By Anita Srikameswaran and Tim Betler
A new
study has shown significant improvement in muscle strength and function in
three out of five men whose old injuries were surgically implanted with
extracellular matrix (ECM) derived from pig bladder.
“This
new study is the first to show replacement of new functional muscle tissue in
humans, and we’re very excited by its potential,” said senior investigator Stephen F.
Badylak, D.V.M., Ph.D., M.D.,
professor of surgery at Pitt and deputy director of the McGowan Institute, a
joint effort of Pitt and UPMC. “These are
patients who can’t walk anymore, can’t get out of a car, can’t get up and down
from a chair, can’t take steps without falling. Now we might have a way of
helping them get better.”
Watch the video above to learn more about the study. For
more information about the trial, which aims to enroll 40 participants, go to the study's website or call 412-624-5308.
The
U.S. Department of Defense’s Limb Salvage and Regenerative Medicine Initiative
and the Muscle Tendon Tissue Unit Repair and Reinforcement Reconstructive
Surgery Research Study is collaboratively managed by the Office of the
Secretary of Defense. The Initiative is focused on rapidly and safely
transitioning advanced medical technology in commercially viable capabilities
to provide wounded warriors the safest and most advanced care possible today.
Labels: McGowan Institute, Stephen F. Badylak