Is anyone working on a artificial liver or kidney ?

[nec209]

And do you think there where be drug to reverse aging or dead or dmage tissure?

 

I mean may be there may be a drug for tissure that is not so healthy but dead or dmage tissure is big leep.

[Mokele]

Artificial liver, not that I know of, though the liver is pretty sturdy and can regenerate quite well (either from undamaged portions or from a small transplant section).

 

As for artificial kidneys, yes and no. We have dialysis machines, but they're far too big to fit inside the body, and it'll be a long, long time before we can reduce their size enough to make them implantable.

[nec209]

I was reading some where about a artificial liver or artificial kidney . About test subjects given artificial liver or artificial kidney and saying in 5 or 10 years it may make it way to hospitals for people who have problems with the liver or kidney .

 

I do not know where I found this article and so I'm trying to find it I do not know if this true or not or they are doing research into it how to make a artificial liver or artificial kidney .

 

I do not read the scientific journals or popular science has I do not know enough about biology to know where to start.

[insane_alien]

artificial pancreases are about that far away(had to do a presentation on them for my emerging technologies class, surprisingly it has a lot to do with chemical engineering). maybe it was that?

[nec209]

Brain cells and nerve cells are the only cells that do not reproduce or divide That is why damage to spine or nerve cells does not reproduce or divide Other cells like skin cells ,bone cells ,liver cells ,kidney cells and other cells always reproduce with new cells .So damage to skin cells ,bone cells ,liver cells ,kidney cells will reproduce with new cells not like brain cells ,nerve cells or spine.

 

When people get older cells slow down when it comes to cells to reproduce or divide . That is why people organs start to go and people age.Some doctors think when your young they can take your bone cells ,liver cells ,kidney cells so on and grow it in lab and when you get older inject your young cells.Doctors do not know why cells slow down when one get older or how to speed up the reproduction of cells.Or if injecting your young cells will work or your DNA at age 45 and 60 start to change in big way and so your cells slow down when it comes to reproduce or divide .

 

 

Why cells slow down when it comes to reproduce or divide when people get older is not clear.

 

 

Also some people talk abut inflammation causing aging ,diseases , illnesses ,organs going bad so on . The immune system works hard to keep out pathogen but it is not perfect and can do damage. It is like having a house fire and you call the fire department and the water they use to spray on fire can miss here and there cause water damage.Some say carbon dioxide or free radicals may cause aging ,diseases , illnesses ,organs going bad so on :eek:

 

Sorry I'm new to this stuff so really do not understand all of this or what are the views out there and what they are doing about it.

 

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After talking to people on myspace ,yahoo groups and yahoo answers on this topic the best I can dig up is.

 

You're wrong in saying that brain/nerve cells do not divide. They do so but very slowly, one cell cycle takes about 90 years to produce two cells from one. Peripheral nerve cells will divide relatively quicker since nerve damage outside of the CNS will get better over time because nerves will regenerate through their predetermined routes. Spinal cord injuries are usually devastating and irreversible since even a long life span now days is about 90 years. Cells do not even divide more than once in that time.

 

With aging, all cells and especially the DNA has been exposed to a lifetime of exposure (radiation etc). That's why woman who are older have a higher rate of birth defects because each and every one of their ovums were created in a batch (though ovums are immature at that point, and mature during ovulation) before they were born. Over a lifetime of these going through the aging process of the body, they sustain damage.. especially to the genetic material in the cell.

 

Why do we get skin cancer? Because external influences (UV light) over a period of time has damaged the DNA and caused the skin cells to not function properly and go haywire.. resulting in cancer.

 

Cancer cells do occur naturally in a small amounts, but the majority of cancer is triggered by an environmental stimulus.. degrading of the genetic material.

 

It is found that with age, the mitochondria of the cells tend to slow down with age. They produce the ATP needed for the cell to function and divide and in turn the cell will divide and function slower.

 

Mitochondria in each cell are directly related to a person's metabolism: The rate at which energy is used to convert input to output in a person or cell.

 

The National Geographic had 2 shows on this topic .I will see what I can find.

 

People may what to look at this Mystery of Aging

http://txtwriter.com/onscience/Articles/aging.html

 

 

I'm new to understanding this stuff.

Edited January 26, 2010 by nec209

[nec209]

This is may be what I was reading about??

 

A fashion statement it may not be, but the Wearable Artificial Kidney (WAK) could prove a very smart accessory for those with serious kidney disease. A miniaturized dialysis machine that can be worn as a belt, the WAK concept allows patients with end stage renal failure the freedom to engage in daily activity while undergoing uninterrupted dialysis treatment.

 

Worn as a belt, the device weighs just ten pounds (4.5kg), including the two nine-volt batteries that power it. The compact design, unlike conventional dialysis machines, will leave patients free to engage in the activities that normal kidney function would ordinarily allow them to enjoy. Walking, working and riding a bike can all be actively pursued without restriction while undergoing gentle, uninterrupted treatment 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

 

http://www.gizmag.com/the-wearable-kidney/12580/

 

Note just looking this thread should be with other thread on it.

[Mr Skeptic]

This seems like real progress. Even if the mini dialysis machine is not a full substitute, the continuous treatment will more than make up for that. As it is, the other machines basically allow toxins to accumulate to high levels, and then clear the blood every visit.

[nec209]

I would like to laern more about the aging process and when cells stop to reproduce or divide and what cells.

 

And is there anyone working on cure for aging.