|  | Conditions Treatments | Diseases

Cures From Stem Cells

Stem cells are also referred to as the body's "master cells" because they can transform themselves into other types of body tissue. Much controversy surrounds stem cell research and therapy. By manipulating these miracle workers, scientists have performed a series of breakthrough experiments that promise to cure a number of serious ailments and diseases. All treatments have at least been performed on animals with success, and many have been successfully performed on humans.

  1. Patching Damaged Hearts

    • By harvesting a heart attack victim's cardiac stem cells in order to grow more of them, doctors may now have a way to treat the victim by using the cells to repair damaged areas of the heart. While clinical trials are ongoing for several more years, there is at least one experimental operation underway. Another possible type of stem cell to use in treatment of heart attack victims is found in the bone marrow---one that has the ability to develop into a variety of cells, including muscle cells.

    Replacing the Pancreas

    • According to a study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association, diabetics who have undergone stem cell therapy have started to produce insulin naturally, thereby foregoing the need for injections. In the trial, 15 Type I diabetics were successfully treated with their own stem cells. In an earlier trial, diabetic mice were cured using stem cell therapy. The mice responded within a week of treatment, and their sugar levels remained normal for the rest of their lives.

    Treating Tendon Injuries

    • Stem cell therapy is thought to be helpful in curing tendon and ligament injuries. Several trials were performed on horses. Because there are similarities between horse and human tendons, successful horse therapies are thought to be good precursors to those performed on humans.

    Curing Brain Cancer

    • Scientists have found that neural stem cells injected into brain tumors can be used to hunt down and kill cancer cells that attempt to migrate away from the main tumor mass. By equipping the neural cells with an immune stimulating chemical through genetic engineering, the good cells are able to eradicate the cancer cells upon contact, even in the presence of normal brain tissue.

    Curing Sickle Cell Anemia in Mice

    • By creating embryonic stem cells from the skin of mice, scientists have found a way to cure sickle cell anemia. After infusing the healthy embryonic replacement tissue into the mice, healthy blood cells began to form, thereby ridding the mice of the harmful effects of oxygen-deprivation caused by the deformed sickle-shaped cells.

Diseases - Related Articles