Limb Regeneration

Limb Regeneration

Starfish are able to replace a lost leg, salamanders can make up for a severed arm, and scientists are beginning to wonder if humans could have the ability to do the same. Some animals have the extraordinary ability to regenerate lost limbs, and scientists are working hard to try and duplicate this in humans. Limb regeneration would be highly beneficial to humans by eliminating the need for prosthetics as well as healing and restoring the human body to its full potential, and at the same time, save millions from the emotional stigma that stems from such life-altering injuries.

Limb regeneration will abolish the need for complex prosthetics that limit movement and important motor skills for daily life. People who are missing all or most of their fingers, as from an explosion or a fire, often can't pick things up, brush their teeth or button a button (Ritter). Regenerating a limb could be, in the next decade or two, a mere assembly job of coordinated parts - muscles, bone, skin - grown in vitro, seeded upon scaffolds and stimulated by growth factors (“New YorkTimes” 84). Jeremy P. Brockes of University College London and his colleagues found that a protein called newt anterior gradient (nAG) is essential to the regeneration process (Barry). With this scientific breakthrough, there is a new hope that prosthetic limbs will be eliminated all together.

An amputee must learn how to adapt to their disability, but by regrowing their missing parts, the victim could regain full functionality to live a healthy life. Eckard, Prunizer, Sanchez, and Andrews state, “Metabolic changes during critical illness and trauma are well understood in the initial stress response and wound healing phases” (553). In addition to future health risk, it is critical to moderate fat mass gain after amputation, considering that excess body fat leads to poor performance both physically and physiologically and may affect fit and function of prostheses (Eckard, Pruner, Sanchez, Andrews). By using growth factors instead, the victim could relearn how to use their regrown limb instead of going through the trouble of adapting to a prosthetic and avoiding the emotional affects that come along with it.

The healing process after losing a limb is not only physically, but emotionally difficult. After an amputation, one may feel a roller coaster of emotions, ranging from anger to relief, as well as everything in between. Additionally, diminished muscle strength typically occurs after amputation, which influences the function of the residual limb and prosthesis and complicates the ability to perform daily activities (Eckard, Pruner, Sanchez, Andrews). One’s disability can effect certain activities they used to do prior to their amputation. Some might not be able to do certain hobbies