Download
For the first time, doctors have successfully transplanted a vein grown with a patient's own stem cells, another example of scientists producing human body parts in the lab.
In this case, the patient was a 10-year-old girl in Sweden who was suffering from a severe vein blockage to her liver. Last March, the girl's doctors decided to make her a new blood vessel to bypass the blocked vein instead of using one of her own or considering a liver transplant.
They took a 9-centimeter section of vein from a deceased donor, which was stripped of all its cells, leaving just a hollow tube. Using stem cells from the girl's bone marrow, scientists grew millions of cells to cover the vein, a process that took about two weeks. The new blood vessel was then transplanted into the patient.
Because doctors used her own cells, the girl did not have to take any drugs to stop her immune system from attacking the new vein, as is usually the case in transplants involving donor tissue.
"This is the future for tissue engineering, where we can make tailor-made organs for patients," said Suchitra Sumitran-Holgersson of the University of Gothenburg, one of the study's authors.
She and colleagues published the results of their work online on Thursday in the British medical journal Lancet. The work was paid for by the Swedish government.
The science is still preliminary, and one year after the vein was transplanted, it needed to be replaced with another lab-grown vein when doctors noticed the blood flow had dropped.
Experts from University College London raised questions in an accompanying commentary about how cost-effective the procedure might be, citing "acute pressures" on health systems that might make these treatments impractical for many patients.
Sumitran-Holgersson estimated the cost at between $6,000 and $10,000.
Patients with the girl's condition are usually treated with a vein transplant from their own leg, a donated vein or a liver transplant. Those options can be complicated in children, and using a donated vein or liver also requires taking anti-rejection medicine.
Since her first transplant, the girl, who was not identified, has grown 6 cm and gained weight. Her parents say she is much more focused, articulate and physically active, Sumitran-Holgersson said.
"She was always tired and hardly went to school before," she said. "Last week, her father said she did somersaults for the first time."
Other experts predicted that it should soon be possible for doctors to build arteries for patients.
About the broadcaster:
Nelly Min is an editor at China Daily with more than 10 years of experience as a newspaper editor and photographer. She has worked at major newspapers in the U.S., including the Los Angeles Times and the Detroit Free Press. She is also fluent in Korean.
“爱”成中学生作文出现频率最高词汇
09年中考英语总复习经典习题讲解4一数词
2009中考英语词汇表 系列M
09年英语短语集中联想记忆110条
2010年中考英语词汇旧词新义:cost
2009最新中考英语单项填空模拟考试卷 附详解答案
初中英语常用词组复习1
高中英语词汇:80后“A到Z”生存法则
从奥巴马演讲词看英语写作词汇的应用
2009中考英语词汇表 系列T
2009中考英语词汇表 系列O
初中英语常用词组3 量词词组
2010年中考英语词汇旧词新义:deal
2009中考英语词汇短语集锦 (1)
09年中考英语总复习经典习题讲解1一冠词
中考英语词汇--“美味水果”大聚会
词汇笔记 五种词汇的学习方法 超强
初中英语常用词组2 介词短语词组
初中英语短语汇总 A- Y
中考英语词汇“for短语”全攻略
2010年中考英语词汇熟词新义:start
09年中考英语总复习经典习题讲解2一名词
2010年中考英语词汇旧词新义:cause
常用英语词语辨析105组(11)
张惠妹《排山倒海》英文版
常用英语词语辨析105组(2)
初中英语常用词组复习2
常用英语词语辨析105组(4)
09年中考英语总复习经典习题讲解3一冠词
2009中考英语词汇表 系列W
| 不限 |
| 英语教案 |
| 英语课件 |
| 英语试题 |
| 不限 |
| 不限 |
| 上册 |
| 下册 |
| 不限 |