Every scientific advance is a shot of hope for humanity and its life expectancy. Today, all eyes are on the evolution of integrative medicine. Why is it so important? We'll tell you.
Working on self-healing is the starting point for the development of regenerative medicine, that is, under the premise that the body uses its own systems for the regeneration of damaged tissues and organs, avoiding the side effects of traditional treatments.
But what is it? Juan Pedro Lapuente Fernández, a specialist in regenerative medicine and president of the Spanish Society of Bioengineering and Tissue Regeneration, defines it as "a new medical specialty based on knowledge of the biology and physiology of stem cells, of the stromal fractions that contain them, and even of small signaling proteins such as cytokines, chemokines, growth factors and even small fractions of RNA called micro RNA that will become the basis of new gene therapies."".
Regenerative medicine “It is practiced through techniques that use autologous tissues (blood or cells from oneself) that promote healing and repair of the affected tissue. Although it is considered the medicine of the future, it is widely used today, and is very effective for preventing certain diseases.“, adds Dr. Gonzalo Yamauchi, a family medicine specialist and president of the Latin American Association of Musculoskeletal Medicine (LAOM).
Advantages of regenerative medicine
According to Dr. Lapuente Fernández, this will provide an effective and less expensive solution for the treatment of multiple diseases, and in others it will be used as an adjuvant therapy. “The term cheap must be understood in two senses, the pure economic reduction by achieving a reduction in direct pharmaceutical costs, and on the other hand as a scientific reduction, in the sense of being a medicine practically devoid of side effects,” adds the specialist.
Some of the benefits, according to the portal bioxcellerator.com, specialized in regenerative medicine and stem cells, are:
- It has little chance of being rejected by the body.
- It is an alternative treatment for medical conditions such as degenerative diseases, which do not have effective traditional pharmacological therapies.
- Stem cells offer treatments with a significant possibility of recovery and improvement of life expectancy and quality of life.
- It can reverse or slow the progression of the disease.
- Stem cells from adipose tissue and bone marrow are obtained through low-risk, outpatient procedures, under local anesthesia.
- It can be used for rejuvenation or anti-aging treatments.
Finally, although it seems to be a recent and novel medicine, the truth is that studies have been carried out in this field since the 1970s, providing the entire basis of knowledge. And in recent years it has evolved more quickly, increasing its degree of effectiveness and efficiency, according to Dr. Juan Pedro Lapuente.
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