Good news from the world of medicine:
Scientists reported on Tuesday that that they have grown new blood vessels from two patients' own skin. Best of all, the method doesn't involve stem cells and therefore does not raise ethical or political concerns.
"Two kidney dialysis patients from Argentina have received the world's first blood vessels grown in a lab dish from snippets of their own skin, a promising step toward helping people with a variety of diseases."
Doctors hope the technique will offer a new source of arteries and veins for diabetics with poor circulation and patients of heart bypass or dialysis. About 40,000 children born with defective blood vessels are also prospects.
The process currently takes six to nine months, but scientists expect to find ways to speed it up. The blood vessels will soon be tested in diabetics and heart patients in Argentina and England, and FDA approval will be sought for tests in the United States next year.
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Keywords: blood vessels, diabetes, breakthrough
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