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Stem cells themselves do not serve any single purpose but are important for several reasons. First, with the right stimulation, many stem cells can take on the role of any type of cell, and they can regenerate damaged tissue, under the right conditions. This potential could save lives or repair wounds and tissue damage in people after an illness or injury. Scientists see many possible uses for stem cells.

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Cells in the body have specific purposes, but stem cells are cells that do not yet have a specific role and can become almost any cell that is required.

Stem cells are undifferentiated cells that can turn into specific cells, as the body needs them.

Scientists and doctors are interested in stem cells as they help to explain how some functions of the body work, and how they sometimes go wrong.

Stem cells also show promise for treating some diseases that currently have no cure.

Stem cells originate from two main sources: adult body tissues and embryos. Scientists are also working on ways to develop stem cells from other cells, using genetic "reprogramming" techniques.

Adult stem cells

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Stem cells can turn into any type of cell before they become differentiated.

A person's body contains stem cells throughout their life. The body can use these stem cells whenever it needs them.

Also called tissue-specific or somatic stem cells, adult stem cells exist throughout the body from the time an embryo develops.

The cells are in a non-specific state, but they are more specialized than embryonic stem cells. They remain in this state until the body needs them for a specific purpose, say, as skin or muscle cells.

Day-to-day living means the body is constantly renewing its tissues. In some parts of the body, such as the gut and bone marrow, stem cells regularly divide to produce new body tissues for maintenance and repair.

Stem cells are present inside different types of tissue. Scientists have found stem cells in tissues, including:

However, stem cells can be difficult to find. They can stay non-dividing and non-specific for years until the body summons them to repair or grow new tissue.

Adult stem cells can divide or self-renew indefinitely. This means they can generate various cell types from the originating organ or even regenerate the original organ, entirely.

This division and regeneration are how a skin wound heals, or how an organ such as the liver, for example, can repair itself after damage.

In the past, scientists believed adult stem cells could only differentiate based on their tissue of origin. However, some evidence now suggests that they can differentiate to become other cell types, as well.

Embryonic stem cells

From the very earliest stage of pregnancy, after the sperm fertilizes the egg, an embryo forms.

Around 3-5 days after a sperm fertilizes an egg, the embryo takes the form of a blastocyst or ball of cells.

The blastocyst contains stem cells and will later implant in the womb. Embryonic stem cells come from a blastocyst that is 4-5 days old.

When scientists take stem cells from embryos, these are usually extra embryos that result from in vitro fertilization (IVF).

In IVF clinics, the doctors fertilize several eggs in a test tube, to ensure that at least one survives. They will then implant a limited number of eggs to start a pregnancy.

When a sperm fertilizes an egg, these cells combine to form a single cell called a zygote.

This single-celled zygote then starts to divide, forming 2, 4, 8, 16 cells, and so on. Now it is an embryo.

Soon, and before the embryo implants in the uterus, this mass of around 150-200 cells is the blastocyst. The blastocyst consists of two parts:

an outer cell mass that becomes part of the placenta

an inner cell mass that will develop into the human body

The inner cell mass is where embryonic stem cells are found. Scientists call these totipotent cells. The term totipotent refer to the fact that they have total potential to develop into any cell in the body.

With the right stimulation, the cells can become blood cells, skin cells, and all the other cell types that a body needs.

In early pregnancy, the blastocyst stage continues for about 5 days before the embryo implants in the uterus, or womb. At this stage, stem cells begin to differentiate.

Embryonic stem cells can differentiate into more cell types than adult stem cells.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs)

MSCs come from the connective tissue or stroma that surrounds the body's organs and other tissues.

Scientists have used MSCs to create new body tissues, such as bone, cartilage, and fat cells. They may one day play a role in solving a wide range of health problems.

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS)

Scientists create these in a lab, using skin cells and other tissue-specific cells. These cells behave in a similar way to embryonic stem cells, so they could be useful for developing a range of therapies.

However, more research and development is necessary.

To grow stem cells, scientists first extract samples from adult tissue or an embryo. They then place these cells in a controlled culture where they will divide and reproduce but not specialize further.

Stem cells that are dividing and reproducing in a controlled culture are called a stem-cell line.

Researchers manage and share stem-cell lines for different purposes. They can stimulate the stem cells to specialize in a particular way. This process is known as directed differentiation.

Until now, it has been easier to grow large numbers of embryonic stem cells than adult stem cells. However, scientists are making progress with both cell types.

Researchers categorize stem cells, according to their potential to differentiate into other types of cells.

Embryonic stem cells are the most potent, as their job is to become every type of cell in the body.

The full classification includes:

Totipotent: These stem cells can differentiate into all possible cell types. The first few cells that appear as the zygote starts to divide are totipotent.

Pluripotent: These cells can turn into almost any cell. Cells from the early embryo are pluripotent.

Multipotent: These cells can differentiate into a closely related family of cells. Adult hematopoietic stem cells, for example, can become red and white blood cells or platelets.

Oligopotent: These can differentiate into a few different cell types. Adult lymphoid or myeloid stem cells can do this.

Unipotent: These can only produce cells of one kind, which is their own type. However, they are still stem cells because they can renew themselves. Examples include adult muscle stem cells.

Embryonic stem cells are considered pluripotent instead of totipotent because they cannot become part of the extra-embryonic membranes or the placenta.

Transplants with stem cells are already helping people with diseases such as lymphoma.

Stem cells themselves do not serve any single purpose but are important for several reasons.

First, with the right stimulation, many stem cells can take on the role of any type of cell, and they can regenerate damaged tissue, under the right conditions.

This potential could save lives or repair wounds and tissue damage in people after an illness or injury. Scientists see many possible uses for stem cells.

Tissue regeneration

Tissue regeneration is probably the most important use of stem cells.

Until now, a person who needed a new kidney, for example, had to wait for a donor and then undergo a transplant.

There is a shortage of donor organs but, by instructing stem cells to differentiate in a certain way, scientists could use them to grow a specific tissue type or organ.

As an example, doctors have already used stem cells from just beneath the skin's surface to make new skin tissue. They can then repair a severe burn or another injury by grafting this tissue onto the damaged skin, and new skin will grow back.

Cardiovascular disease treatment

In 2013, a team of researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital reported in PNAS Early Edition that they had created blood vessels in laboratory mice, using human stem cells.

Within 2 weeks of implanting the stem cells, networks of blood-perfused vessels had formed. The quality of these new blood vessels was as good as the nearby natural ones.

The authors hoped that this type of technique could eventually help to treat people with cardiovascular and vascular diseases.

Brain disease treatment

Doctors may one day be able to use replacement cells and tissues to treat brain diseases, such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.

In Parkinson's, for example, damage to brain cells leads to uncontrolled muscle movements. Scientists could use stem cells to replenish the damaged brain tissue. This could bring back the specialized brain cells that stop the uncontrolled muscle movements.

Researchers have already tried differentiating embryonic stem cells into these types of cells, so treatments are promising.

Cell deficiency therapy

Scientists hope one day to be able to develop healthy heart cells in a laboratory that they can transplant into people with heart disease.

These new cells could repair heart damage by repopulating the heart with healthy tissue.

Similarly, people with type I diabetes could receive pancreatic cells to replace the insulin-producing cells that their own immune systems have lost or destroyed.

The only current therapy is a pancreatic transplant, and very few pancreases are available for transplant.

Blood disease treatments

Doctors now routinely use adult hematopoietic stem cells to treat diseases, such as leukemia, sickle cell anemia, and other immunodeficiency problems.

Hematopoietic stem cells occur in blood and bone marrow and can produce all blood cell types, including red blood cells that carry oxygen and white blood cells that fight disease.

People stem cells to help a loved one, or possibly for their own use in the future.

Donations can come from the following sources:

Bone marrow: These cells are taken under a general anesthetic, usually from the hip or pelvic bone. Technicians then isolate the stem cells from the bone marrow for storage or donation.

Peripheral stem cells: A person receives several injections that cause their bone marrow to release stem cells into the blood. Next, blood is removed from the body, a machine separates out the stem cells, and doctors return the blood to the body.

Umbilical cord blood: Stem cells can be harvested from the umbilical cord after delivery, with no harm to the baby. Some people donate the cord blood, and others store it.

This harvesting of stem cells can be expensive, but the advantages for future needs include:

the stem cells are easily accessible

less chance of transplanted tissue being rejected if it comes from the recipient's own body

Through stem-cell research, scientists hope to discover cures for diseases that are currently incurable.

Stem cells are useful not only as potential therapies but also for research purposes.

For example, scientists have found that switching a particular gene on or off can cause it to differentiate. Knowing this is helping them to investigate which genes and mutations cause which effects.

Armed with this knowledge, they may be able to discover what causes a wide range of illnesses and conditions, some of which do not yet have a cure.

Abnormal cell division and differentiation are responsible for conditions that include cancer and congenital disabilities that stem from birth. Knowing what causes the cells to divide in the wrong way could lead to a cure.

Stem cells can also help in the development of new drugs. Instead of testing drugs on human volunteers, scientists can assess how a drug affects normal, healthy tissue by testing it on tissue grown from stem cells.

Watch the video to find out more about stem cells.

There has been some controversy about stem cell research. This mainly relates to work on embryonic stem cells.

Use of embryos for stem cells

The argument against using embryonic stem cells is that it destroys a human blastocyst, and the fertilized egg cannot develop into a person.

