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Thursday 19 Nov 2015 - 13:26 Makkah mean time-7-2-1437
Wisconsin, (IINA) - Scientists at the University of Wisconsin grew usable, new vocal cords by using cells from a cadaver and four living patients. The scientists say that this could potentially give hope to people who have damaged or lost their voices, UPI reported.
Using the method to replace damaged vocal cords is still not possible on humans in its current form. However, this study has provided a proof-of-concept.
According to Said Welham, an associate professor of surgery in the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, "our vocal cords are made up of special tissue that has to be flexible enough to vibrate, yet strong enough to bang together hundreds of times per second. It's an exquisite system and a hard thing to replicate".
The lab-grown cords were first tested by grafting them onto a larynx removed from a dog. The larynges were attached to artificial windpipes and warm, humidified air was blown through them -- the cords responded physically and made sound, as they were expected to.
To test whether a living animal's body would accept the lab-grown cords, researchers transplanted the cords into living mice, finding the cords grew and were not rejected by their bodies, and they were able to make sound with them.
Although growing replacement vocal cords for human patients is years of research and testing away, Welham called the study a robust benchmark on the way to doing so.
AG/IINA
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