Stem Cells And Diseases: How Stem Cells Can Cure A Disease?
Stem cells have the ability to cure various diseases. Before we move on to know which diseases can be cured by stem cells, let us understand what a stem cell exactly is.
Stem cells are master cells, which have the ability to transform themselves in other cell types. Stem cells are undifferentiated and belong to the same family type. Stem cells keep on generating in our body throughout our lives and take place of the cells, which have died or lost.
Stem cells regenerate themselves and also create new cells of the original tissue they belong to. There are four types of stem cells, which can be used for research, and treatment of stem cells: Adult stem cells, Fetal stem cells, Cord blood stem cell and Embryonic stem cells.
Adult stem cells are extracted from tissue and adult organs. Adult stem cells cannot develop into any other type of cell, as they are semi-programmed.
Cord blood stem cells are found in the umbilical cord. They can be used in treatment of cancers and blood related diseases.
Fetal stem cells are extracted from the fetus and Embryonic stem cells are derived from the embryo.
Now that you have understood what a stem cell is, let us move on to the diseases that may or may not be cured using stem cells therapy.
Stem cells to cure diabetes:
Diabetes is a disease, which can be cured by stem cells based therapy. If you have type 1 diabetes, your pancreatic cells, which produce insulin, might be killed by your immune system. In such a case, stem cells could be able to cure your diabetes. Scientists were successful in transforming embryonic stem cells into insulin producing and blood-sugar level reducing stem cells in experiments conducted on mice. These experiments have shown positive results in reversing diabetes in mice… Scientists plan to do the same for humans. Therefore, if you have diabetes you need not worry as a cure might be just around the corner.
Stem cells to cure Spinal Cord Injury:
Spinal Cord injuries have the ability to devastate your life as all the nerves are connected to the spinal cord. The severity and location of the injury determines what kind of complications might be involved. The sooner the injury is treated, the more chances are of being successful in the treatment.
The process of using stem cells for spinal cord injury involves taking the bone marrow from the hip. After this, adult stem cells are cultivated for six weeks to increase their total to more than 100 million. Then, the stem cells are implanted at the site of the injury with a surgical procedure.
Stem cells to cure heart diseases:
Heart diseases are the leading cause of death in the US. Heart muscles damaged after a heart attack could be replaced by injecting the stem cells into the heart. This may lead to the regeneration of the damaged heart muscles. Scientists have successfully managed to replace heart cells in rodents.
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