Nowadays, researchers are looking for ways to create or use stem cells that do not involve embryos.

Mixing humans and animals

Stem cell research often involves inserting human cells into animals, such as mice or rats. Some people argue that this could create an organism that is part human.

In some countries, it is illegal to produce embryonic stem cell lines. In the United States, scientists can create or work with embryonic stem cell lines, but it is illegal to use federal funds to research stem cell lines that were created after August 2001.

Stem cell therapy and FDA regulation

Some people are already offering "stem-cells therapies" for a range of purposes, such as anti-aging treatments.

However, most of these uses do not have approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Some of them may be illegal, and some can be dangerous.

Anyone who is considering stem-cell treatment should check with the provider or with the FDA that the product has approval, and that it was made in a way that meets with FDA standards for safety and effectiveness.

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Stem cells are basic cells that can become almost any type of cell in the body. Human stem cells can come from an embryo or an adult human. They have many possible uses in science and medicine, yet controversy surrounds them.

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Due to Stem Cells being able to repair and regenerate it is being used in many ways to help save lives. One way they are working on treating liver disease with stem cells that have been manipulated to become specialized liver cells.

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View Principal Investigators in Stem Cell Biology
Stem cells are a specific type of cell capable of evolving into many different types of specialized cells within the body. There are three primary types of stem cells: embryonic stem cells are characterized as pluripotent in nature-capable of developing into the two hundred or so specialized cells of the adult organism; adult stem cells exist within certain tissues of the body (for example, blood and bone marrow) and carry out repair and regenerative functions; and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are adult stem cells that have been genetically reprogrammed to behave like embryonic stem cells.

Due to their ability to repair, regenerate, and develop into certain specialized cell types, stem cells offer great promise as therapy for a number of diseases. Many of the Institutes and Centers of the Intramural Research Program (IRP) have a dedicated stem cell research program, including the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), National Institute of Dental Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS).

Areas of active research on stem cell biology within these programs include:

Treating liver disease with stem cells that have been manipulated to become specialized liver cells

Creating stem cell-derived neurons for the study of motor neuron disease

Creating insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells for clinical trials in diabetes

Stimulating an anti-brain tumor immune response via manipulated stem cells

Investigating the use of stem cells to study and treat Gaucher disease and parkinsonism

Reprogramming tumor-specific immune cells from stem cells for cancer immunotherapy

Manipulating stem cells to become bone and cartilage

Additionally, the NIH Regenerative Medicine Program (RMP) is a resource that provides infrastructure to accelerate the clinical translation of stem cell-based therapies-at any one time, around 100 clinical trials investigating the use of stem cells as therapies are ongoing at the NIH Clinical Center.

In addition to the research programs within the IRP, the NIH Stem Cell Interest Group was established to enhance communication and collaboration among scientist interested in stem cells. Visit the Stem Cell Interest Group Web site to learn more.

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View Principal Investigators in Stem Cell Biology Stem cells are a specific type of cell capable of evolving into many different types of specialized cells within the body.

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Stem cells have the ability to self-renew and turn themselves into any kind of cell found throughout the body. Scientists are using stem cells to repair damaged tissues and organs that could possibly help with treatments for Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, arthritis, and cancer.

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The secret ingredient behind the next revolution in medicine lies within each of us. Special cells in our bodies, called stem cells, have the ability to both extensively self-renew and, through a series of highly complex molecular events, turn themselves into all of the unique cells found in the human body. Scientists harnessing this remarkable latter ability, referred to as pluripotency, are using stem cells to repair or regenerate damaged tissues and organs, providing potential treatments for diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, arthritis, and cancer. In addition, stem cells can be used to create specialized tissues to test out drugs before prescribing them to humans.

Scientists are also using stem cells to learn how the human body is made and why some cells develop abnormally and lead to problems such as birth defects and cancer. Because stem cells eventually differentiate into mature cells that have specific jobs to do, they are actually quite rare in adults, meaning that the stem cells that scientists and clinicians work with are often donated from embryos. Therefore, another intense aspect of investigation is learning how to derive fully functional stem cells from adult cells.

The University of Maryland School of Medicine has quickly become a leader in the field of stem cell research. The Center for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine opened in 2009 with the recruitment of Curt I. Civin, M.D., as its founding director. The mission of the Center is to bring together the scientific and clinical expertise necessary to discover how stem cells work and translate that knowledge into therapies for a wide variety of human diseases.

The Center is working towards several specific goals: developing a highly collaborative and interdisciplinary research environment; encouraging rapid translation of discoveries into innovative and practical clinical applications that will enhance the understanding, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of human diseases; collaborating with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to stimulate investment and local economic growth; educating the local community about stem cell research; and advocating for the State of Maryland's continuing support of stem cell research.
Capabilities
The Center operates two collaborative activities that act in tandem to fuel stem cell research by enhancing stem cell production and facilitating their transition into numerous cell types.

The first collaborative activity grows a variety of stem cells from multiple species, particularly embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells, which are cells that can be genetically reprogrammed to behave like embryonic stem cells. Scientists from the University of Maryland, the National Institutes of Health, other universities and a myriad of biotechnology companies, will be able to expedite their research through access to the stem cells grown by this collaboration.

"In our bodies, stem cells are very, very rare," says Civin. "When we take them out and try to grow them in dishes, they prefer to die. Their second preference is to differentiate so they're no longer stem cells. If they're going to be used as therapeutic cells, or even used for research, we'd like to be able to grow up lots and lots of them."

In the second collaborative activity, stem cells are modified genetically, providing scientists models for many different diseases. Cells are engineered to increase or decrease their production of certain molecules, a painstaking process that enables detailed mechanistic studies of cell function.
Researchers
More than 70 faculty scientists and physicians at University of Maryland contribute to the achievement of the Center's goals. In addition to the University of Maryland School of Medicine, members of the Center are affiliated with special laboratories, programs, and schools throughout the University of Maryland system. Faculty members are split into four Working Groups:

Cardiovascular Stem Cell Working Group: Novel activities of stem cells are exploited to develop effective, safe, and durable therapies for heart disease.

Hematopoietic and Cancer Stem Cell Working Group: This Working Group studies biology and applications of hematopoietic stem cells, including bone marrow transplantation, and also seeks to learn how to better kill cancer stem cells, using novel drugs and immunotherapies.

Mesenchymal Stem Cell Working Group: This Working Group is currently focused on the ability of mesenchymal stem cells to form cartilage and bone. This group also includes research on skin stem cells.

Neural Stem Cell Working Group: This Working Group brings expertise in developmental, systems and cell neurobiology to an effort to use stem cells to create potential therapies for spinal cord injury, neurodegeneration, traumatic brain injury, epilepsy and psychiatric disorders, including addiction and schizophrenia. This group also includes research on stem cell reprograming.

Scientific Highlights
Dr. Sunjay Kaushal uses stem cells removed during heart reconstruction surgery in children to treat patients who have suffered heart attacks, heart failure and congenital heart disease.

Dr. Ricardo Feldman is working to generate patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) for modeling and treating Gaucher's disease, Parkinson's disease, and other neurodegenerative diseases.

Dr. Curt Civin is using next-generation gene editing in an effort to discover a cure for sickle cell anemia-one of the most common genetically inheritable diseases.
Collaborations
The Center has struck up a collaborative agreement between Maryland and California, two states at the forefront of stem cell research, to pool resources to help scientists in both states share their talents and discoveries.

The Center also collaborates closely with local biotechnology companies, such as Paragon Bioservices, Inc., one of the largest companies in the University of Maryland's BioPark. Paragon worked with the Center to facilitate the research, commercial development and clinical application of stem cell-based technologies and therapies.

"We've been pushing the envelope on interacting with industry," says Civin. "We go first to Maryland companies. We can go out and visit them, instead of just emailing and talking long distance about the process. Then we can do the first few experiments together in person to make sure we're doing things right from the start."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The secret ingredient behind the next revolution in medicine lies within each of us. Special cells in our bodies, called stem cells, have the ability to both extensively self-renew and, through a series of highly complex molecular events, turn themselves into all of the unique cells found in the human body.

# data[].attributes.body
In adults, the stem cells are used to cells regularly divide to produce new body tissues for maintenance and repair. it is found in bone marrow, the brain and others. also help replace damaged cells in the body. mainly a repair system in the body

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Cells in the body have specific purposes, but stem cells are cells that do not yet have a specific role and can become almost any cell that is required.

Stem cells are undifferentiated cells that can turn into specific cells, as the body needs them.

Scientists and doctors are interested in stem cells as they help to explain how some functions of the body work, and how they sometimes go wrong.

Stem cells also show promise for treating some diseases that currently have no cure.

Stem cells originate from two main sources: adult body tissues and embryos. Scientists are also working on ways to develop stem cells from other cells, using genetic "reprogramming" techniques.

Adult stem cells

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Stem cells can turn into any type of cell before they become differentiated.

A person's body contains stem cells throughout their life. The body can use these stem cells whenever it needs them.

Also called tissue-specific or somatic stem cells, adult stem cells exist throughout the body from the time an embryo develops.

The cells are in a non-specific state, but they are more specialized than embryonic stem cells. They remain in this state until the body needs them for a specific purpose, say, as skin or muscle cells.

