Stem cell therapy is also called regenerative medicine. This therapy promotes the use of stem cells for the repair response of disease, non-functional or injured tissues. Stem cells are the raw materials of the body, from the cells are generated all the other cells with specific functions. Stem cells under right or favorable conditions in the body or a lab divide into daughter cells.
These daughter cells will either be new stem cells or with more specific function undergo differentiation like cells in blood, brain heart muscle or bone. In the body no other cell has this natural ability to generate new types of cells.
Sources of Stem cells –
Embryonic Stem Cells – these come from 3 to 5 days old embryos (blastocyst).
Adult Stem Cells – found in adults tissues like bone marrow or fat in smaller numbers.
- Altered adult cells to get embryonic stem cells properties.
- Perinatal stem cells – discovered in umbilical cord blood and in amniotic fluid.
Stem cells are grown in a lab. They are then manipulated to behave as specific cells like blood cells, Nerve cells or heart muscle cells.
These specialized cells are then implanted into a person. If a person is suffering from heart disease then these cells could be injected into his heart muscle, which will then repair the defective heart muscle. Researches have shown that adult bone marrow cells can become heart like cells and repair heart tissue in people. Further research is still going on.
Are stem cells used to treat diseases?
Doctors have performed bone marrow transplants. The stem cells replace those cells which are damaged by chemotherapy or any disease. Enable the donor’s immune system to fight a few types of cancer and diseases related to blood like lymphoma, leukemia, multiple myeloma or neuroblastoma. This involves the usage of umbilical cord blood or adult stem cells.
Problems With Embryonic Stem Cells In Humans
Embryonic cells show irregular growth or spontaneously specialize in different cell types. So studies are going on to control this growth and differentiation of embryonic stem cells. There are cases in which the recipient body takes the stem cells as external Invaders or stem cells fail to function normally. Researchers are trying to find out how to avoid these problems.
Effectiveness Of Stem Cell Therapy – stem cells are also called miracle treatment but unapproved and unproven stem cell treatment can be unsafe. They are also called Body’s master cells as they can repair or replace, restore and regenerate cells and can be used in treatment of many diseases and medical conditions. To stay safe, make sure that any treatment of stem cells is done by a specialist in stem cell therapy who is FDA approved.
Importance Of Stem Cell Therapy –
If the conventional therapies and treatments have failed then stem cell therapy can behave as a silver lining. It is safe and convenient. It is considered the future of the modern medicine world. It has a crucial role in rejuvenation for chronic ailments it can work for damage reversal. It is comparatively cheaper and effective naturally as it requires only one day hospitalization and local anesthesia.
