What Is Cell Therapy?

The world of medicine continues to grow in leaps and bounds. One of the newest and sometimes controversial procedures is cell therapy. It has been in practice for a while now, but isn't without its growing pains. Like many operations, it may seem radical to people, especially when stem cells are involved. However, the research that has been done shows that cell therapy can be effective in treating a number of ailments.

Function

• Cell therapy works by introducing new cells into a diseased tissue in order to cure an illness. A number of different cells can be used for various circumstances.

Stem Cells

• Stem cells are cells that have not grown into maturity. When introduced to a tissue, they will grow into healthy cells that match that tissue, thus replacing the ill cells and repairing the tissue. This form of cell therapy is highly controversial, because stem cells are typically harvested from fetuses.

Cell Transplant

• Cell transplants are done with fully grown cells of a certain type. They are taken from a donor and added to the tissue of a patient in order to start the repair process.

Significance

• With enough research and practice in technique, cell therapy is believed to be able to cure a number of cancers and other diseases, including Alzheimer's and a variety of genetic disorders. This is why many scientists continue to push for funding despite strong opposition.

Heredity

• Cell therapy focuses mostly on hereditary illnesses at the moment. They are particularly useful for these, and are often used in conjunction with gene therapy techniques to conquer mutations.