Science Friday: Medical News

Two articles and a link to MIT's Technology Review's Biomedicine page below

Patient’s Own Stem Cells Used To Grow Facial Bones

October 22nd, 2009 by keith kleiner

A 14 year old boy’s missing facial bones have been regrown with the help of his own stem cells. The procedure, led by Jesse Taylor, MD, a surgeon and researcher at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, represents the culmination of years of work that first began on pigs. The technology appears to be general enough that it may have the potential to grow almost any bone in the human body, possibly revolutionizing treatment for tens of millions of people across the world suffering from severe bone disorders or damage. The procedure represents one of a growing slate of successes that are moving stem cells from pie in the sky dreams to real world therapies. See the video at the end of this post. [...]

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Method To Repair Damaged Adult Nerves Discovered

Researchers have discovered a promising method to regrow damaged nerves in adults. Brain and spinal-cord injuries typically leave people with permanent impairment because the injured nerve fibers (axons) cannot regrow. A study from Harvard and Carleton University, published in the December 10 issue of the journal Neuron, shows that axons can regenerate vigorously in a mouse model when a gene that suppresses natural growth factors is deleted. Here is the journal article (subscription required to view more than the abstract).

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A lot more at MIT's Technology Review