It’s a grant that could help restore limbs – and lives.
Oregon Medical Laser Center (OMLC), located at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center is the Northwest’s only research facility to receive a portion of the U.S. Army’s $85 million grant to develop cell therapies to help heal wounded soldiers. OMLC was awarded $1.5 million – $300,000 a year for five years. OMLC will collaborate with research facilities across the country to form the Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine (AFIRM). AFIRM will be dedicated to repairing battlefield injuries through the use of regenerative medicine, science that uses the body’s natural healing powers to restore or replace damaged tissue and organs.
OMLC Medical Director Kenton Gregory, M.D., was chosen to be a lead researcher in this project. Dr. Gregory and his team at OMLC will work to develop therapies to help heal battlefield trauma to the arms and legs. As many as 20,000 American men and women have these wounds. “Due to the extensive use of explosive devices, this war has caused unprecedented damage to our soldiers. They will have disabilities for the rest of their lives if we don’t find a way to help them,” says Dr. Gregory.
OMLC will focus on the most common extremity wound – compartment syndrome. Compartment syndrome is acute swelling following a blow to the body. The swelling causes pressure that cuts off blood supply, which can lead to irreversible nerve and muscle damage.
OMLC scientists have been developing strategies to enhance healing and replace and regenerate damaged tissues using adult stem cells derived from bone marrow or fat for the past 10 years. Pre-clinical data show remarkable potential that the stem cells can regenerate and repair muscle, nerve and blood vessel cells.
