Expert advances potency of regenerative medicine
The Director, Bentoluene International, Health Concept, Dr. Ogunleye Tolulope has described regenerative medicine as a field of medical science that focuses on developing and applying new treatment to heal cells, tissues and organs, adding that it is an effective one that utilises the power in human body, because the body has the natural ability to heal itself.
He listed diseases that had been successfully treated with regenerative medicine to include sickle cell, autism, stroke, E.D (erectile dysfunction), COPD, diabetes, ADHD, lupus, osteoathritis, rheumatoid arthritis, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury and hair growth, among others. He added that regenerative medicine could be used to contain COVID-19 because of its anti-inflammatory effect, though clinical trials are still ongoing.
He also advanced the effectiveness of Stem Cell Therapy as its focus isn’t about taking away symptoms but more on repairs using stem cells. Stem cells are natural cells found in humans, they have the potential to develop to many different types of cells, and they have the ability to renew and repair damaged cells and tissues.
He itemised examples of regenerative medicine to include organ transplant, cartilage regeneration, stem cell therapy and tissue engineering.
Concerning the ethical, legal and social issues around regenerative medicine, Tolulope remarked that “the source of multipotent stem cells being used for treatment do not raise special ethical concerns unlike the pluripotent stem cell which derives its stem cells from human embryonic stem cell (hESC) and is ethically and politically controversial because it involves the destruction of human embryo.”
On how potent the organisation’s structure is to handle stem cell therapy in Nigeria, he remarked that the organisation presently is representing one of the best stem cell companies in the United Kingdom, Cells4life UK.
“We’ve been able to successfully treat some cases not limited to sickle cell, stroke, autism, autoimmune disorders, among others.. We are capable of making Nigeria one of the leading countries in stem cell therapy in the world,” he said.
Tolulope also noted that regenerative medicine has potent hope for Africa for diseases like Sickle cell and stroke, among others.
He shared some of the success stories of the stem cell transplants that he has done to include treatment of children with sickle cell, changing the genotype from SS to AA and successful treatment of children with autism.
“Basically, we may not call it a cure, but we’ve been able to improve their standard of living and help alienate some of the things they present. Lastly we’ve been able to treat a patient that needs a knee replacement surgery successfully without undergoing surgery,” he said.