Day-to-day living means the body is constantly renewing its tissues. In some parts of the body, such as the gut and bone marrow, stem cells regularly divide to produce new body tissues for maintenance and repair.

Stem cells are present inside different types of tissue. Scientists have found stem cells in tissues, including:

However, stem cells can be difficult to find. They can stay non-dividing and non-specific for years until the body summons them to repair or grow new tissue.

Adult stem cells can divide or self-renew indefinitely. This means they can generate various cell types from the originating organ or even regenerate the original organ, entirely.

This division and regeneration are how a skin wound heals, or how an organ such as the liver, for example, can repair itself after damage.

In the past, scientists believed adult stem cells could only differentiate based on their tissue of origin. However, some evidence now suggests that they can differentiate to become other cell types, as well.

Embryonic stem cells

From the very earliest stage of pregnancy, after the sperm fertilizes the egg, an embryo forms.

Around 3-5 days after a sperm fertilizes an egg, the embryo takes the form of a blastocyst or ball of cells.

The blastocyst contains stem cells and will later implant in the womb. Embryonic stem cells come from a blastocyst that is 4-5 days old.

When scientists take stem cells from embryos, these are usually extra embryos that result from in vitro fertilization (IVF).

In IVF clinics, the doctors fertilize several eggs in a test tube, to ensure that at least one survives. They will then implant a limited number of eggs to start a pregnancy.

When a sperm fertilizes an egg, these cells combine to form a single cell called a zygote.

This single-celled zygote then starts to divide, forming 2, 4, 8, 16 cells, and so on. Now it is an embryo.

Soon, and before the embryo implants in the uterus, this mass of around 150-200 cells is the blastocyst. The blastocyst consists of two parts:

an outer cell mass that becomes part of the placenta

an inner cell mass that will develop into the human body

The inner cell mass is where embryonic stem cells are found. Scientists call these totipotent cells. The term totipotent refer to the fact that they have total potential to develop into any cell in the body.

With the right stimulation, the cells can become blood cells, skin cells, and all the other cell types that a body needs.

In early pregnancy, the blastocyst stage continues for about 5 days before the embryo implants in the uterus, or womb. At this stage, stem cells begin to differentiate.

Embryonic stem cells can differentiate into more cell types than adult stem cells.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs)

MSCs come from the connective tissue or stroma that surrounds the body's organs and other tissues.

Scientists have used MSCs to create new body tissues, such as bone, cartilage, and fat cells. They may one day play a role in solving a wide range of health problems.

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS)

Scientists create these in a lab, using skin cells and other tissue-specific cells. These cells behave in a similar way to embryonic stem cells, so they could be useful for developing a range of therapies.

However, more research and development is necessary.

To grow stem cells, scientists first extract samples from adult tissue or an embryo. They then place these cells in a controlled culture where they will divide and reproduce but not specialize further.

Stem cells that are dividing and reproducing in a controlled culture are called a stem-cell line.

Researchers manage and share stem-cell lines for different purposes. They can stimulate the stem cells to specialize in a particular way. This process is known as directed differentiation.

Until now, it has been easier to grow large numbers of embryonic stem cells than adult stem cells. However, scientists are making progress with both cell types.

Researchers categorize stem cells, according to their potential to differentiate into other types of cells.

Embryonic stem cells are the most potent, as their job is to become every type of cell in the body.

The full classification includes:

Totipotent: These stem cells can differentiate into all possible cell types. The first few cells that appear as the zygote starts to divide are totipotent.

Pluripotent: These cells can turn into almost any cell. Cells from the early embryo are pluripotent.

Multipotent: These cells can differentiate into a closely related family of cells. Adult hematopoietic stem cells, for example, can become red and white blood cells or platelets.

Oligopotent: These can differentiate into a few different cell types. Adult lymphoid or myeloid stem cells can do this.

Unipotent: These can only produce cells of one kind, which is their own type. However, they are still stem cells because they can renew themselves. Examples include adult muscle stem cells.

Embryonic stem cells are considered pluripotent instead of totipotent because they cannot become part of the extra-embryonic membranes or the placenta.

Transplants with stem cells are already helping people with diseases such as lymphoma.

Stem cells themselves do not serve any single purpose but are important for several reasons.

First, with the right stimulation, many stem cells can take on the role of any type of cell, and they can regenerate damaged tissue, under the right conditions.

This potential could save lives or repair wounds and tissue damage in people after an illness or injury. Scientists see many possible uses for stem cells.

Tissue regeneration

Tissue regeneration is probably the most important use of stem cells.

Until now, a person who needed a new kidney, for example, had to wait for a donor and then undergo a transplant.

There is a shortage of donor organs but, by instructing stem cells to differentiate in a certain way, scientists could use them to grow a specific tissue type or organ.

As an example, doctors have already used stem cells from just beneath the skin's surface to make new skin tissue. They can then repair a severe burn or another injury by grafting this tissue onto the damaged skin, and new skin will grow back.

Cardiovascular disease treatment

In 2013, a team of researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital reported in PNAS Early Edition that they had created blood vessels in laboratory mice, using human stem cells.

Within 2 weeks of implanting the stem cells, networks of blood-perfused vessels had formed. The quality of these new blood vessels was as good as the nearby natural ones.

The authors hoped that this type of technique could eventually help to treat people with cardiovascular and vascular diseases.

Brain disease treatment

Doctors may one day be able to use replacement cells and tissues to treat brain diseases, such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.

In Parkinson's, for example, damage to brain cells leads to uncontrolled muscle movements. Scientists could use stem cells to replenish the damaged brain tissue. This could bring back the specialized brain cells that stop the uncontrolled muscle movements.

Researchers have already tried differentiating embryonic stem cells into these types of cells, so treatments are promising.

Cell deficiency therapy

Scientists hope one day to be able to develop healthy heart cells in a laboratory that they can transplant into people with heart disease.

These new cells could repair heart damage by repopulating the heart with healthy tissue.

Similarly, people with type I diabetes could receive pancreatic cells to replace the insulin-producing cells that their own immune systems have lost or destroyed.

The only current therapy is a pancreatic transplant, and very few pancreases are available for transplant.

Blood disease treatments

Doctors now routinely use adult hematopoietic stem cells to treat diseases, such as leukemia, sickle cell anemia, and other immunodeficiency problems.

Hematopoietic stem cells occur in blood and bone marrow and can produce all blood cell types, including red blood cells that carry oxygen and white blood cells that fight disease.

People stem cells to help a loved one, or possibly for their own use in the future.

Donations can come from the following sources:

Bone marrow: These cells are taken under a general anesthetic, usually from the hip or pelvic bone. Technicians then isolate the stem cells from the bone marrow for storage or donation.

Peripheral stem cells: A person receives several injections that cause their bone marrow to release stem cells into the blood. Next, blood is removed from the body, a machine separates out the stem cells, and doctors return the blood to the body.

Umbilical cord blood: Stem cells can be harvested from the umbilical cord after delivery, with no harm to the baby. Some people donate the cord blood, and others store it.

This harvesting of stem cells can be expensive, but the advantages for future needs include:

the stem cells are easily accessible

less chance of transplanted tissue being rejected if it comes from the recipient's own body

Through stem-cell research, scientists hope to discover cures for diseases that are currently incurable.

Stem cells are useful not only as potential therapies but also for research purposes.

For example, scientists have found that switching a particular gene on or off can cause it to differentiate. Knowing this is helping them to investigate which genes and mutations cause which effects.

Armed with this knowledge, they may be able to discover what causes a wide range of illnesses and conditions, some of which do not yet have a cure.

Abnormal cell division and differentiation are responsible for conditions that include cancer and congenital disabilities that stem from birth. Knowing what causes the cells to divide in the wrong way could lead to a cure.

Stem cells can also help in the development of new drugs. Instead of testing drugs on human volunteers, scientists can assess how a drug affects normal, healthy tissue by testing it on tissue grown from stem cells.

Watch the video to find out more about stem cells.

There has been some controversy about stem cell research. This mainly relates to work on embryonic stem cells.

Use of embryos for stem cells

The argument against using embryonic stem cells is that it destroys a human blastocyst, and the fertilized egg cannot develop into a person.

Nowadays, researchers are looking for ways to create or use stem cells that do not involve embryos.

Mixing humans and animals

Stem cell research often involves inserting human cells into animals, such as mice or rats. Some people argue that this could create an organism that is part human.

In some countries, it is illegal to produce embryonic stem cell lines. In the United States, scientists can create or work with embryonic stem cell lines, but it is illegal to use federal funds to research stem cell lines that were created after August 2001.

Stem cell therapy and FDA regulation

Some people are already offering "stem-cells therapies" for a range of purposes, such as anti-aging treatments.

However, most of these uses do not have approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Some of them may be illegal, and some can be dangerous.

Anyone who is considering stem-cell treatment should check with the provider or with the FDA that the product has approval, and that it was made in a way that meets with FDA standards for safety and effectiveness.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Stem cells are basic cells that can become almost any type of cell in the body. Human stem cells can come from an embryo or an adult human. They have many possible uses in science and medicine, yet controversy surrounds them.

