From: Spudboy100@aol.com
Date: Tue Apr 29 2003 - 16:31:50 MDT
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993672
Tissue engineers grow penis - with feeling
17:00 29 April 03 NewScientist.com news service
Tissue engineers who recently demonstrated penis replacement in animals have now
added a vital missing component - nerve cells.
"The nerve cells are very important - they are responsible for all the sensory
function," says Anthony Atala, at Boston Children's Hospital. "In order to do
complete [penile] replacements we need to make sure all of the parts are there,
including the nerves."
In September 2002, Atala and his colleagues replaced missing chunks of penis in
live rabbits with tissues grown in the lab. But the replacement penile tissues
consisted only of muscle and endothelial cells, which were inserted alongside
intact nerve cells. Their new work is the first time that penile nerve tissue
has been regenerated.
"This is exciting and extends their work logically in several directions," says
reconstructive surgeon Hunter Wessells of the University of Washington School of
Medicine in Seattle.
The regeneration of nerves is an important step towards one day creating
engineered replacement penile tissue for men who have lost parts of the penis
following prostate cancer surgery or an accident, or to enhance the genitals of
children born with abnormalities.
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993672
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