Stem Cells Information

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We hear more about stem cells these days and what they can achieve. A stem cell is an organism that is derived from embryos; these are embryos that are developed from eggs that have been fertilized in a vitro fertilization clinic. They are then donated for research with the consent of the donors.These eggs are not fertilized in a woman’s body and the embryos from which human embryonic stem cells are taken are mostly only four or five days old. They are a hollow microscopic ball of cells called blastocyst.

Stem cells are one of the most exciting discoveries of biology but as research into stem cells progresses, more scientific questions arise as quickly as new discovery are made.
Research on stem cells is advancing knowledge about how an organism develops from a single cell and how healthy cells replace damaged cells in adult organisms. This area of science is also leading scientists to investigate the possibility of cell-based therapies to treat disease such as regenerative or reparative medicine.

It is thought that Parkinson’s disease may be the first disease that is suitable for treatment using stem cell transplantation.

Parkinson’s disease is a very common neurodegenerative and it is caused by progressive degeneration and the loss of dopamine (DA)- producing neurons which lead to tremor, rigidity, and abnormally decreased mobility.

Scientists are developing a number strategies for producing dopamine neurons from human stem cells for transplantation into patients with Parkinson’s disease, this could make neurotransplantation widely available for Parkinson’s sufferers sometime in the future.

Stem cells are different to other types of cells, they are cells that renew themselves for long periods through the cell division.

Under certain physiologic conditions stem cells can be induced to change to cells with special functions such as the beating cells of the heart muscle or the insulin producing cells of the pancreas.

If scientists can reliably direct the differentiation of embryonic stem cells into specific cell types, they may be able to use the resulting, differentiated cells to treat certain diseases at some point in the future. Diseases that might be treated by transplanting cells generated from human embryonic stem cells include Parkinson’s disease, diabetes, traumatic spinal cord injury, Purkinje cell degeneration, Duchenne’s muscular dystrophy, heart disease, and vision and hearing loss.

There are many ways in which human stem cells can be used in basic research and in clinical research. However, there are many technical hurdles which will only be overcome by continued intensive stem cell research.

Perhaps the most important potential application of human stem cells is the generation of cells and tissues that could be used for cell based therapies, donated organs and tissues are often used to replace ailing or destroyed tissue, but the need for transplantable tissues and organs far outweighs the supply.

Stem cells, directed into specific cell types, offer the possibility of a renewable source of replacement cells and tissues to treat diseases including Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases, spinal cord injury, stroke, burns, heart disease, diabetes, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis.

If you would like to read more in detail about stem cell you can visit http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/basics/basics2.asp