McGowan Study Shows Promise in Muscle Tissue Regeneration

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A new study has shown significant improvement in muscle strength and function in three out of five men whose old injuries were surgically implanted with extracellular matrix (ECM) derived from pig bladder.

“This new study is the first to show replacement of new functional muscle tissue in humans, and we’re very excited by its potential,” said senior investigator Stephen F. Badylak, D.V.M., Ph.D., M.D., professor of surgery at Pitt and deputy director of the McGowan Institute, a joint effort of Pitt and UPMC. “These are patients who can’t walk anymore, can’t get out of a car, can’t get up and down from a chair, can’t take steps without falling. Now we might have a way of helping them get better.”

Watch the video above to learn more about the study. For more information about the trial, which aims to enroll 40 participants, go to the study’s website or call 412-624-5308.

The U.S. Department of Defense’s Limb Salvage and Regenerative Medicine Initiative and the Muscle Tendon Tissue Unit Repair and Reinforcement Reconstructive Surgery Research Study is collaboratively managed by the Office of the Secretary of Defense. The Initiative is focused on rapidly and safely transitioning advanced medical technology in commercially viable capabilities to provide wounded warriors the safest and most advanced care possible today.