# data[].attributes.body
Stem cells can be good for targeting inflammation, therefore they are very dominant to the healing process. Studies have found that these cells can be crucial to regenerating damaged or diseased tissues, reducing inflammation, and modulating the immune system which helps with overall body health, and quality of life. Because of this cells unique ability to reduce inflammation, it is able to assist with illnesses such as burns, cancers, heart diseases, type one diabetes, and many others.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/bone-marrow-transplant/in-depth/stem-cells/art-20048117#:~:text=People%20who%20might%20benefit%20from,%2C%20burns%2C%20cancer%20and%20osteoarthritis.

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What is stem cell therapy?

Stem cell therapy is a form of regenerative medicine designed to repair damaged cells within the body by reducing inflammation and modulating the immune system. This phenomenon makes stem cell therapy a viable treatment option for various medical conditions. Stem cell therapies have been used to treat autoimmune, inflammatory, neurological, orthopedic conditions, and traumatic injuries, with studies conducted on use for Crohn's disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Lupus, COPD, Parkinson's, ALS, Stroke recovery, and more.

While new stem cell therapies don't necessarily cure these conditions, the premise is to allow the body to heal itself well enough to mitigate the symptoms of the requirements for long periods. In many cases, this effect can substantially increase the quality of life for patients as well as delay disease progression.

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Stem cell therapy defined

Stem cell IV therapy is a form of regenerative medicine designed to repair damaged cells within the body by reducing inflammation and modulating the immune system. It can be used to treat a variety of medical conditions, such as autoimmune, inflammatory, and neurological disorders.

Several types of stem cell treatments are available, including amniotic fluid stem cell treatment and umbilical cord-derived stem cell treatment. The most common FDA-approved stem cell-based therapy is hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, which treats blood cancers like leukemia. Stem cells can also be regenerative therapy for severe skin burns and seriously damaged corneas.

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Stem Cell Studies Published Worldwide

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What does stem cell therapy do?

Stem cell therapy, a type of regenerative medicine, utilizes stem cells or their derivatives to stimulate the body's own healing processes and repair damaged, diseased or injured tissue. This approach represents a promising new frontier in the field of transplantation, as it harnesses the power of cells rather than relying on limited supplies of donor organs.

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List of Diseases Treated by Stem Cells

Stem cell therapy, a rapidly evolving field within regenerative medicine, has shown promising results in treating various diseases and medical conditions. Various types of stem cells, including hematopoietic stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells, and induced pluripotent stem cells, have been utilized in clinical trials and treatments. The following list of diseases treated with stem cells is based on peer-reviewed data from sources such as the National Library of Medicine ( www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov), which provide an overview of diseases and conditions that have been treated with stem cell therapies:

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Hematologic malignancies

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML)

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML)

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)

Multiple myeloma

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS)

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Lymphomas

Hodgkin's lymphoma

Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

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Bone marrow failure syndromes

Aplastic anemia

Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH)

Fanconi anemia

Pure red cell aplasia

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Inherited metabolic disorders

Hurler syndrome

Adrenoleukodystrophy

Metachromatic leukodystrophy

Gaucher disease

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Inherited immune system disorders

Severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID)

Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome

Chronic granulomatous disease

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Autoimmune disorders

Systemiclupus erythematosus (SLE)

Multiple sclerosis (MS)

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA)

Sjögren's syndrome

Systemic sclerosis

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Neurological disorders

Parkinson's disease

Alzheimer's disease

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA)

Stroke

Traumatic brain injury (TBI)

Spinal cord injury

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Cardiovascular diseases

Ischemic heart disease (myocardial infarction)

Dilated cardiomyopathy

Congestive heart failure

Peripheral arterial disease

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Diabetes

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Liver diseases

Liver cirrhosis

Acute liver failure

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Kidney diseases

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Lung diseases

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Cystic fibrosis

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Musculoskeletal and connective tissue disorders

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Gastrointestinal disorders

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Skin disorders

Severe burns

Epidermolysis bullosa

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Ocular diseases

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD)

Retinitis pigmentosa

Corneal diseases

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What can stem cells be used for?

Stem cells, characterized by their self-renewal capacity and ability to differentiate into various cell types, hold immense potential in the field of regenerative medicine and medical research. Applications of stem cells can be broadly categorized into the following areas:

1. Tissue regeneration and repair: Stem cells can be used to replace damaged or lost cells due to injury, disease, or aging. By differentiating into specialized cells, they facilitate the restoration of function in affected tissues or organs. Examples include repairing damaged heart tissue after a heart attack, regenerating cartilage in osteoarthritis, and treating spinal cord injuries.

2. Drug discovery and testing: Stem cells can be utilized to create in vitro models of human tissues, enabling researchers to test the safety and efficacy of new drugs and therapies. This approach reduces the need for animal testing and provides more accurate insights into potential drug interactions with human cells.

3. Disease modeling: Stem cells can be used to generate disease-specific cell lines, enabling researchers to study disease progression and identify potential therapeutic targets. This approach aids in understanding the underlying mechanisms of various genetic, neurological, and degenerative disorders.

4. Gene therapy and genetic editing: Stem cells can be genetically modified to correct mutations responsible for inherited diseases. Techniques such as CRISPR-Cas9 allow researchers to edit specific genes in stem cells, which can then be reintroduced into the patient's body to restore normal cellular function.

5. Immunotherapy: Stem cells can play a role in modulating the immune system, making them valuable in treating autoimmune diseases and preventing transplant rejection. Mesenchymal stem cells, in particular, have demonstrated immune-modulatory and anti-inflammatory properties, which can be harnessed for therapeutic purposes in conditions such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and graft-versus-host disease.

6. Personalized medicine: Stem cells can be used to develop patient-specific therapies, tailoring treatments to an individual's unique genetic makeup and disease progression.

It is essential to note that stem cell research and therapy are still evolving fields, with many potential applications in the early stages of development or undergoing clinical trials. Continuous research and advancements in stem cell technology will pave the way for new therapeutic approaches, improving the treatment outcomes and quality of life for patients with various medical conditions.

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The use of adult stem cells in modern medical treatments

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are a type of adult stem cell in many body tissues, including bone marrow, fat tissue, and muscle. MSCs can differentiate into bone, cartilage, and fat cells.

MSCs have shown promise as a regenerative therapy for various diseases and conditions. In preclinical and clinical studies, MSCs have been shown to have anti-inflammatory and immune-modulatory effects invoking a positive immune response. They have been used to treat human diseases, including autoimmune diseases, degenerative neurological conditions, spinal cord injuries, joint pain, and other diseases affecting the human condition.

One of the key benefits of using MSCs for stem cell therapy is that they can be easily obtained from various sources and expanded in the laboratory. MSCs also have a low risk of immune rejection, as they are less immunogenic than other stem cells.

Overall, using MSCs for stem cell therapy holds great promise for treating various diseases and conditions. While more research is needed to fully understand these cells' potential and develop safe and effective treatments using MSCs, early results are encouraging. MSCs have the potential to be a valuable tool in the field of regenerative medicine.

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A form of regenerative medicine

Regenerative medicine is a multidisciplinary field involving replacing, repairing, or regenerating impaired body organs, tissues, and cells. It is a cell-based therapy that consists of the injection of stem or progenitor cells and the induction of generation by biologically active molecules. The goal of the transplanted cells is to mitigate the effects of human disease by reducing symptoms and stabilizing a medical condition.

Each adult body cell has regenerative properties which can be reprogrammed to repair or replace tissue or organ function lost due to age, disease, damage, or genetic effects.

Regenerative medicine has the potential to revolutionize how we treat disease, and treatments are being performed right now that utilize these principles. These treatments involve using the body's natural ability to heal itself in many ways, such as repairing cuts in the skin and mending broken bones.

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What are stem cells?

Stem cells are specialized human cells that can develop into many different types of cells in the body. In biology, a stem cell is an undeveloped cell of an organism capable of giving rise to indefinitely more cells of the same type. Stem cells can also become certain other kinds of cells through a process called differentiation. Stem cells serve as a body repair system and can generate healthy cells to replace those affected by the disease.

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Where do stem cells come from?

Stem cells can be obtained from a variety of sources including; umbilical cord tissue, umbilical cord blood, bone marrow, adipose (fat) tissue, placental tissue, dental pulp, and embryos. There are two main types of stem cells: embryonic stem cells, which come from embryos, and adult stem cells, which come from fully developed tissues such as the brain, skin, umbilical cord tissue and bone marrow. A third type of human engineered stem cell (Induced pluripotent stem cells) are adult stem cells that have been changed in a lab to be more like embryonic stem cells. There are several different types of stem cells, including:

1. Embryonic stem cells (ESCs)

2. Adult stem cells (ASCs)

3. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs)

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1. Embryonic Stem Cells (Pluripotent stem cells)

An embryonic stem cell (ESC) is a type of stem cell derived from the inner cell mass of a blastocyst, which is a very early stage of development in the embryo. Embryonic stem cells are located in the inner cell mass and are referred to as totipotent cells by scientists. Human embryonic stem cells can differentiate into any cell type in the body and potentially be used for various medical purposes, including tissue repair and regenerative medicine.

Embryonic stem cells are often called human pluripotent stem cells, which can produce many different cell types. This is in contrast to "multipotent" stem cells, which can only differentiate into a limited number of cell types. Pluripotent stem cells are unspecialized and do not possess the specific characteristics (such as shape or gene expression pattern) that enable them to perform specialized functions in specific tissues.

Embryonic stem cells are typically grown in the laboratory as "stem cell lines," which are cultures of human cells that can be maintained and expanded to increase the total amount of pluripotent stem cells. Several lines of human embryonic stem cells have been established and used for research purposes.

