The Toulouse University Hospital announces the creation of mini-bladders identical to the human organ.
What if the future of medicine went through synthetic organs? In any case, this is what researchers at the Toulouse University Hospital (Haute-Garonne) are hoping for. They announce, this February 14, the production of a mini-bladder in 3 dimensions. A world first which widens the field of possibilities in the field of urology. Succeeding in developing these organoids from patient cells could make it possible to refine the choice of treatments.
Personalized medicine
In fact, the Toulouse urology team already has in mind several types of use of these mini-bladders, starting with the treatment of cancers that affect these organs. More than 12,000 cases are diagnosed each year. “All patients with bladder cancer benefit from the same chemotherapy”, underlines the CHU in a press release. But the results are not similar.
From this perspective, an artificial organ created from diseased cells would prove very useful. Indeed, doctors will be able to test the different drug approaches available and select the most effective. With an additional benefit: the tumor, naive of treatment, did not have time to develop resistance in the face of an ineffective molecule.
Long-term work
10 organoid cultures have been started, according to a study published by the team in the journal Advances in urology. An experience finally crowned with success. Because the people of Toulouse have experienced several setbacks before achieving this innovation. For a long time, they could only reproduce one of the three layers of cells that make up the bladder. This time, they managed to create the wall of the organ beyond just the superficial cells.
There remains a major step before allowing oneself to dream of generalized use: researchers have not yet succeeded in generating a mini-bladder from diseased cells. So far, they have only used healthy stem cells.
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