An 18-year-old with a damaged jawbone has found new hope through a treatment using adult stem cells.
When a tumor developed in his jawbone one side of the bone along with most of his teeth had to be removed.
But after the operation he couldn't live an ordinary life because of his abnormal looks.
However, clinical tests of forming bones using adult stem cells have restored the damaged jawbone and his appearance looks normal now.
[Interview : ] "He is a bit uncomfortable with the braces on. But a lot of the jawbone has been grown after the stem cell treatment and his outlook has gotten much better. He has become a brighter person now."
Adult stem cells are taken from the bone marrow of the patient then multiplied and specialized to form an osteoblast which is a bone-forming cell.
It may sound complicated but the treatment itself is quite simple.
A bone-forming cell is injected into the impaired part and after six months to one year new bone material grows in to fill the gap.
[Interview : ] "The advantage of this treatment is that it is very simple, because it is an injection. And also other parts of the patient's body are not involved in the treatment. So the patients, who are treated using adult stem cells, will not suffer from damage to other parts of their body."
The researchers say this is the first time that a treatment using adult stem cells has passed the clinical trial phase that is a requisite for commercialization.
The results of the trial were published in the British medical journal BMC Medicine and it was also presented at the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons.
Choi Won-young, Arirang News.
APR 13, 2009
|
|
 |
in National News |
|
|
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
Friday, SEP 03, 2010, (KST) 