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Controversy surrounding embryonic stem cells

The use of embryonic stem cells is a controversial topic, as the destruction of an embryo is required to obtain them. This has raised ethical concerns, and laws and guidelines in many countries regulate the use of embryonic stem cells. Despite these controversies, research on embryonic stem cells has led to a better understanding of cell differentiation. Embryonic stem cells have the potential to be used to develop new treatments for a variety of diseases and conditions.

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Mouse embryonic stem cell study shows unique differentiated cell types

One study that used mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) was published in the journal Nature in 2002. In this study, the authors demonstrated that mESCs could be used to generate functional neurons in culture.

To generate the neurons, the researchers treated embryonic stem cells with a combination of growth factors and other signaling molecules that induced the cells to differentiate into neurons. The resulting neurons were able to form functional synapses, or connections, with other neurons and responded to stimuli in a manner similar to neurons in the developing brain.

This study demonstrated that embryonic stem cells have the potential to differentiate into functional neurons, which raises the possibility that embryonic stem cells could be used to study the development of the nervous system and to potentially develop therapies for neurological disorders.

It is important to note that this study was conducted in the laboratory and that more research is needed to fully understand the potential of embryonic stem cells and to develop safe and effective therapies using these cells.

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Can you use embryonic stem cells in a clinical setting?

While embryonic stem cells have shown great promise in laboratory studies and animal models, they have not yet been used extensively in treatments for humans. This is because there are a number of ethical and technical challenges that need to be addressed before they can be used more widely.

One of the main ethical concerns surrounding the use of embryonic stem cells is that they are derived from human embryos, which raises questions about the moral status of the embryos. Additionally, the process of obtaining embryonic stem cells requires the destruction of the embryo, which is opposed by some people on moral or religious grounds.

There are also technical challenges that need to be overcome before embryonic stem cells can be used more widely in treatments. For example, scientists need to develop ways to control the differentiation of embryonic stem cells into specific cell types, and they need to find ways to prevent the cells from forming cancer cells when they are transplanted into the body.

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2. Adult Stem Cells

Adult stem cells are undifferentiated cells found in various tissues throughout the body and can differentiate into different cell types. These cells play a crucial role in maintaining the tissue in which they are found and have the potential to be used for tissue repair and regenerative medicine.

Stem cell research has found that adult stem cells are found in fully developed tissues and organs, unlike embryonic stem cells, which are derived from the inner cell mass of a blastocyst. Adult stem cells have a more limited ability to differentiate than embryonic stem cells, and they are typically referred to as "multipotent" rather than "pluripotent."

There are several different types of adult stem cells, including hematopoietic stem cells, which give rise to blood cells, and mesenchymal stem cells, which can differentiate into cells of the bone, cartilage, and fat. Hematopoietic stem cells also known as perinatal stem cellscan also be derived from umbilical cord blood cells - this type of stem cell must be HLA matched to the patient to avoid immune rejection.

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Adult cells have been vastly studied

Adult stem cells, also known as somatic stem cells, have been the subject of much scientific research and have the potential to be used to treat a wide range of diseases and conditions, including Diabetes, Parkinson's Disease, spinal cord injury, and chronic inflammation, and even help slow the overall aging process.

It is important to note that using adult stem cells is still an active research area. More studies are needed to fully understand these cells' potential and develop safe and effective therapies using adult stem cells.

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Stem cells may repair tissues through a process called differentiation

Adult stem cells are found in various tissues throughout the body, including fat cells, umbilical cord tissue, and bone marrow. Mature stem cells can differentiate into a variety of cell types, including; skin cells, muscle cells, brain cells, heart muscle cells, nerve cells, heart cells, and adult tissues.

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What are mesenchymal stem cells?

MSCs are adult stem cells that have self-renewal, immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, signaling, cell division, and differentiation properties. MSCs self-renewal capacity is characterized by their ability to divide and develop into multiple specialized cell types in a specific tissue or organ. MSCs may become unique stem cell types and create more stem cells when placed in cell culture and undergo Vitro fertilization. (Vitro fertilization can help grow stem cells in a laboratory setting. MSCs can also replace cells that are damaged or diseased. MSCs can be sourced from a variety of tissue, including adipose tissue (fat), bone marrow, umbilical cord tissue, blood, liver, dental pulp, and skin.

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Clinical trials and MSCs

MSCs are widely used in treating various diseases due to their self-renewable, differentiation, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory properties. In-vitro (performed in a laboratory setting) and in-vivo (taking place in a living organism) studies have supported an understanding of the mechanisms, safety, and efficacy of MSC therapy in clinical applications. (3)

According to a recent study conducted by Biehl et al., "The two defining characteristics of a stem cell are perpetual self-renewal and the ability to differentiate into a specialized adult cell type." (1)

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3. Induced pluripotent stem cells

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have been genetically reprogrammed to have characteristics of embryonic stem cells. They are generated by introducing specific genes into adult cells, such as skin cells, using viral vectors or other methods. The resulting cells, known as iPSCs, can self-renew and differentiate into any cell type in the body, similar to embryonic stem cells.

One of the key benefits of iPSCs is that they can be generated from a patient's own cells, which eliminates the risk of immune rejection associated with using embryonic stem cells or stem cells from a donor. This makes iPSCs a potentially helpful tool for personalized medicine and tissue repair.

iPSCs have been the subject of much scientific research. They have the potential to be used for a variety of medical purposes, including drug development and testing, disease modeling, and cell-based therapies. However, more research is needed to fully understand the potential of iPSCs and to develop safe and effective treatments using these cells.

It is important to note that the use of iPs cells are a relatively new area of research, and more studies are needed to fully understand these cells' potential and develop safe and effective therapies using iPSCs.

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What are Myeloid stem cells and are they dangerous?

Myeloid stem cells are pluripotent stem cells that reside in the bone marrow or circulation and are the precursors for all elements of the hematopoietic system. They can differentiate into granulocytes and monocytes, collectively called myeloid cells, which are controlled by distinct transcription factors.

Myeloid cells can develop cancer known as myeloid malignancies, such as acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Growth and reproduction of these stem cells is controlled by growth factors such as interleukin-3, with a comprehensive diagram showing their development from haematopoietic stem cell to mature cells in both myeloid and lymphoid lineages.

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Where do mesenchymal stem cells come from?

Mesenchymal Stem cells can be obtained from many different sources. Stem cell research indicates that these include adipose (fat tissue), umbilical cord tissue, placental tissue, umbilical cord blood, or bone marrow. You can learn more about specific sources of mesenchymal stem cells and stem cell treatments here. Mesenchymal stem cells are adult stem cells that have self-renewal, immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, signaling, and differentiation properties. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) self-renewal capacity is characterized by their ability to divide and develop into multiple specialized cell types in a specific tissue or organ.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can be sourced from a variety of tissue, including adipose tissue (fat), bone marrow, umbilical cord tissue, blood, liver, dental pulp, and skin.

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MSCs can become neural stem cells

MSCs can differentiate into tissue-specific stem cells, including cells of the bone, cartilage, heart muscle cells, brain cells, and adipose tissue. While MSCs are not typically thought of as neural cells, some studies have shown that MSCs can differentiate into cells with neural characteristics under certain conditions.

One study found that MSCs treated with specific growth factors and exposed to a neural induction medium could differentiate into cells with characteristics of both neurons and glial cells, which are types of cells that support and protect neurons in the nervous system.

However, the degree to which MSCs can differentiate into fully functional neural cells remains uncertain. More research is needed to fully understand the potential of MSCs to differentiate into neural cells and the potential use of MSCs in treating neural disorders.

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How does stem cell therapy work?

Stem cell therapy works by utilizing the self-renewal, immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, signaling, and differentiation properties of stem cells to influence positive change within the body. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) also have the capacity to self-renew by dividing and developing into multiple specialized cell types present in a specific tissue or organ. Mesenchymal stem cells are adult stem cells, meaning they present no ethical concerns, MSCs are not sourced from embryonic material.

"The characteristics of presenting no major ethical concerns, having low immunogenicity, and possessing immune modulation functions make MSCs promising candidates for stem cell therapies." - Jiang, et al. (10)

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How are stem cells administered?

Stem cells can be administered in a variety of fashions; IV Stem Cell Therapy (intravenous administration), Intrathecal (directly into the spinal canal), stem cell injections into problem areas (knee, hips, hands, etc.). Stem cell research has found that the method of administration can have different effects on a patient and should be thoroughly considered prior to selecting a route.

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Stem Cell Injections

Stem cell injections, a form of regenerative medicine, utilize the unique properties of stem cells to repair damaged or diseased tissues in the body. These injections have been successfully applied in the treatment of various medical conditions, including autoimmune, inflammatory, and neurological disorders.

The potential of stem cell therapy lies in its ability to harness the regenerative capabilities of stem cells, reducing inflammation and modulating the immune system, which may ultimately enhance the patient's quality of life and slow disease progression. While research continues to explore the full potential of stem cell injections, early clinical results indicate a promising future for this innovative treatment option in the field of regenerative medicine.

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What is the best stem cell treatment in the world?

It is difficult to definitively state what the best stem cell treatment is the world is as it depends on the medical condition being treated and the specific type of stem cell used. However, studies have shown that adult mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have shown promising results in a variety of medical conditions and are considered a safe and effective treatment option.

