on Oct 9, 2016 17:31:23 GMT -5
interesting; I wonder if they use the patients own cells if there would be the risk of growing a diseased lung? & if it could work in to something that a healthy person could donate their cells to grow a lung & then the lung grown for healthy cells be used to transplant. I'm thinking along the terms of close family members being the donors to help lower the rejection possibilities (like bone marrow Or giving a kidney) It seems like it definitely has a lot of potential if it works. Of course I also thought that using pig embryos to grow healthy human organs was possible too, but I guess that has ceased due to it being thought of as inhumane. ps. I love hearing about the new technology that is trying to help people with terminal illnesses, it keeps my brain active thinking of the possibilities & it also is nice to know that researchers haven't given up on us  ty gerald for all the interesting information that you post. You find some very interesting stuff & I like that it is all in an easy to understand format. (when i search internet I always seem to find "scholarly" journals that are hard to understand. ) |
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Post by gerald on Oct 9, 2016 23:04:22 GMT -5
Jarca, I have often wondered about transplants in general. If the disease is in the body then the new lungs would get attacked the same as the old. However, one of the items with transpalnt is the anti rejection drugs which mediates the immune system.
Given that there is some evidence that COPD may be an auto-immune disease that anti-rejection drugs may stop the damage.
I have wondered if the anti-rejection drugs would eliminate the COPD without the transplant by modifying the immune system!
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Post by bluebird on Oct 10, 2016 14:50:50 GMT -5
Gerald, an interesting article. But even more interesting is your comment about anti-rejection drugs fighting off an auto-immune disease (if copd is one? What is this disease? I seem to become more and more confused, the more I read). I often wonder about the inflammatory response that is a part of copd research. I have always had medical issues that are the result of (or caused by?) inflammation, IBS, ulcerative colitis, endometriosis as a young woman, and I'm sure there have been others.
Is the body's response to inflammation why some smokers get copd and others don't?Perhaps even alpha 1 is triggered by inflammation? Also, since I'm a confused copd patient, is the response to inflammation a target for the immune system? Do I make sense to anyone? Or could others share their knowledge or thoughts?
Looking forward to some layman and patient expertise....thanks
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Post by gerald on Oct 11, 2016 12:59:35 GMT -5
Bluebird, you questions and pondering are very interesting. I fight with the issue of what COPD is because all we ever see is a list of symptoms, and no definition. The attempts to define the disease seems to have usually uncovered another disease under the COPD umbrella ( I think we are up to 5 now). However, they appear to be better defining Emphyzema and Chronic Bronchitis (the two oldest definitions) and potentially understanding what may make them up.
Alpha 1 is a supposed to be genetic disorder. I recall 30-40 years ago, people would died of emphyzema quite young, short duration. I suspect this is what we now know as Alpha 1. Many were non smokers etc.
From my simplistic understanding. As far as I can tell, from the research, inflamation is present within every body. The issue appears to be how the bodies immune system deals with the inflamation. By definition white blood cells flow to an injured/damaged site to protect and kill of what is causing the inflamation. In those people with auto immune disorders there is something faulty with the mechanism that turns off the inflamation and in what tells the white blood cells to stop killing "inflected cells". The result is the inflamation stays and the cell destruction begins to affect health cells. The damage and scarring lead to a disease/condition. This also can render to body succeptible to cancers in some cases.
That is my 2 cents. The research seems to be split between understanding the causes/effect and potentially how to correct it. And research into the field of how to mitigate the damage and injury. Of course the big money is going into mitigate and repair as that is where all of the prescriptions lie!
I would be interesting in hearing other peoples opinions.
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Post by jarca on Oct 12, 2016 22:38:22 GMT -5
Good point Gerald.
The new Pulm I went to last year wanted me to try Immunosuppresant drugs (Imuran) because I'm allergic to steroids.
She said that it would not be a "cure" my emphysema, but it could slow down the progression.
When I looked up the medication, it was very expensive & also had many of the side effects that taking prednisone every day would have.
She also wanted me to take a medication that has been released to "cure" Pulmonary Fibrosis (PF) called "Esbriet" (pirfenidone). That medication seemed to be helping the people with PF that didn't get so sick from the side effects that they could take it. (now that is an absurdly expensive drug! ---9 pills a day came to around 7,000 or 8,000 bucks a month if i remember right)
She did teach me that it is when I have an exacerbation that both of my diseases progress. (which i kinda knew as each time i get sick i seem to never get back where i was before sick).
My PCP getting me on antibiotics fast has helped slow down the progression for me. She was also the 1st Dr. I have gone to that explained that people with lung diseases are not "normal" and that the "wait & see" approach to starting antibiotics doesn't apply to me (us).
I have anti-biotics on hand to take at the first sign of my lungs not feeling right. .....
Oh, and because I am allergic to steroids, I take a daily anti-inflammatory (celebrex) and when i'm sick i take it twice a day.
this is just me & my opinion. Each person needs to work with their Dr. on what may be best for them.
I'd love to hear if others have had their Dr's want to start them on Immunosuppressant medications----or if you have asked your Dr to put you on them, & what your dr said?
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