Posted on 11/08/2017 1:40:09 PM PST by RoosterRedux
The boy had a rare, incurable skin disease called junctional epidermolysis bullosa, caused by genetic mutations. People with the disease lack critical proteins that attach the outer layer of the skin to the inner layer, resulting in fragile skin with almost constant blisters and open sores.
To fix that, the doctors took a small piece of the boy’s skin from an area that was OK. In the lab, they added a normal version of his bad gene to his skin cells. They grew sheets of the boy’s skin, in much the same way skin grafts are grown for burn victims.
In total, they grew close to a square meter of skin (3 square feet.) The lab-grown skin was then transplanted onto the boy in three operations, ultimately covering 80 percent of his body. Ten days later, the new skin was already beginning to grow, De Luca said. After eight months, the doctors said that nearly all of the boy’s skin had been generated by the modified stem cells. So far, no problems have been detected. De Luca said the boy will be monitored closely for skin cancer and other potential issues.
“This kid is back to his normal life again,” one of the German doctors, Dr. Tobias Rothoeft, said Wednesday. “That’s what we dreamed of doing and it was possible.”
Details of the case were published Wednesday in the journal Nature.
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
Wow.
Now if I can get some new joints...I am good to go for another couple o' hundred years.
Tequila is good for that...................
Re: love-making...the spirit is strong but the body is weak.
Now if I can get some new joints...I am good to go for another couple o' hundred years.
If you are a member of The Howard Families, don't tell anyone, for obvious reasons.
Great story.
That's the official story.
Actually several homeless and skinless persons were admitted to the city morgue shortly after.
Amazing stuff.
Heinlein ping.
A square meter is not 3 square feet. Someone didn’t think about what ‘square’ means.
HA. Yep. I went for a bone scan a few years back, to check for osteoporosis risk. My doc said my bones should hold up until I am about 200 yrs old.
The press can’t add, let alone multiply, or convert metric to english.
This is part of the reason why they think communism works.
Way cool.
Link, please.
:-)
I can’t imagine his pain. My son was two and a half when he had a reaction to the herpes (type 1!!!) virus. After a misdiagnosis delayed treatment he had to be admitted to the hospital for a morphine drip to. He had open skin over most of his body and was shaking in pain. When we finally got him into the dermatologist she teared up with me!
It was incredibly traumatic for him.
On a side note, how many moms have had the pleasure of seeing their three year old walk into the Fundamental Baptist in laws and loudly announce, “I had herpes!”?
God bless you and your beloved son.
What a wonderful story. Hang tough. The toughest job in the world is just being a mom.;
That is amazing.
Almost 11 square feet of hide... wonder if they had to call in an upholstery specialist?
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