Recently, in Atlanta, USA, in the first case of its kind on US soil, a patient was treated with human embryonic stem cells. The treatment is approved by the Food and Drug Administration. In UK, researchers are getting ready for the first test of an embryonic stem cell-based treatment on patients. The test would take place in 2012. They are still awaiting the permission from Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), but are quite sure that the approvals would be given.
Stem cells are cells that are found in all multicellular organisms. Stem cell exhibits two characters, their self-renewal capacity and potency to differentiate into specialized cell types.
Stem cells can be divided into embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells.
Though medical researchers believe that stem cells have the potential to revolutionize the human treatment, stem cell research has not yet reached its full potential. Adult stem cell therapies are in use. These include bone marrow transplants. But stem cell researchers today are more convinced about the benefits to be derived from embryonic stem cells.
The huge promise of using embryonic stem cell in treating previously incurable diseases is because of its self renewal and pliability. It has the potential to differentiate into any cells of the body. So, theoretically, it is possible to manipulate it into any damaged body cells. So, it is possible to cure any previously cureless disease like Parkinson's disease.
The main opposition to embryonic stem cell is on ethical grounds. The extracting of stem cells destroys the embryo, which many argue is effectively the killing of a human life. This is part of the reason why some stem cell researchers prefer working with adult stem cells, though it has found to have very limited uses during the course of tests.
In adult stem cell treatments, Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is the one most frequently used. This treatment is mostly used for people suffering from blood, bone marrow or the aftereffects of Chemotherapy treatment done for the curing of Cancer. As part of this treatment, functional stem cells are introduced into the patient's body to replace the cells lost during the disease or during the chemotherapy treatment. Chemotherapy is used to kill the cancerous cells, but it cannot differentiate between the diseased cells and the hematopoietic stem cells and both are indiscriminately killed. Through this stem cell transplantation, this loss is recovered. The stem cells for this treatment were previously collected from the bone marrow of a donor, but now it is mostly collected from peripheral blood such as cord blood or placenta derived stem cells.
There are few other areas where stem cell treatment has shown promises of providing a relief.
Stem cells may be able to provide a cure for brain damage, where any trauma or stroke may have lead to cell death. Strong research shows that stem cell can also be used to undo the damage of brain degeneration as in Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease. Lab research shows that stem cell can considerably cure brain cancer. There are also researchers who believe that stem cell can be the cure for cancer of any form.
Quite a few researches in South Korea and USA, including medical test done in Korea has proved that stem cells could be effective in treating spinal cord injuries. In the Korean test on spinal cord injury, stem cells are extracted from umbilical cord blood and then injected into the damaged part of the spinal cord. The test has been successful. Adult stem cell therapy has been found to be safe and effective in curing infarcts, both old and recent. This therapy is practiced now in few countries of the world. Stem cells are also used in countering the degradation and depletion of red blood cells.
Researchers also predict that stem cells could be the treatment for baldness. Hair follicles contain stem cells. The treatment could work in this manner. Stem cells would be taken from existing follicles, would be multiplied in culture and then the follicles would be implanted back on the scalp. In lab research, it has been proved that stem cells can used to create live teeth in patients. Cochlea hair cells, an important component for human hearing, has been successfully regrown with the use of embryonic stem cells. This could mean the curing of some form of deaf nesses. Corneal stem cells, either cultivated from embryonic stem cells or from a donated organ, has been successful in restoring eyesight in patients. For diabetes patient also, stem cell has some ray of hope. Human embryonic stem cells can be grown in cell culture and stimulated to form insulin-producing cells, which can be then transplanted into the patient. Stem cells has been found to treat some forms of infertility. Stem cells are also found to be effective in the growth of human tissues, mostly in cases of scars left behind by wounds.
With the new official clearance of stem cell treatment in USA, and the new tests coming up in UK, besides the successes of other tests, stem cell treatment is all set to revolutionize the treatment of most human ailments. SurgeryPlanet is happy to be partners with all the prominent hospitals, across the globe, which are right now providing stem cell treatment to patients for few of the diseases.