This is a powder that when sprinked of traumatic tissue wounds, such as deep muscle woulds, it causes the regrowth of the muscle. It also works to regenterate internal tissues without leaving scars. I has the potential to regenerate amputated limbs, and could potentially be used to regrow severed spinal cords. It is thought that ECM powder works because it has special proteins that stimulate the body's stem cells to regenerate tissue, with no external equipment needed. The powder and procedure went mainstream by 2007, but still has huge potential, and research is continuing.
Researchers, authors, and other people associated with this subject:
Badylak, Stephen: Medical doctor who is deputy director of MIRM, and heads the 80-patient study; First published his research on this subject in 1989, but most doctors and others did not believe it and though such regeneeration was impossible; Besides an M.D., he has a Ph.D. in animal pathology from Purdue University; Originally did the research in the late 1980s on Rocky the dog, (and other dogs) replacing part of its aorta with a section of the dog's intestine, and finding that the intestine tissue was soon replaced with aortic tissue; Also, even when using ECM from cat intestine, the dogs did not immunologically reject the ECM, and successfully regrew aortic tissue; He then regrew resected Achilles tendons, and other tissues with no scar development.
Itamura, John: A surgeon in Los Angeles who, in 2000, had been using EMC for rotator cuff repair, and worked with Badylak.
Spievack, Alan: A Boston based surgeon who approached Badylak after he delivered a lecture on ECM at an orthopedic conference in .Atlanta. Spievack had performed amputations on salamanders and studied the way the creatures regenerated their limbs. Spievack visited Badylak's lab and soon after joined the growing number of researchers who had begun pursuing their wn research on ECM. Spievack coauthored several papers with Badylak. Spievack formed his own company, ACell, to market his own special formula of the powder ECM. Amedia sensation erupted in 2007, when Spievack was able to regenerate the severed fingertip of his brother. Spievack died of cancer in 2008.
Tarr, Richard: DePuy's vice-president of research and development who negotiated the license with Stephen Badylak and the Purdue University patent lawyers for the ECM procedure that Badylak had developed;
Wolf, Steven: former chief clinical researcher at the United States Army of Surgical Research, Texas; he was doing research on an experimental treatment that could "fertilize" a wound and help it heal;
Organizations, Institutions, Corporations, Businesses, and Government Agencies involved with research on Extracellular Matrix:
ACell Corporation: The company founded by Dr. Alan Spievack to market his own special formula of the ECM powder.
Department of Defense, U.S. (DOD): in 2008, received $80 million from congress to research regenerative medicine;
DePuy: The Warsaw, Indiana, orthopedic device manufacturer company that licensed Badylak's ECM-derived "biological scaffolds" for all orthopedic applications.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA): In 2011, Stephan Badylak was awaiting FDA approval to begin a large clinical trial on extracellular matrix.
McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine (MIRM), University of Pittsburgh: The DOD is funding a team at MIRM to oversee an 80-patient study at five other institutions;
Bibliography of articles, books, and other monographs:
Badylak, Stephen, et al. Article published in February, 2011 telling of successful regeneratiion of the esophagus in esophogeal cancer patients, and avoiding the very problematic scarring tht usually occurs;
Piore, Adam. The Healing Power Within. Diiscover Magazine, (July-August, 2011)pp. 68-73, 86-88;
Videos, Documentaries:
Discovery Channel documentary telling of Lee Spievack whose severed fingertip was regenerated completely, including skin, nail, and bone, after the application of "pixie dust" (ECM).
TTD/QTBA/FU:
1. Who are the five other institutions'research that MIRM is overseeing?
2. Check medical databases for any research articles on this subject, and obtain;
3. ID the specific FDA office that approves clinical trials, and see if they have a database of such clinical trials tthat they have approved, as well as a database of trials thay have not approved;
4. Find articles written by Badtlak, Spievack, and others about EMC, as well as regeneration in general;