Fig. 3.

Regenerative pharmacology and the disease process. Schematic diagram shows the initiation, development, and progression of tissue and organ dysfunction, leading ultimately to end organ failure. The potential utility of regenerative pharmacology approaches to the maintenance of normal tissue and organ function or the prophylaxis of continued decline is noted. However, the long-term goal is to develop curative pharmacological approaches that address the entire spectrum of tissue and organ function and dysfunction, so that regardless of the particular circumstance, a potentially curative therapy can be developed and applied. As described in detail in the text, regenerative pharmacology represents a significant departure from more traditional approaches that have necessarily focused on palliation and symptomatic relief of pathologic alterations in tissue and organ function.