Animal Scaffolding Helps Regrowth of Human Muscle

                There was a man who was involved in a bombing in Afghanistan that blew off part of his leg. Sgt. Ron Strang was really concerned that he would never be able to walk correctly again. Because of the explosion, Strang had to endure many surgeries that left a large divot in his upper thigh where the quad muscles had been. But that was two years ago, now he is walking like a normal person. He says if you know him, or know what had happened, you would see a slight limp, but otherwise you would never have guessed. Sgt. Strang has grown new muscle due to a thin sheet of material from a pig. The material is called extracellular matrix. It is the natural scaffolding that underlies all tissues and organs in people as well as animals. Scientists have discovered that the scaffolding signals the body to grow and repair those tissues and organs. Now that they have this knowledge, body builders are now using this for replacement tissue so their muscles can grow. Dr. Peter Rubin, a plastic surgeon at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center who is a leader of the study, said that early results with Sergeant Strang and a handful of other patients showed that the animal scaffolding was spurring muscle growth. Evidence has shown remodeling of tissues.

                I think this is most definitely a global issue. There are people all around the world that fight in war, and have pieces of their skin and tissues blown off. Having this knowledge now can help doctors all over the world repair these wounded soldiers. I am deeply involved with the military, and it has had a huge impact on me recently; so knowing this helps me cope with what goes on overseas.