Long the stuff of sci-fi speculation, recent breakthroughs in stem cell research have now led to a full-fledged skin spray that can heal severe tissue damage.

Alas, the test product underwent a successful demo at the University of Utah, where doctors at its Burn Care Center successfully applied the solution to an ailing diabetes patient’s minor foot burn. Cardiothoracic Surgeon Amit Patel and Dr. Amelia Cochran were pleased with the result given the patient/subject history: Due to her diabetes, the woman with the foot burn suffered for several days as the wound refused to heal. The stem cell solution changed all that.

A combination of recovered red blood cells, platelets, progenitor cells, calcium, and thrombin, the result is a spray whose application rapidly accelerates tissue growth. The initial success at the U. of Utah bodes well for the envisaged future of regenerative skin. If Dr. Patel and Dr. Cochan can perfect their treatment, then massive injuries may soon be treated better, with minimal risk of infection, using their radical new spray.

Such encouraging results does inspire visions of a time just a few years down the road where injured or burnt skin can be treated with a bottle of spray or a patch of grown skin. That’s pretty cool, in our opinion.

Via Gearlog

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