If you’ve ever suffered a severe burn, seen photos of people who have suffered burns, or know someone who has, you know that the area that was burned (especially if it is severe) will never quite be the same again. However it seems that scientists at a small biotech firm in the US, PolarityTE, might have figured out a way for burn victims to regrow skin and hair.
At the moment one of the skin grafts that is widely used in burn units is Epicel, but it is not particularly thick nor is it functional, which is apparently something that PolarityTE is trying to change. What the company has done is use their patented method of tissue engineering to use the patient’s own healthy tissue to regrow human skin that can be used to treat them.
So far the company’s experiments have yielded some success of wounded pigs at an animal facility in Utah, where their treatment method has resulted in scar-less healing, growth of hair follicles, complete wound coverage, and progressive regeneration of all skin layers, or so that’s what they are claiming.
Granted this seems to work on pigs, but given that the skin of pigs is said to be more complex and robust compared to human skin, success with the pigs is seen as a precursor to it being a success for when they do begin human trials, which is expected to take place later this year. If successful, it is hoped that this new treatment method could hit the market 12-18 months later.
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