Regenerative Medicine – not just one step away

Abstract

The JOURNAL OF CELLULAR AND MOLECULAR MEDICINE is opening a new review series focussing on ‘Regenerative Medicine’, a logical step not just complementing the current review series. The field of regenerative medicine is just starting to be the most fascinating and controversial medical development at the dawn of the 21st century employing the new possibilities of molecular and cellular techniques for medical therapy. It seems that mankind's visions, hopes and fears regarding medicine are condensing to this new field of medical research and clinical development: Hopes of eternal life and treatment of incurable disease as well as fears of misuse of technology and uncontrolled modifications of life are polarizing the field. Nevertheless, the vision of a new medicine using the regenerative power of stem cell biology to treat disease and restructure the organism is setting the aim for scientific, technological and medical development. Viewing the great expectations to restructure and regenerate tissue, organs or organisms the current attempts of scientist and physicians are still in an early phase of development. The new review series on regenerative medicine is aiming to follow and guide the scientific discussion bringing high-level analysis and concepts in an interdisciplinary approach. Invited are contributions of researchers and clinicians focussing medical, scientific, industrial, regulatory, ethical and patient issues in the different fields of medical development. The new review platform is open for contributions describing the research efforts, highlights, pitfalls, errors and new ways to find clinical solutions for regenerative therapies. In Europe the scientific committee on regenerative medicine at the EUROPEAN SCIENCE FOUNDATION is supporting the new review series. The series, however, is aiming to bring together knowledge and opinion of international leading researchers from all continents. Typically, it should be attempted to leave the mainstream thinking, question open issues and show directions for development. Teaching the knowledge will help us to ask the questions for the next step to be done. Therefore, the series will attempt to describe the steps leading to successful clinical solutions in regenerative medicine. The first review in this issue by Nesselmann et al. is opening the series as a discussion platform of concepts, pitfalls and clinical development strategies using mesenchymal stem cells for cardiac therapies. I hope that you will enjoy reading the upcoming papers of the review series on regenerative medicine in the JCMM and feel stimulated for new ideas and critical scientific discussions.