Stem Cell Therapy : Overview
A stem cell is the only cell that can grow into different types of cells in the body. The cells and tissues weakened or destroyed due to disease can be replaced in future.
9. What are Stem Cells?
Stem Cells provide the body with new cells as it grows and replace cells damaged or lost. Stem cells are the raw materials of the body- cells which produce all other cells that have specialized functions. The stem cells divide into cells that are called daughter cell under the right conditions in the body or laboratory. The daughter cells either become new or advanced, healthy cells, such as blood cells, brain cells, heart muscle cells or bone cells. No other cell in the body can produce new cell types naturally.
8. How does Stem Cell therapy work?
Stem cell therapy, also known as regenerative medicine, uses stem cells or their variants to facilitate their repair response to diseased, damaged, or wounded tissue. It is the next step of organ transplantation which uses cells that are restricted in number, instead of donor organs.
7. Why there is such an interest in stem cells?
- Increase awareness of how diseases happen. Though watching stem cells grow in bones, heart muscle, nerves and other organs and tissue into cells, researches and physicians can better understand how diseases and conditions evolve.
- Generate healthy cells in place of diseased cells. Stem cells can be directed to become different cells which can be used in humans to rebuild and heal diseased or damaged tissues.
- Safety and effectiveness test of new drugs. Scientists can use some types of stem cells to check the drugs for safety and quality before using investigational drugs in human. For the cardiac toxicity testing, this type of testing will most likely first have a direct impact on drug development.
6. Where do stem cells come from?
There are various sources of stem cells discovered by Researches:
- Embryonic Stem cells – These stem cells come from 3 to 5-day old embryos. An embryo is called a blastocyst at this stage, and it has about 150 cells.
- Adult stem cells – In most adult tissues, such as bone marrow or fat, certain stem cells are found in small numbers. Compared with embryonic stem cells, adult stem cells have a more limited capacity to give rise to specific body cells.
- Adult cells modified to have embryonic stem cell properties – Using genetic reprogramming, scientists converted regular adult cells into stem cells with success. The researches will reprogram the cells to function similarly to embryonic stem cells by modifying the genes in the adult cells.
- Perinatal Stem Cells – Research have found both stem cells and embryo blood in amniotic fluid. These stem cells also have the capability of transforming into specialized cells.
5. How is the use of embryonic stem cells controversial?
Embryonic stem cells are derived from early-stage embryos- a group of cells that form when a woman’s egg is fertilized with a man’s sperm in an in vitro fertilization clinic. Because human embryonic stem cells the from human embryos, numerous questions and concerns about the ethics of embryonic stem cell research have been posted.
4. Where do these embryos come from?
The embryos used in embryonic stem cell research originate from eggs that were fertilized in clinics for in vitro fertilization but never implanted in the uterus of a woman. The stem cells are donated with knowledgeable donor consent. The stem cell may be able to live and grow in laboratory test tubes or Petri dishes in special laboratories.
3. Why don’t researches instead use adult stem cells?
Although work is positive on adult stem cells, adult stem cells may not be as flexible and stable as embryonic stem cells. Adult stem cells may not be modified to generate all types of cells, which limits how adult stem cells can be used to treat diseases.
2. Have stem cells been used for treating diseases?
Yes, Doctors have undergone stem cell transplantation, also known as bone marrow transplantation. Through stem cell transplantation, stem cells replace cells that have been destroyed by chemotherapy or illness, and function as an immune system for donors to fight certain types of cancer and diseases such as leukemia, lymphoma, neuroblastoma and multiple myeloma. Such transplants are made using adult stem cells or umbilical cord blood.
1. What are potential problems with using embryonic stem cells in humans?
Embryonic stem cells to be effective in humans, researches need to be confident that the stem cells can distinguish between the various types of cells they need. Researchers have discovered ways of transforming stem cells into specific cell types, such as turning embryonic stem cells into heart cells. Research in this area is continuing.