May 1, 2008

Magic powder helps finger grow

When Lee Spievak placed his finger into the spinning propeller of a model aircraft, nobody could have been surprised to hear that it cut the end of his finger off. But what would surprise many people is that he still has five fingers on each hand.

Luckily for him, his brother happened to work in the field of regenerative medicine at the University of Pittsburgh. So like a good brother he sent him some “Pixie Dust” as it has been called, in fact it is actually called “Extra Cellular Matrix” and a little of this magic powder was put onto the wound.

The first signs of growth began almost immediately but even more amazingly within four weeks the finger had grown back completely including tissue, nerves, nail, skin and to make everything complete a finger print.

This is an amazing piece of medicine which could change so many lives if it is proven to be safe.

Source [BBC News]