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Teen birth rates in the United States are dropping sharply, especially among Hispanic teens, according to a new government report.More >> Teen birth rates in the United States are dropping sharply, especially among Hispanic teens, according to a new government report.More >> The overall health of Americans isn't improving much, with about six in 10 people either overweight or obese and large numbers engaging in unhealthy behaviors like smoking, heavy drinking or not exercising.More >> The overall health of Americans isn't improving much, with about six in 10 people either overweight or obese and large numbers engaging in unhealthy behaviors like smoking, heavy drinking or not exercising.More >> When a classmate commits suicide, teens are more likely to consider or attempt suicide themselves, according to a new study. More >> When a classmate commits suicide, teens are more likely to consider or attempt suicide themselves, according to a new study. More >> Pregnant women with specific alterations in two genes may be at increased risk of suffering depression after giving birth, a small new study suggests.More >> Pregnant women with specific alterations in two genes may be at increased risk of suffering depression after giving birth, a small new study suggests.More >> Although spring arrived late this year in parts of the United States, the summer allergy season will still be strong, according to a sinus expert at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.More >> Although spring arrived late this year in parts of the United States, the summer allergy season will still be strong, according to a sinus expert at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.More >>
When a band-aid just won't cut it, doctors are now using a futuristic tool called bio-engineered tissue. The tissue is essentially packaged skin taken from pig intestine and human foreskin that can simply be placed on a wound.
The square of tissue acts like a scaffold for new cells to latch onto. The NIH said if you zoomed in on the tissue you would see something like a giant loofah sponge with interconnected cells.
Dr. Ameer Khan, a family medicine physician at Lake Charles Memorial Hospital, uses the tissue for persistent wounds and said it can heal the wound three or four weeks faster than traditional treatments. He said doctors can use the tissue on any kind of wounds such as diabetes ulcers and arterial wounds.
According to the NIH, researchers are still investigating all of the uses for this tissue including ligament reconstruction and treating incontinence, but more than a dozen companies have already capitalized on the product.
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