Scientists attempt to repair human bladders with patient’s own cells
Story originally posted on September 24, 2005
For some time now both my husband and I have hypothesized about the idea of creating a new bladder or recreating an existing bladder with new cells, either from the person who is undergoing the treatment (procedure) them self or from a foreign host, such as (the controversial topic of) stem cells. Of course I don’t mean that we are creating bladders in petri dishes, no, sadly neither of us is a professional biologist or geneticist, but that the scientific possibility for this sort of procedure could exist.
Not only could this (potentially) help but the IC community, but indeed those suffering from other types of chronic bladder conditions, perhaps even bladder cancer (please note that having IC does not appear to put you at a higher risk of developing bladder cancer).
Just this week I have read of a company in the States that is attempting to create new human bladders from the autologous cells of the patients themselves. In fact they are attempting to make pediatric bladders for infants/children, specifically those with spina bifida. To quote the article, “Tengion's goal is to use regenerative medicine to enable people with organ and tissue failure to lead healthier lives without donor transplants or the side effects of current therapies. “
Please, I urge you all to read this article. While it does not go into great depth about the “ins and outs” of how this remarkable medical procedure would work it does outline the basics and states that beyond spina bifida they hope that one day, should this experiment (procedure) prove feasible, that it could be implemented for other types of bladder problems.
This is incredible technology that we are talking about here. And though it is not in place yet, one can’t help but get the feeling that in the very near future the ability to regenerate new organs (including bladders!) is not far off. Just imagine how that could help patients with advanced IC, such as those who’s treatment choices are virtually gone and they are staring bladder augmentation or cystectomy in the face. I do hope that this type of medical technology will come to the light of day, especially for all the lives it could potentially save, and pain it could eradicate.
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