Benefits Of Stem Cell Therapies

Stem cells can be used for scientific research, because they can regenerate under right conditions. It was due to this feature of the stem cells that a Russian histologist suggested them to be used for scientific research. Research for cellular therapy and regenerative medicine was put on hold. Due to this temporary suspension of stem cell research, Government funding was also put on hold for 8 years. Now, after eight years of abeyance, the National Institute of Health (NIH) has begun to award monetary aid to scientists involved in stem cell therapies.

In stem cell therapies, tissues in the human body can be replaced and defective cell can be repaired. Stem cells are also important for genetic therapies. Embryonic Stem Cells can develop into different cell types, excluding placenta, if it is received from a pre-blastocyst stage morula.

A blastocyst is an embryo, which is four days old, and Embryonic Stem Cells obtained from the blastocyst are pluripotent. Pluripotency refers to the power of the human embryonic stem cells to become any stem cell in the body. The blastocyst, at this stage, just has 100 cells and therefore not suitable to be embedded into the uterine wall. The stem cells are obtained from 20 cells, which are found in the inner core of the blastocyst. These inner cells are unspecialized, but can be changed into 200 types of cells found in the human body with the help of differentiation. These inner cells have the power of turning into any human cell, if they do not cluster during the process.

Stem cell therapy has made it possible to differentiate adult stem cells through the process of plasticity, which was not possible earlier. Genetic information can now be transferred from the DNA to the RNAS by four transcription factors due to stem cell therapies.

Earlier ASCs were made impure by alien genes and viral vectors. Plasmid can be used in place of oncogenes and viruses, which may not be suitable for treated patients. Stem cell therapies can also be used to find the stage of the disease and for finding better treatment alternatives for various diseases. Pluripotent cells of various diseases can also be studied to find cure for various diseases.

Stem cell therapies can prevent advancement of multiple sclerosis and reverse neurological dysfunctions associated with the disease. In this process, haemopoietic stem cells from the patient’s bone marrow are obtained and inserted back into the patient. Haemopoietic stem cells are responsible for forming of all blood cells in the human body.
Also, patients who have overcome multiple sclerosis by injection of stem cells have not relapsed into it.

With the help of stem cell therapies, Adult stem cells can be transformed into pluripotent cells. This process makes adult stem cells as effective as embryonic stem cells.

In year 2009, clinical trials were conducted to see how embryonic stem cells could be used to treat patients with spinal cord injuries. These trials were approved by the Food and Drug administration.

For more information on benefits of stem cell therapies, you can refer to http://www.stemcells.nih.gov.com , http://www.cirm.ca.gov and http://www.ukstemcellbank.org.uk/.

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