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The Diseases That Can Be Treated Through Stem Cell Treatment

According to the Mayo Clinic, since the 1960s, doctors have performed transplants of stem cells---often referred to as bone marrow---to treat cancer. In recent years, scientific advances have expanded the number of diseases stem cells treat.

  1. Embryonic Cells

    • According to University of Michigan Stem Cell Research, embryonic stem cells were first isolated in 1998. Scientists have since had success with adult and embryonic stem cell therapies.

    Leukemia

    • Leukemia patients have abnormal white blood cells, known as leukocytes. Doctors use chemotherapy and radiation to kill the patient's leukocytes and bone marrow before transplanting donated bone marrow. Eventually, stem cells become healthy leukocytes, reports the University of Utah Genetic Science Learning Center.

    Spinal Injury

    • Paralyzed rats are walking, thanks to embryonic stem cells. That success lead to what the UC Irvine Stem Cell Research Center calls "the world's first embryonic stem cell treatment tested in humans," replacing spinal cord cells damaged by injury or disease.

    Heart Disease

    • The Mayo Clinic reports that experimental embryonic stem cell treatment in people "repairs damaged heart tissue and aids recovery after heart attack."

    Diabetes

    • Converting embryonic stem cells into insulin-producing cells "kept blood sugar in check" and controlled diabetes in mice, Andrew Pollack wrote in The New York Times in February 2008. In the April 14, 2009, issue of Time magazine, Alice Park reported that stem cell treatments reversed Type 1 diabetes in people.

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