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What is a stem cell transplantation?

A stem cell transplant is a procedure in which a patient receives healthy stem cells to replace damaged stem cells. The stem cells may come from the patient's own body (autologous) or from a donor (allogeneic). Before the transplant, the patient receives high doses of chemotherapy and sometimes radiation therapy to prepare the body for transplantation. This is followed by wiping out the bone marrow stem cells and replacing them. An autologous stem cell transplant offers some advantages over allogeneic, such as protection against underlying blood cancers.

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What conditions is a stem cell transplantation used for?

A stem cell transplant is used to treat people with life-threatening cancer or blood diseases caused by abnormal blood cells, such as several types of leukemia, lymphoma and testicular cancer.

It can also be used to treat conditions such as multiple myeloma and some types of leukemia, where the stem cell transplant may work against cancer directly due to an effect called graft-versus-tumor.

Blood forming stem cells has been used to cure thousands of people who have cancer, but there are serious risks associated with this treatment. The US National Marrow Donor Program has a full list of diseases treatable by blood stem cell transplant.

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Stem cells target inflammation

The therapeutic uses of stem cells as a potential therapy for a variety of diseases has been immensely explored, the number of clinical trials conducted with Mesenchymal Stem Cells has increased exponentially over the past few years. (4)

Stem cells have a unique, intrinsic property that attracts them to inflammation in the body. Studies have shown that stem cell treatments can regenerate damaged or diseased tissues, reduce inflammation and modulate the immune system promoting better health and quality of life. Mesenchymal stem cells do this by influencing tissue repair via paracrine effects (cell signaling in order to change the behaviour of existing cells) or direct cell-to-cell contact.

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"MSCs are able to migrate and seed specifically into damaged tissue sites, where they can differentiate into functional cells to replace damaged or diseased cells" (4)

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Diagram showing the mechanisms of mscs

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Stem cell based research conducted by Mao F. et al. found that Mesenchymal stem cells derived from umbilical cord tissue (MSCs) facilitate tissue regeneration through mechanisms involving self-renewal and differentiation, supporting angiogenesis and tissue cell survival, and limiting inflammation." (3)

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How can stem cells be used?

MSCs are widely used in various stem cell treatments due to their self-renewable, differentiation, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory properties. In-vitro (performed in a laboratory setting) and in-vivo (taking place in a living organism) studies have supported the understanding mechanisms, safety, and efficacy of MSC therapy in clinical applications. (3)

According to Biehl et al., "The two defining characteristics of a stem cell are perpetual self-renewal and the ability to differentiate into a specialized adult cell type." (1)

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Stem cell therapeutics

Stem cell therapeutics refers to the use of stem cells for the treatment or prevention of diseases or disorders. Stem cells are a type of cell that have the ability to differentiate into many different types of cells, and they have the ability to self-renew, meaning they can divide and produce more stem cells.

This unique property of stem cells makes them a promising tool for a wide range of therapeutic applications. Stem cells are unspecialized cells that have the ability to self-renew and differentiate into specialized cells. Stem cell therapy is the use of stem cells to treat or prevent a disease or condition. The first clinical trial using stem cell therapy was reported in 2002 and it is still in development.

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Mesenchymal stem cells have the ability to turn into new types of cells

A stem cell can become many different cells and tissues in the human body. The process of stem cells maturing into new types of cells is called differentiation. This process is the most critical aspect of stem cell treatments, as the cells become the type of cells required for one's body to heal.

Stem cells are also self-replicating; this ability allows the cells to multiply into identical copies of themselves. For example, if stem cells were used to treat a neurological injury, cells administered during treatment could become nerve cells, and then replicate to create exponentially more nerve cells on their own. This ability to duplicate drastically increases the effectiveness of stem cell treatments over time.

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Differentiation (becoming new types of cells)

Mesenchymal stem cells are multipotent stem cells that can self-renew and differentiate into different cell types. In other words, mesenchymal stem cells can become a variety of different cell types including; adipose tissue, cartilage, muscle, tendon/ligament, bone, neurons, and hepatocytes (8)

According to stem cell research conducted in 2016 by Almalki et al. - "The differentiation of MSCs into specific mature cell types is controlled by various cytokines, growth factors, extracellular matrix molecules, and transcription factors (TFs). (8)

Mesenchymal stem cells contribute to tissue regeneration and differentiation, including the maintenance of homeostasis and function, adaptation to altered metabolic or environmental requirements, and the repair of damaged tissue. (9)

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Stem cells age as we do

Stem cell numbers and effectiveness begin to decrease as we age exponentially. For example, stem cells from a person in their twenties are not nearly as high quality as the brand new cells sourced from umbilical cord tissue.

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How is stem cell therapy utilized?

Adult stem cell therapy may be able to treat orthopaedic, inflammatory, autoimmune and neurological conditions, with studies conducted on use for Crohn's Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Lupus, COPD, Parkinson's, ALS, Stroke recovery and more.

Stem cells do not necessarily provide a cure for these conditions. The premise is allowing the body to heal itself well enough to mitigate the symptoms of the conditions for long periods. In many cases, this alone allows for a substantial increase in quality of life for patients.

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Will the body reject stem cells?

Cord-tissue derived mesenchymal stem cells do not have any risk of rejection within the body. They are youthful, immune-privileged, undifferentiated cells that have no rejection in the body because they have yet to be "claimed."

There are no blood products associated with them either, removing the need for a donor match; they are universally accepted. These cells seek out inflammation in the body and begin to heal the damaged tissue. Mesenchymal cord tissue-derived stem cells have been administered thousands of times at clinics around the world without instances of rejection (graft vs. host disease).

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Umbilical Cord Tissue-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells (UC-MSCs)

UC-MSCs can be sourced from a variety of areas including Wharton's Jelly, cord lining, and peri-vascular region of the umbilical cord. As a commonly discarded tissue, the umbilical cord contains a rich source of mesenchymal stromal cells, which are therefore obtained non-invasively (5).

"UC-MSCs are the most primitive type of MSCs, shown by their higher expression of Oct4, Nanog, Sox2, and KLF4 markers." (6)

Umbilical cord tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells have the ability to differentiate into different cell types and have the greatest proliferation rate of the three mentioned types of stem cells (adipose, bone marrow, cord tissue). (7)

Similar to adipose tissue and bone marrow-derived MSCs, UC-MSCs are known to secrete growth factors, cytokines, and chemokines, improving different cell repair mechanisms. (4). These functions all assist the anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties of MSCs.

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Non-invasive cell product

The harvesting procedure of UC-MSCs is non-invasive as it does not require extraction from the patient. The MSCs are taken directly from an area of an ethically donated human umbilical cord.

UC-MSCs also have a high proliferative potential than BMSCs and ASCs meaning they expand in vitro more effectively allowing for greater efficiency when obtaining higher cell numbers. (15)

Studies have found that UC-MSCs genes related to cell proliferation ( EGF), PI3K-NFkB signaling pathway ( TEK), and neurogenesis ( RTN1, NPPB, and NRP2) were upregulated (increase in the number of receptors) in UC-MSCs compared to in BM-MSCs. (15)

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Pictured: Umbilical cord tissue diagram showing where stem cells originate

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Why use umbilical cord tissue?

Cord tissue is rich in mesenchymal stem cells, potentially used to help heal, regenerate & treat a variety of conditions. Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) derived from umbilical cord tissue have shown the ability to avoid a negative response from a person's immune system, allowing the cells to be transplanted in a wide range of people without fear of rejection. These transplants may have the ability to vastly increase the body's natural healing abilities and have robust anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive responses. For an in depth comparison about different cell types please review this article.

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Stem Cell Clinics

Stem cell centers are medical facilities that offer stem cell based therapies using human stem cells, which are the body's raw materials from which all other specialized cells are generated. Within the United States, these clinics must comply with FDA regulations to provide effective treatments for patients with limited options.

Bone marrow transplants are a common form of stem cell therapy used to treat diseases such as lymphoma, leukemia, multiple myeloma and neuroblastoma, while research is being conducted into the potential of TET2 enzymes found in hematopoietic stem cells to prime the body for leukemia.

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How successful is stem cell therapy?

Stem cell therapy is a relatively new and rapidly developing field. The success rates of stem cell therapy can vary depending on the type of treatment, the disease or condition being treated, and the stage of the disease. In general, stem cell therapy is considered a safe and effective treatment option for many conditions, and many clinical trials have shown promising results.

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How long does stem cell therapy last?

The duration of stem cell therapy improvements can vary depending on the type of treatment, the disease or condition being treated, and the stage of the disease. Some studies have shown that the effects of stem cell therapy can last for several years or even indefinitely, while other studies have shown that the results may be more short-lived.

Additionally, some types of stem cell therapy may require multiple treatments for optimal results. It's important to note that stem cell therapy is a complex field, and the duration of effects can vary considerably from patient to patient.

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The best stem cell treatment clinic in the world

DVC Stem is the best stem cell therapy clinic in the world because of their commitment to safety and efficacy. First, the clinic has an IRB-approved treatment protocol, which means that it has undergone rigorous review by an independent ethics committee to ensure the safety and rights of patients. This gives patients peace of mind knowing that the treatment they are receiving has been deemed safe and ethical by experts in the field.

