Regenerative medicine has already had a profound impact on my personal life. Let me tell you about corneal ulcers and NGF (nerve growth factor). For over a year my wife was treated for recurrent corneal ulcers – infections in the cornea of one eye which were treated by antibiotics but kept coming back. These were very painful and negatively impacted her vision and quality of life, despite that she was being treated by nationally famous practitioners -researchers in corneal health at Mass Eye and Ear Hospital. Finally, with their recommendation, my wife was insurance-approved for a very expensive treatment that would regenerate her corneal nerves, actually grow new nerves, which would enable migration onto the cornea of stem cells which would in turn prevent the infections and ulcers. The nerve-growth factor medication is called Oxervate, This drug was approved by the FDA only in 2018 Dr. Reza Dana, my wife’s senior physician at Mass Eye and Ear hospital, helped get it approved for use in the US. The first administration to a US patient was reported in 2019 and my wife’s treatment started soon thereafter. “Cenegermin is the active ingredient in Oxervate. It is the recombinant version of human nerve growth factor (NGF), discovered by biochemist and neurologist Dr. Rita Levi-Montalcini of Italy. Her groundbreaking work on cenegermin earned her the Nobel Prize(ref).“ For more details, see Topical recombinant human nerve growth factor an innovation in ocular surface disease treatment.
The Oxervate arrived weekly for 8 weeks at our garage door in 70 pound boxes which were actually small insulated refrigerators. Most of the weight was dry ice, solid frozen carbon dioxide there to make sure the Oxervate stays cold. Oxervate payload in each box weighed less than an ounce, less than the weight of a pickle slice. My wife finished her Oxervate treatment over a week ago, and she and her physicians and I so far think that the regenerative treatment is working, though it’s far too early to be sure. This is a real example of high technology regenerative medicine that is available right now. So regenerative medicine is already beyond being just something on-the-come which I think will impact our future. I will do my best to stay on top of this area in this blog and fully expect to experience other personal impacts of it soon.
Super interesting! His wife is doing the NGF regen treatment that Dr. Rita Levi-Montalcini pioneered. Very interested to see how that goes.
FYI Rita Levi-Montaclini took a daily solution of NGF in the form of eye drops, and stated that her brain was more active in her 100's than it was in her 20's. She died at age 103
Edited by Phoebus, 29 June 2021 - 03:12 AM.