Clinical Uses for Stem Cells

Stem cells are able to treat more than 70 different medical conditions and diseases. These cells are capable of growing into and becoming any one of the body's 200 different types of cells. They are used by the body to renew, repair and maintain cells that have become damaged by injury, disease and everyday life. Stem cells are also capable of reproducing themselves over and over again. They have a variety of clinical uses such as treating malignancies, immune system deficiencies, plasma cell disorders, inherited metabolic disorders and anemia.

Malignancies

• Malignancies are cancerous growths. A major clinical use of stem cells is treating different types of cancer. Stem cells are most commonly used in the treatment of leukemia (a blood cancer), lymphomas such as Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's (cancer of the lymph nodes and lymphatic system), renal cell carcinoma (a type of cancer that affects the kidneys) and breast cancer.

Inherited Metabolic Disorders

• An inherited metabolic disorder is a disorder that affects the metabolism that was inherited by a close family member, most often a parent. Stem cells can be used to treat certain inherited metabolic disorders, some of which include Krabbe disease, Wolman disease, Niemann-Pick disease and Gaucher's syndrome. All of these disorders affect how a person's metabolic system works.

Immune System Deficiencies

• Immune-system deficiencies, also referred to as inherited immune system disorders, can be treated with stem cells. These types of disorders affect how a person's immune system works. Some cause the immune system to be underactive and others cause it to be overactive. These disorders include Kostmann Syndrome, severe combined immunodeficiency, Omenn's syndrome and bare lymphocyte syndrome.

Anemia

• Anemia is a condition in which a person's body either loses too many red blood cells, does not create enough red blood cells or destroys red blood cells faster than the body can replace them. Stem cells can be used in the treatment of anemia. Iron-deficiency anemia is the most common type and it occurs when a person's body is deficient in iron. A vitamin B12 deficiency is another type of anemia that can be treated with stem cells. A more serious form of anemia that may be able to be treated with stem cells is sickle cell anemia. Those with this type of anemia will have red blood cells shaped like sickles, leading to a severe red blood cell shortage that can cause premature death.

Plasma Cell Disorders

• A plasma cell disorder is a disorder in which a plasma cell clone multiples uncontrollably after being divided. Stem cells can be used to treat this type of disorder. Some plasma cell disorders include plasma cell leukemia and multiple myeloma. Both are types of cancer.