Furthermore, DVC Stem's clinical study, "The Effects of Cord Tissue Derived MSCs on the Treatment of Chronic Low-Grade Inflammation," is registered with the Cayman Islands government, adding an additional layer of oversight and transparency.

DVC Stem's stem cells are ethically sourced from AATB-certified, US-donated, full-term human umbilical cords and processed in an award-winning partner medical laboratory located in the USA, which is fully FDA registered, cGMP compliant, ISO 9001, and ISO 13485 certified. The cells are tested to ISCT standards for viability to meet minimum QA requirements multiple times before treatment.

Finally, the DVC Stem treatment protocol lasts two days, including the intravenous (IV) transplant of 300 million culturally expanded human umbilical cord tissue-derived adult mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). They include a variety of therapies designed to aid stem cell activation and potency (physiotherapy, acupuncture, lymphatic massage). The procedure is minimally invasive (single IV transfusion) and has minimal downtime.

All these factors make DVC Stem the best stem cell clinic in the world. They have the combination of a safe and effective treatment protocol, oversight by government and independent agencies, high-quality stem cells, and a variety of therapies designed to maximize the effectiveness of the treatment.

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Regenerative Cell Therapy

Regenerative Cell Therapy is a pioneering field in healthcare that utilizes the body's natural healing mechanisms to restore tissue and organ function lost due to age, disease, damage, or congenital defects. A crucial player in this domain is the Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs), a type of multipotent adult stem cell found in various tissues, including bone marrow, umbilical cord tissue, and adipose tissue.

MSCs are renowned for their ability to differentiate into a variety of cell types such as bone, cartilage, and muscle cells. They also have a strong capacity for self-renewal while maintaining their multipotency. Moreover, MSCs exhibit remarkable anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties, making them particularly beneficial in treating autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. By capitalizing on the unique properties of MSCs, Regenerative Cell Therapy is revolutionizing the approach to healthcare and holds tremendous potential for a host of medical conditions.

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Stem Cell Types and Sources

Stem cell populations can be classified into different types, including embryonic stem cells, adult stem cells, and induced pluripotent stem cells. These cells have the potential to differentiate into various tissue-specific cells, such as pancreatic beta cells and nerve cells, which can be used for treating diseases like diabetes and nerve disease.

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Stem Cell Ethics and Regulations

The use of stem cells, especially embryonic stem cells, raises many ethical questions and concerns. Regulations and guidelines, such as those proposed by the International Society for Stem Cell Research, aim to address these issues by outlining the ethical use and limitations of stem cell research and clinical application.

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Historical Development of Stem Cell Therapy

Stem cell research dates back decades, with the discovery of blood-forming stem cells in bone marrow. Over the years, researchers have made significant progress in understanding stem cell biology, leading to the development of new cell types and therapies for various conditions.

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Personalized Stem Cell Therapy

Recent research has highlighted the possibilities of using autologous transplantation for personalized stem cell therapy. Autologous transplantation involves the use of a patient's own stem cells, minimizing the risk of rejection and adverse effects.

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Stem Cell Banking and Preservation

Stem cell banking involves the collection, processing, and storage of stem cells, such as cord blood stem cells or adipose-derived stem cells. These cells can be used in the future for treating life-threatening conditions or regenerative therapies.

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Ongoing Clinical Trials and Research

Clinical trials are essential for evaluating the safety and efficacy of stem cell therapies. Current clinical trials are investigating the use of stem cells for treating diseases such as cardiac disease, osteoarthritis, and organ transplantation.

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The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Stem Cell Research

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning techniques are increasingly being used to analyze large datasets, identify new drug targets, and optimize stem cell differentiation protocols. AI can also help to increase understanding of stem cell functionality and potential clinical applications.

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Stem Cell Therapy for Rare Diseases

Stem cell therapy holds promise for treating rare diseases that currently have limited treatment options. Researchers are exploring the use of stem cells to regenerate damaged tissue or replace non-functioning cells in conditions such as Parkinson's disease and certain types of blood disorders.

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Future Prospects and Challenges

While stem cell therapy offers immense potential for treating various diseases, there are many challenges to overcome, including the risk of tumor formation, immune rejection, and the need for large numbers of cells. Advances in research and clinical translation will be crucial in addressing these issues and realizing the full potential of stem cell therapy.

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Conclusion

Previously untreatable neurodegenerative diseases may now possibly become treatable with advanced stem cell therapies. Regenerative medicine and its benefits may be the key to prolonging human life.

To learn more about the use of mesenchymal stem cells in a clinical setting visit our protocol page. DVC Stem provides an expanded stem cell treatment that utilizes umbilical cord tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (UC-MSCs) sourced from an FDA-compliant lab in the United States. DVC Stem offers treatment for a variety of conditions including Multiple Sclerosis, Crohn's Disease, Parkinson's, and other autoimmune conditions.

References:

(1) Biehl, Jesse K, and Brenda Russell. "Introduction to Stem Cell Therapy." The Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Mar. 2009, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4104807/.

(2) Zakrzewski, Wojciech, et al. "Stem Cells: Past, Present, and Future." Stem Cell Research & Therapy, BioMed Central, 26 Feb. 2019, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6390367/.

(3) Watt, Fiona M, and Ryan R Driskell. "The Therapeutic Potential of Stem Cells." Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences, The Royal Society, 12 Jan. 2010, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2842697/.

(4) Mao, Fei, et al. "Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Their Therapeutic Applications in Inflammatory Bowel Disease." Oncotarget, Impact Journals LLC, 6 June 2017, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28402942.

(5) Walker, J. T., Keating, A., & Davies, J. E. (2020, May 28). Stem Cells: Umbilical Cord/Wharton's Jelly Derived. Cell Engineering and Regeneration. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7992171/.

(6) Torres Crigna, A., Daniele, C., Gamez, C., Medina Balbuena, S., Pastene, D. O., Nardozi, D., ... Bieback, K. (2018, June 15). Stem/Stromal Cells for Treatment of Kidney Injuries With Focus on Preclinical Models. Frontiers in medicine. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6013716/.

(7) Mazini, L., Rochette, L., Amine, M., & Malka, G. (2019, May 22). Regenerative Capacity of Adipose-Derived Stem Cells (ADSCs), Comparison with Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs). International journal of molecular sciences. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6566837/.

(8) Almalki, S. G., & Agrawal, D. K. (2016). Key transcription factors in the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells. Differentiation; research in biological diversity. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5010472/.

(9) Grafe, I., Alexander, S., Peterson, J. R., Snider, T. N., Levi, B., Lee, B., & Mishina, Y. (2018, May 1). TGF-β Family Signaling in Mesenchymal Differentiation. Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in biology. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5932590/.

(10) Jiang, W., & Xu, J. (2020, January). Immune modulation by mesenchymal stem cells. Cell proliferation. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6985662/.

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Stem Cell Therapy: A Comprehensive Overview (2023)

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Sep 20, 2023 - This article defines and reviews the potential of stem cell therapy as a promising treatment option for various medical conditions. It also discusses and defines stem cells and their importance in the field of regenerative medicine.

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Embryonic stem cells could be used to make specialized tissues that have been lost from injury. Researchers are exploring ways to treat diabetes, Parkinson's disease, spinal cord injury, heart disease and vision and hearing loss.

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Stem cells could help medicine in three general ways: cell-based therapies, drug discovery and basic knowledge. Cell therapies would use stem cells, or cells grown from stem cells, to replace or rejuvenate damaged tissue. Scientists also want to use stem cells to understand disease and find drugs that might treat it.

Embryonic stem cells could be used to make more specialized tissues that have been lost to disease and injury. For tissues that are constantly replaced, like blood and skin, stem cells would probably be replaced directly. Researchers are also exploring ways to use stem cells to treat diabetes, Parkinson's disease, spinal cord injury, heart disease and vision and hearing loss, among others.

As of April 2007, however, no therapies using cells derived from embryonic stem cells have been tested in humans. The efficacy of stem cell therapies depends on the introduced cells arriving where they are needed and either replacing or rejuvenating damaged cells. They should not contain undifferentiated embryonic stem cells, and either the cells, the patient or both should be treated so that the patient's immune system will not attack the transplants.

Embryonic stem cells could be grown into more specialized cells for screening potential drugs. Cultures of cancer cells are already used for screening cancer drugs, and growing embryonic stem cells into heart, liver or nerve cells could be useful for testing drugs that affect those organs. Ideally, the human cells could be custom-made to represent the genetic diversity and traits typical of people who suffer from the disease being studied. Right now, potential drug molecules are tested first in mice and rats, but results of these animal tests do not always correlate with what happens in humans. Drugs that poison a human liver, for example, might do no harm to a rat's.

Many scientists think that testing pollutants and potential drugs on cells grown from human embryonic stem cells could be more accurate than current tests. This could mean that fewer animals would be killed for research and also make research faster and cheaper. However, if such experiments are to work, scientists will have to develop techniques to make sure that the cells and culture conditions remain constant; otherwise, differences between experiments could be due to factors other than the drug candidates being tested.

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How can stem cells advance medicine? - Nature Reports Stem Cells

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Stem cells could help medicine in three general ways: cell-based therapies, drug discovery and basic knowledge. Cell therapies would use stem cells, or cells grown from stem cells, to replace or rejuvenate damaged tissue. Scientists also want to use stem cells to understand disease and find drugs that might treat it.

