One of the great discoveries of mankind is how stem cells play an important role in human health.
I happen to came across this article today, on the Star newspaper. After reading this article, I could never been more inspired and moved by Dr Ranjit and Dr Saw's success in using stem cells to regenerate our human body cartilage.
Before I lost you guys, do allow me to explain. What is a cartilage?
In layman terms, cartilage is that white tough coating you will come across with every time you chow down a chicken drumstick. It is right at the end of the bones that will produce all the munching CRICK CRACK CRICK CRACK noise whenever you chew on it.
But medically,
It is a tough, elastic, fibrous connective tissue found in various parts of the body, such as the joints, outer ear, and larynx. There are three different types: hyaline cartilage, elastic cartilage, and fibrocartilage. This tissue serves to provide structure and support to the body's other tissues without being as hard or rigid as bone. It can also provide a cushioning effect in joints.
Another question you guys might ask, Why is it such a significant event to heal cartilage in the human body?
Well basically, it is because this type of permanent tissue is avascular, meaning that it is not supplied by blood vessels; instead,nutrients diffuse through the matrix. When tissues are not supplied by blood vessels, it is less likely for it to heal by itself since all the "HEALING FACTORS" could not be transported to the site of injury.
Quoting from the article,
“Cartilage basically does not heal,” Dr Hubert Kim, director of the Cartilage Repair and Regeneration Center at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Medical Center, is quoted as saying in an interview on the centre’s website.
Hence, severe cartilage injury per se, particularly in athletes could mark the end of their career. This situation was applied on Datuk Lee Chong Wei when he injured his right ankle. His outstanding performance during the Olympics came to everyone's surprise despite being wrote off his chances in doing well during the competition. The main reason behind all the glory was due to his stem cell injection treatment, that allowed him to heal quickly and perfectly.
Upon reading article as such, it reminds me one of the reasons why did I step foot into the Medical field. How there is so much more to be done yet with so little time left for mankind.
Dr Ranjit and Dr Saw left me in aw alongside a question in mind.
Since such healing power is made possible in cartilage albeit being a permanent muscle, is it possible for cardiac muscles(heart muscles) to share the same fate? Thus, this will greatly improve the prognosis for patients that had heart attacks, underwent heart transplantation? In other words, would this discovery make it possible to greatly reduce the morbidity and mortality of cardiovascular diseases?
Online newspaper article for this medical breakthrough could be found here
Miracles with Stem Cell
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