Scientists have developed urinary tubes called urethra from the tissues of patients’ body. A team of doctors under Dr. Anthony Atala, director of the Institute for Regenerative Medicine have successfully tested the experiment in the body of around 14 boys, who got their urinary system damaged due to some auto accidents.
The new urinary tube was developed from a small tissue taken from the urinary bladder of the patient. The tissue was multiplied to millions of tissues in labs and these newly-generated tissues were later formed to a longer urinary tube, which was proved working well in place of damaged tissues in the bodies of the boys.
The therapies were done in the boys six years back. Since then, the boys have been urinating normally, researchers said. Until the therapies, the boys had been keeping large bags in their waist to collect the urine through artificial pumps, the doctors said.
“Totally grown in the laboratory, these urethras -- living tubes which convey urine from the bladder -- highlight the power of cell-based therapies,” Chris Mason, a regenerative medicine expert said.
“When an organ or tissue is irreparably damaged or traumatically destroyed, no amount of drugs or mechanical devices will restore the patient back to normal,” he added.
However, the experiment has not still made in adults. Only boys are undergone for the therapies so far. Scientists are not whether it will work in the bodies of adults.
