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Biotech / Medical : Organogenesis ORG -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Link Lady who wrote (1167)	1/11/1999 8:39:00 PM
From: Link Lady	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1223

biz.yahoo.com Monday January 11, 7:41 pm Eastern Time "Bio-engineered" skin may help U.S. infant By Patricia Zengerle MIAMI, Jan 11 (Reuters) - A Florida baby born with a rare disease that makes her skin so sensitive it blisters when brushed by fabric has become the first person to benefit from treatment with a ''bio-engineered'' skin grown from the foreskins of circumcised infants, doctors said on Monday. ''It's a very exciting and optimistic moment,'' said Dr. Lawrence Schachner, a professor at the University of Miami Medical School-Jackson Children's Hospital. Two-month-old Tori Cameron, from the Fort Lauderdale suburb of Parkland, was born with epidermolysis bullosa, a condition in which her skin lacks ''anchors'' to hold it together. As a result, the slightest friction on her skin -- a bit of fabric, the impact of her own tiny hand -- can result in painful blisters and lead to scarring, infections and raw spots similar to second-degree burns, Schachner said. The condition affects only about 100,000 Americans, and can be fatal in its most severe forms during the first months of life by causing internal blisters that interfere with babies' breathing or prevent them from absorbing nutrients. To treat Tori, her doctors decided to try Apligraf, sheets of bio-engineered skin made by Organogenesis Inc (AMEX:ORG - news) of Canton, Massachusetts. Approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treatment of leg ulcers, Apligraf is made from living human cells from circumcised foreskins and then grown in collagen derived from cows. Doctors apply the skin by laying it on top of Tori's own, and allowing it to ''grow'' onto hers. Because the skin contains living cells, doctors said the hope is that the new cells will eventually take over, colonize Tori's skin and ''teach'' it not to blister or grow raw, said Dr. William Eaglstein, chairman of the University of Miami's department of dermatology. When Tori was born, more than 70 percent of her skin was rubbed raw. Besides the fear of infection and other complications, her basic care is enormously complicated by the disease, her mother, Lorraine Cameron, told a news conference. Changing a diaper can take 45 minutes, she said. The doctors said Tori's condition had improved since they began applying the new skin product when she was 11 days old. The 40 percent of her body that has been treated with the skin has blistered only on the edges of the skin pieces, said Dr. Anna Falabella, assistant professor of dermatology at the University of Miami. ''Most of the treated areas have not blistered,'' she said. More Quotes and News: Organogenesis Inc (AMEX:ORG - news) Related News Categories: health, US Market News