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In the field of modern medicine, debilitating musculoskeletal injuries are becoming less of a threat to long-term vitality thanks to advancements in knowledge of the body’s own intrinsic recuperative mechanisms. Now, increasing awareness about the body’s own healing processes has revealed a vital but still poorly understood regenerative mechanism initiated by the thymus gland. While still undergoing extensive study, clinical research has revealed its function in physiological protection and regeneration. Proteins produced by the thymus gland play key roles in rehabilitation and recuperation from all types of musculoskeletal injury.
Thymus proteins are produced naturally by the thymus gland early in life, with most production ceasing before the onset of puberty. Also referred to as Tβ4, they exhibit a myriad of cellular functions that assist the repair and recovery of wounded tissue. These include the enhancement of new blood vessel formation (angiogenesis), cell migration, stem cell differentiation, and gene expression. When the body suffers a physical injury (for example, a torn quadriceps), these proteins are found in greater concentrations near the wounded area, where they facilitate healing through the aforementioned mechanisms. Clinical studies have shown them to consistently facilitate the healing and recovery of damaged bodily tissue.
For instance, a 1999 study published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology found that the thymus gland accelerates wound healing through the process of angiogenesis. Researchers observed that treated subjects’ wounds contracted by a minimum of 11% more than control subjects’ wounds by the one week mark. Though the study was conducted on rats, the researchers concluded that the thymus gland was a wound healing factor with multiple activities.
Further, a 2014 study in the Journal of Orthopaedic Research showed that the thymus gland was able to enhance bone fracture healing in mice test subjects. The study found that treated mice had a 41% increase in peak force to failure and had up to 26% more new mineralized tissue than the control group. Importantly, researchers noted that the findings of their study indicated that thymus proteins played a key role in the healing of bone fractures.
Moreover, additional studies have demonstrated that thymus proteins have potent anti-inflammatory effects as well. A 1999 study published in Nature Medicine sought to explore the action mechanisms of Tβ4 as anti-inflammatory agents. After the study’s conclusion, researchers noted that the thymus may have far-reaching effects on the body’s inflammatory processes.
Certainly, research on the thymus gland’s healing mechanisms may have a beneficial impact on our knowledge of the body’s regenerative processes. Again, though still in the early phases, clinical study to this point has shown the thymus gland to be a key part of the body’s natural recuperative mechanisms. Currently, several research centers are invested in further clinical study to yield greater knowledge of the thymus gland.
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Source by Chris A Sanderson
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