"Stem Cell Therapy - The 21st Century Treatment For Curing Disease"

Stem cell therapy (SCT) is a new, groundbreaking therapy that may hold the key to curing many currently incurable diseases.

It has the potential to heal damaged tissues caused by heart attacks, reverse early-stage multiple sclerosis, and even repair broken bones.

Stem cells have an amazing ability to renew themselves through mitotic cell division.

Stem cells are the body's master cells. As they have not yet formed particular specialized cells, they can be stimulated into developing into any kind of particular tissue.

Through a complex process, your body is able to divide various cells, creating virtually identical cells, maintaining all the functionality of its parent.

In fact, whenever your body is injured, your bone marrow releases stem cells that rush to the damaged area, where the damaged area begins to grow new tissue.

First of all, a cell separates its chromosomes from two identical sets, into two daughter nuclei, combining them into one cell.

Next, all the cellular components, including the nucleus, cytoplasm, organelles and cell membranes are divided into two daughter cells, each one containing equal amounts of the above-mentioned cellular components.

These newly created cells are genetically equal to each other and to the parent cell that they originated from.

By studying the biology of these mouse stem cells, scientists, in 1998, discovered how to obtain stem cells from human embryos, growing them in the laboratory.

Originally, these human embryonic cells were used for reproductive purposes, such as in vitro fertilization. After these cells had served their purpose, with the consent of the donor, they were donated for research purposes.

The basic goal of stem cell therapy was to destroy the immune system, and re-grow a brand-new immune system after injecting the stem cells.

Destroying all bone marrow stem cells in an individual, using a combination of chemotherapy and radiation, did this. Then, these healthy blood marrow stem cells were injected into a patient's bloodstream.

However, new research is investigating a way to stimulate the bone marrow to boost stem cell counts in the blood without destroying the immune system.

One application might be, for example, an individual comes to the hospital that is having a heart attack. Subsequently, they can be given a drug that will boost their stem cell counts in the blood, as much as 100 fold. These stem cells will rush to the heart, where they began to repair damaged heart muscle tissue.

Another type of stem cell therapy could be useful in treating patients with immune system disorders, such as rheumatoid arthritis. A particular stem cell released from the bone marrow tones down the immune system, helping to keep these autoimmune disorders under control.

These stem cells are kept in a controlled environment, until they are required to develop into different specialized cells types, when injected into an individual's body.

They are taken from a human embryo that develops from eggs produced in vitro in an in vitro fertilization clinic. Then, with the permission of the donors, the unused stem cells are donated for research purposes.

Umbilical stem cell transplants are less likely to be rejected than either bone marrow or other stem cells.

This is probably because they have not developed any distinguishing characteristics that can be recognized and attacked by the recipient's immune system.

Adult stem cells, on the other hand, are limited in their ability to differentiate, and are thought to be only able to differentiate into cells similar to their tissue of origin.

Adult stem cells are manufactured in the marrow of our bones.

However, they have a limited ability to proliferate, and it is difficult to create large quantities of these cells in the lab.

There are three important characteristics distinguishing stem cells from other cell types.

• First, they are capable of replication and cell division
• Second, they are unspecialized
• Third, they can be induced to become tissue or organ specific cells that have special functions

There's one major drawback associated with stem cell therapy, and that is the tendency for stem cells to grow into a specific kind of tumor called a teratoma.

Scientists are unable to determine why this happens, since these stem cells start out as completely normal, undifferentiated cells. However, research is underway as they try to determine a way to prevent this from happening.

To grow new stem cells in the laboratory, a cell culture must be created.

First, these embryonic stem cells are isolated by transferring their inner mass into a plastic culture dish containing a liquid known as a culture medium.

The inner surface of the culture dish is usually coated with mouse embryonic cells, treated so that they will not divide. These mouse cells provide a sticky surface to which the newly created embryonic cells attach.

However, scientists have learned how to create embryonic stem cells without the use of these mouse feeder cells. This minimizes the risk that any viruses present in the original mouse cells are transmitted to the human cells.

Creating these cells is an inefficient process, and cell lines are not produced each time a cell mass is placed in a culture dish.

However, if the mass of cells survives and multiplies, they are gently removed and placed into fresh culture dishes. This process is done many times over several months. Everytime this cycle is performed, it is referred to as a passage. Once a cell line is established, it will yield millions of embryonic stem cells.

A rich source of adult stem cells is the human umbilical cord, an organ that dies naturally after birth.

Additionally, blood-forming cells in the bone marrow normally produce the different types of blood cells. This type of stem cell is called a hematopoietic cell.

These cells are called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). Human tests using iPSCs began later that same year.

However, at this time, it is not known whether iPSCs function differently from embryonic cells.

Although stem cell therapy has many benefits, its primary benefit is to replace damaged tissues from organs such as the heart, brain or nerves. Currently, there are approximately 100 different illnesses being treated using stem cells.

But perhaps the best-known stem cell therapy is the bone marrow transplant, used to treat leukemia and other types of cancers.

Leukemia is a cancer of the white blood cells, the leukocytes.

Like other blood cells, the leukocytes are manufactured in the bone marrow. Once mature, they are released into the bloodstream, where they function to fight infections in our bodies.

Whenever leukocytes begin to grow and function abnormally, they become cancerous. As such, they are unable to fight off infection, while interfering with the functioning of other organs.

To successfully treat leukemia using stem cells, the existing leukocytes must first be killed off using chemotherapy and radiation.

Next, the patient's bone marrow cells are replaced with cells from a healthy matching donor, by injecting them into the bloodstream. If the transplant is successful, the stem cells will migrate to the patient's bone marrow, where they will begin making normal, healthy leukocytes.

Another promising use of stem cell therapy is in treating spinal cord injuries. It could therefore be used to treat diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and multiple sclerosis.

After seven days, researchers injected stem cells at the site of injury in laboratory mice. After four weeks, the mice could walk and run normally, and could even stand on their hind legs.

Stem cell therapy has been used as a treatment for early-stage multiple sclerosis.

First, patients were given medications that caused their immune systems to release stem cells into the blood.

The scientists then injected the stem cells they removed earlier. These stem cells quickly divided, creating a normal batch of immune system cells.

After 37 months, 80% of the mice tested scored better on tests for vision, motor coordination, muscle strength and overall neurological function.

Also, scientists have discovered that they are able to control diabetes using precursor cells in laboratory mice. These precursor cells were one step away from developing into insulin producing cells.

After about 90 days, these mice were able to convert these implanted precursor cells into fully functioning, insulin-producing cells. Subsequently, the cells kept the animal's blood sugar in check; even after their insulin-producing cells were destroyed.

Another stem cell therapy is to restore normal corneal function into eyes that are scarred and hazy.

In the laboratory, mice whose eyes originally had corneal defects and were given stem cells produced eyes that looked no different than normal mouse eyes.

Researchers have identified stem cells in the layer of the eye called the stroma. These stem cells produce a protein, called lumican that is critical in giving the cornea the correct structure, allowing it to become transparent.

In addition, researchers are using stem cells in the laboratory to screen new medications, testing them for their safety and effectiveness. This application of stem cells is currently being used to test some anti-cancer medications.

In conclusion, stem cell therapy, along with gene therapy, may be the breakthrough medical applications of the 21st century. What were once previously incurable diseases could become curable, as a result.

In many cases, stem cell therapy may give individuals back lost functionality, such as those with a spinal cord injury or multiple sclerosis.

To borrow a famous science fiction quote from Star Trek, we may "...boldly go where no man has gone before."