Cell Therapy Approach Dramatically Enhances Success of Renal Dialysis in Acute Care Settings, According to Paper Presented at Third Annual Conference on Regenerative Medicine.Business Editors & Health/Medical Writers BIOWIRE2K WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 4, 2002 In a dramatic demonstration of the power of cell therapy to regenerate biological function and facilitate repair of damage and injured tissue, H. David Humes, M.D., speaking at the Third Annual Conference on Regenerative Medicine, today presented preliminary results showing the ability of a biohybrid kidney to save lives in seriously ill A patient is seriously ill when his or her illness is of such severity that there is cause for immediate concern but there is no imminent danger to life. See also very seriously ill. patients suffering from acute renal failure acute renal failure Acute kidney failure Nephrology An abrupt decline in renal function, triggered by various processes–eg, sepsis, shock, trauma, kidney stones, drug toxicity-aspirin, lithium, substances of abuse, toxins, iodinated radiocontrast. . The conference was presented by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. (www.liebertpub.com). Dr. Humes, Professor of Internal Medicine-Nephrology at the University of Michigan (body, education) University of Michigan - A large cosmopolitan university in the Midwest USA. Over 50000 students are enrolled at the University of Michigan's three campuses. The students come from 50 states and over 100 foreign countries. , and colleagues devised a strategy for the temporary replacement of kidney function in acutely ill patients. More than half of patients with acute renal failure die despite treatment. The researchers devised a Renal Assist Device (RAD) that relies on renal stem and precursor cells to replace normal kidney function. The cells enhance conventional hemodialysis strategies, filtering the blood to remove waste products, assisting in metabolic and endocrine functions, and enabling normal urine production. Initial results of a recently completed phase I/II clinical trial of RAD clearly demonstrate improvement of the patients' clinical course. Within hours of treatment, some patients with only 10% chance of survival began to show improvement in their blood pressure and urine output. Even patients with multi-organ failure survived and regained normal kidney function. "We have treated severely ill patients with acute kidney failure Acute Kidney Failure Definition Acute kidney failure occurs when illness, infection, or injury damages the kidneys. Temporarily, the kidneys cannot adequately remove fluids and wastes from the body or maintain the proper level of certain and multiple organ failure with predicted mortality exceeding 80%, and among the first ten patients we have seen substantial survival rates," says Dr. Humes. "The early results are compelling in terms of the improvement we saw in patients' conditions and in their discharge from the hospital." "Dr. Humes' studies represent an imaginative combination of mechanical and cell therapies that provide a lifesaving intervention in the treatment of patients with multiple organ failure who have a very high risk of death," says William A. Haseltine, Ph.D., Conference Chair and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Human Genome Sciences Human Genome Sciences NASDAQ: HGSI is a biopharmaceutical corporation founded in 1992. Its stated purpose is to "discover, develop, manufacture and market innovative drugs that serve patients with unmet medical needs, with a primary focus on protein and antibody drugs. , Inc. The biohybrid kidney, incorporating a stem cell-base RAD, offers the possibility to replace kidney function, stabilizing patients in acute kidney failure while their damaged kidneys undergo natural repair and regeneration. During the three-day conference, sponsored by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. and Genetic Engineering News, leading researchers from around the world presented cutting-edge research in the fields of stem cells stem cells, unspecialized human or animal cells that can produce mature specialized body cells and at the same time replicate themselves. Embryonic stem cells are derived from a blastocyst (the blastula typical of placental mammals; see embryo), which is very young and therapeutic cloning therapeutic cloning n. A procedure in which damaged tissues or organs are repaired or replaced with genetically identical cells that originate from undifferentiated stem cells. , tissue engineering, artificial organs artificial organs, n.pl the devices used to support life because of the failure or limited capacity of the human organ. The most effective is the artificial kidney, which consists of a set of tubes that pass the blood through a dialysate solution where , and neuroregeneration. |
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