Regenerative Medicine Overview

Regenerative medicine may be defined as the process of replacing or “regenerating” human cells, tissues or organs to restore or establish normal function. This field holds the promise of regenerating damaged tissues and organs in the body by replacing damaged tissue or by stimulating the body’s own repair mechanisms to heal tissues or organs. Regenerative medicine also may enable scientists to grow tissues and organs in the laboratory and safely implant them when the body is unable to heal itself. Current estimates indicate that approximately one in three Americans could potentially benefit from regenerative medicine.

Regenerative Medicine refers to a group of biomedical approaches to clinical therapies that may involve the use of stem cells. Examples include cell therapies (the injection of stem cells or progenitor cells); immunomodulation therapy (regeneration by biologically active molecules administered alone or as secretions by infused cells); and tissue engineering (transplantation of laboratory grown organs and tissues). While covering a broad range of applications, in practice the latter term is closely associated with applications that repair or replace portions of or whole tissues (i.e., bone, cartilage, blood vessels, bladder, skin). Often, the tissues involved require certain mechanical and structural properties for proper functioning. The term has also been applied to efforts to perform specific biochemical functions using cells within an artificially-created support system (e.g., artificial pancreas or liver).

Regenerative Medicine Right For You?

Regenerative Medicine may improve the quality of life for patients. Learn more about Regenerative Medicine and how it can replace damaged or diseased tissue by contacting our offices today.

Why Doctor Lopez?

Doctor Lopez specializes in minimally invasive sports medicine and joint replacement. Dr. Lopez performs a variety of complex procedures in the upper and lower extremities including rotator cuff surgery, knee ligament surgery, and the direct anterior total hip replacement.

Dr. Lopez has had extensive training to meet the needs of his patients. Dr Lopez completed his undergraduate degree in the major of biology at Cornell University. He then went on to graduate from the New Jersey Medical School with his degree in Medicine. Also during that time, Dr. Lopez performed basic science research at the prestigious Whitehead Institute, an affiliate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.