A "Holy Grail" Of Healing: Regenerating lost limbs? Yes.

[exigent]

You might become a believer in the power of magic dust, when you see how a special powder re-grew the tip of Lee Spievack's finger.

He sliced off a half inch of his finger in the propeller of a hobby shop airplane. His finger never even formed a scar.

"Your finger grew back flesh, blood, vessels and nail?" CBS News correspondent Wyatt Andrews reports.

"Four weeks," Spievak said.

Is this essentially what re-grew Spievak's finger.

This powder is a medical product called extracellular matrix. Made from pig bladders, it is a mix of protein and connective tissue surgeons often use to repair tendons.


http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/02/07/eveningnews/main3805318.shtml

Anyone heard of this yet?

[Grizz]

Saw that segment on ABC News last night. Had never heard of it before, but the pics of that guy's re-grown finger were amazing, particularly the little time it took for it to work. I do hope they mentioned that this is part and parcel of the entire field of stem cell research.

[underdawg]

That is pretty amazing. Be nice to regrow lost eyes, spinal chords, legs, etc someday.

[sam]

I didn't see the segment (I wish I had) but I'm surprised I haven't seen anything in the news regarding this powder. You're right Grizz, (your Avatar isnt Ben of the long ago tv series is it?} without stem cell research and it's potential to eliminate the suffering of so many diseases, I doubt this ever could have occurred.

Thanks for posting the link exigent.

[preservanation]

That is pretty amazing. Be nice to regrow lost eyes, spinal chords, legs, etc someday.

Sounds like you're in pretty bad shape...

[underdawg]

He he, not me, but if it did happen, it would be comforting to know that such things could be possible.

[Truth_and_Power]

That is pretty amazing. Be nice to regrow lost eyes, spinal chords, legs, etc someday.

Sounds like you're in pretty bad shape...


LOL

[Pookie]

Wow! That's really promising.
Purrs,
Pookie

[Buck Laser]

I've got a fingertip that I'm willing to put up for experimentation. I sacrificed it to the God of the Table Saw about five years ago, and I do kinda miss it. At the time, the doctor said that if I were 40, it would be worth trying to reattach, but at my age, it would only be an exercise in frustration.

Incidentally, since it's the left index fingertip, I use it as an excuse for the dumb typos that occasionally show up in my posts.

Seriously, I hope this offers real promise for people with much more debilitating losses than mine--could it point to a way even to regrow damaged internal organs, I wonder?