In theory, there is no limit to the types of diseases that could be treated with stem cell research. Since researchers can study all types of cells, they have the potential to make breakthroughs in any disease. Researchers hope that stem cells will one day be effective in treating many medical conditions and diseases. However, treatments with unproven stem cells can be unsafe, so be aware of all the facts if you are considering treatment.
Stem cells are a type of cell that can develop in different ways to form every organ in the body, from bones, kidneys, and liver to blood and brain. Specialized types of stem cells have the ability to stop immune responses. Therefore, stem cells can be very useful as therapy for diseases in which organs are damaged or where the immune system is too active. Some types of stem cells are already used for therapy, such as hematopoietic (blood) stem cells, which are used to treat bone marrow cancer.
The use of other types of stem cells is currently being studied in the laboratory and in experimental therapies. Researchers are trying to find the best way to give stem cells to patients, where do cells go in the body and how long they survive in the patient. We hope that many more stem cell therapies will be available in the future. Stem cells are like the “blank boards” of the cellular world.
Unlike other specialized cells (for example, skin cells or muscle cells), stem cells have the ability to develop into many other types of cells, making them indispensable in the treatment of many chronic medical conditions. Pluripotent stem cells is a term that is often used to describe this ability to differentiate (change) into different types of cells. Stem cell transplant can cure sickle cell disease, but so far this has been limited to a lucky few.
stem cell therapy
plays a critical role in regenerative medicine, a subspecialty of healthcare that focuses on helping the body heal naturally.Researchers are currently investigating the use of adult, fetal and embryonic stem cells as a resource for various types of specialized cells, such as nerve cells, muscle cells, blood cells and skin cells that can be used to treat various diseases. There is still considerable scientific debate surrounding the exact nature of cells (also called mesenchymal stem cells) obtained from these other tissues. Clusters of cells can be taken from a stem cell line and frozen for storage or shared with other researchers. Both type 1 and type 2 diabetes involve problems with beta cells (either there are not enough beta cells or they don't work properly).
Because stem cells that are specific to certain tissues cannot produce cells found in other tissues without careful manipulation in the laboratory, the same stem cell treatment is very unlikely to work for diseases that affect different tissues and organs in the body. Stem cells can be used to repair nerve damage that occurs in Parkinson's disease, and novel research shows that therapy can help replace dopamine-producing brain cells destroyed by the disease. These daughter cells become new stem cells or specialized cells (differentiation) with a more specific function, such as blood cells, brain cells, heart muscle cells, or bone cells. Researchers continue to advance knowledge about stem cells and their applications in regenerative and transplant medicine.
You may be wondering what stem cells are, how are they used to treat diseases and injuries, and why they are the subject of such intense debate. Today, doctors routinely use stem cells from bone marrow or blood in transplant procedures to treat patients with cancer and disorders of the blood and immune system. Its potential is evident in the use of blood stem cells to treat blood diseases, a therapy that has saved the lives of thousands of children with leukemia; and can be seen in the use of stem cells for tissue grafts to treat diseases or injuries to the bones, skin and surface of the eye. European researchers genetically manipulated narrow bone cells taken from a two- and seven-year-old boy and then transplanted the altered cells back into the child and apparently stopped the progress of a deadly brain disease.
When it is not possible to collect the patient's own hematopoietic stem cells, people receive hematopoietic stem cells from a suitable donor. . .