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Embryonic stem cells could be grown into more specialized cells for screening potential drugs+ they use them to grow organs

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Stem cells could help medicine in three general ways: cell-based therapies, drug discovery and basic knowledge. Cell therapies would use stem cells, or cells grown from stem cells, to replace or rejuvenate damaged tissue. Scientists also want to use stem cells to understand disease and find drugs that might treat it.

Embryonic stem cells could be used to make more specialized tissues that have been lost to disease and injury. For tissues that are constantly replaced, like blood and skin, stem cells would probably be replaced directly. Researchers are also exploring ways to use stem cells to treat diabetes, Parkinson's disease, spinal cord injury, heart disease and vision and hearing loss, among others.

As of April 2007, however, no therapies using cells derived from embryonic stem cells have been tested in humans. The efficacy of stem cell therapies depends on the introduced cells arriving where they are needed and either replacing or rejuvenating damaged cells. They should not contain undifferentiated embryonic stem cells, and either the cells, the patient or both should be treated so that the patient's immune system will not attack the transplants.

Embryonic stem cells could be grown into more specialized cells for screening potential drugs. Cultures of cancer cells are already used for screening cancer drugs, and growing embryonic stem cells into heart, liver or nerve cells could be useful for testing drugs that affect those organs. Ideally, the human cells could be custom-made to represent the genetic diversity and traits typical of people who suffer from the disease being studied. Right now, potential drug molecules are tested first in mice and rats, but results of these animal tests do not always correlate with what happens in humans. Drugs that poison a human liver, for example, might do no harm to a rat's.

Many scientists think that testing pollutants and potential drugs on cells grown from human embryonic stem cells could be more accurate than current tests. This could mean that fewer animals would be killed for research and also make research faster and cheaper. However, if such experiments are to work, scientists will have to develop techniques to make sure that the cells and culture conditions remain constant; otherwise, differences between experiments could be due to factors other than the drug candidates being tested.

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How can stem cells advance medicine? - Nature Reports Stem Cells

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Stem cells could help medicine in three general ways: cell-based therapies, drug discovery and basic knowledge. Cell therapies would use stem cells, or cells grown from stem cells, to replace or rejuvenate damaged tissue. Scientists also want to use stem cells to understand disease and find drugs that might treat it.

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Stem cells are used to replace neurons damaged by spinal cord injury, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, or other neurological problems;

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Stem cells have the potential to treat a wide range of diseases. Here, discover why these cells are such a powerful tool for treating disease-and what hurdles experts face before new therapies reach patients.

How can stem cells treat disease?
What diseases could be treated by stem cell research?
How can I learn more about CIRM-funded research in a particular disease?
What cell therapies are available right now?
What about the therapies that are available overseas?
Why does it take so long to create new therapies?
How do scientists get stem cells to specialize into different cell types?
How do scientists test stem cell therapies?
Can't stem cell therapies increase the chances of a tumor?
Is there a risk of immune rejection with stem cells?
How do scientists grow stem cells in the right conditions?

How can stem cells treat disease?

When most people think about about stem cells treating disease they think of a stem cell transplant.

In a stem cell transplant, stem cells are first specialized into the necessary adult cell type. Then, those mature cells replace tissue that is damaged by disease or injury. This type of treatment could be used to:

Replace neurons damaged by spinal cord injury, stroke, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease or other neurological problems;

Produce insulin that could treat people with diabetes or cartilage to repair damage caused by arthritis; or

Replace virtually any tissue or organ that is injured or diseased.

But stem cell-based therapies can do much more.

Studying how stem cells develop into heart muscle cells could provide clues about how we could induce heart muscle to repair itself after a heart attack.

The cells could be used to study disease, identify new drugs, or screen drugs for toxic side effects.

Any of these would have a significant impact on human health without transplanting a single cell.

What diseases could be treated by stem cell research?

In theory, there's no limit to the types of diseases that could be treated with stem cell research. Given that researchers may be able to study all cell types they have the potential to make breakthroughs in any disease.

How can I learn more about CIRM-funded stem cell research in a particular disease?

CIRM has created disease pages for many of the major diseases being targeted by stem cell scientists. You can find those disease pages here.

You can also sort our complete list of CIRM awards to see what we've funded in different disease areas.

What cell therapies are available right now?

While there are a growing number of potential therapies being tested in clinical trials there are only a few stem cell therapies that have so far been approved by the FDA. Two therapies that CIRM provided early funding for have been approved. Those are:

Fedratinib, approved by the FDA in August 2019 as a first line therapy for myelofibrosis (scarring of the bone marrow)

Glasdegib, approved in November 2016 as a combination therapy with low dose are-C for patients 75 years of age and older with acute myelogenous leukemia

Right now the most commonly used stem cell-based therapy is bone marrow transplantation. Blood-forming stem cells in the bone marrow were the first stem cells to be identified and were the first to be used in the clinic. This life-saving technique has helped thousands people worldwide who had been suffering from blood cancers, such as leukemia.

In addition to their current use in cancer treatments, research suggests that bone marrow transplants will be useful in treating autoimmune diseases and in helping people tolerate transplanted organs.

Other therapies based on adult stem cells are currently in clinical trials. Until those trials are complete we won't know which type of stem cell is most effective in treating different diseases.
Find Out More:
Read the top ten things to know about stem cell treatments (from ISSCR)
Alan Lewis talks about getting an embryonic stem cell-based therapy to patients (3:46)

What about stem cell therapies that are available overseas?

Many overseas clinics - and a growing number here in the U.S. too - advertise "miraculous" stem cell therapies for a wide range of incurable diseases. This phenomenon is called stem cell tourism and is currently a source of concern for reputable stem cell scientists. These predatory clinics are offering therapies that have not been tested to prove they are effective or even safe. In recent few years, some patients who visited those clinics have died, others have been left blind or had serious infections as a result of receiving unproven and untested stem cells.

Find Out More:
Learn more about the issue on our Stem Cell Tourism page.
Jeanne Loring discusses concerns about stem cell tourism (3:38)
CIRM/ISSCR panel on stem cell tourism

Why does it take so long to create new stem cell therapies?

Stem cells hold the potential to treat a wide range of diseases. However, the path from the lab to the clinic is a long one. Before testing those cells in a human disease, researchers must grow the right cell type, find a way to test those cells, and make sure the cells are safe in animals before moving to human trials.

Find Out More:
Hans Keirstead talks about hurdles in developing a new therapy (5:07)

How do scientists get stem cells to specialize into different cell types?

One of the biggest hurdles in any stem cell-based therapy is coaxing stem cells to become a single cell type. The vital process of maturing stem cells from one state to another type is called differentiation.

Guiding stem cells to become a particular cell type has been fraught with difficulty. For example, stem cells growing in a developing embryo receive a carefully choreographed series of signals from the surrounding tissue. To create the same effect in the lab, researchers have to try and mimic those signals. Add the signals in the wrong order or the wrong dose and the developing cells may choose to remain immature-or become the wrong cell type

Many decades of research has uncovered many of the signals needed to properly differentiate cells. Other signals are still unknown. Many CIRM-funded researchers are attempting to differentiate very pure populations of mature cell types that can accelerate therapies.

Find Out More:
Mark Mercola talks about differentiating cells into adult tissues (3:37)

How do scientists test stem cell therapies?

Once a researcher has a mature cell type in a lab dish, the next step is to find out whether those cells can function in the body. For example, embryonic stem cells that have matured into insulin-producing cells in the lab are only useful if they continue producing insulin once transplanted inside a body. Likewise, researchers need to know that the cells can integrate into the surrounding tissue and not be rejected by the body.

Scientists test cells by first developing an animal model that mimics the human disease, and then implanting the cells to see if they help treat the disease. These types of experiments can be painstaking-because even if the cells don't completely cure the disease, they may restore some functions that would still be of enormous benefit to people. Researchers have to examine each of these possible outcomes.

In many cases testing the cells in a single animal model doesn't provide enough information. Most animal models of disease don't perfectly mimic the human disease. For example, a mouse carrying the same mutation that causes cystic fibrosis in humans doesn't show the same signs as a person with the disease. So, a stem cell therapy that treats this mouse model of cystic fibrosis may not work in humans. That's why researchers often need to test the cells in more than one animal model.

Can't stem cell therapies increase the chances of a tumor?

The promise of embryonic stem cells is that they can form any type of cell in the body. The trouble is that when implanted into an animal they do just that, in the form of tumors called teratomas. These tumors consist of a mass of many cells types and can include hair cells and many other tissues.

These teratomas are one reason why it is necessary to mature the embryonic stem cells into highly purified adult cell types before implanting into humans. Virtually all evidence has shown that the mature cells are restricted to their one identity and don't appear to revert to a teratoma-forming cell.

Find Out More:
UC Davis researcher focuses on stem cell safety (from UC Davis)
Paul Knoepfler talks about the tendency of embryonic stem cells to form tumors (4:10)

Is there a risk of immune rejection from stem cells?

Transplanted stem cells, like any transplanted organ, can be recognized by the immune system as foreign and then rejected. In organ transplants such as liver, kidney, or heart, people must be on immune suppressive drugs for the rest of their lives to prevent the immune system from recognizing that organ as foreign and destroying it.

The likelihood of the immune system rejecting a transplant of embryonic stem cell-based tissue depends on the origin of that tissue. Stem cells isolated from IVF embryos will have a genetic makeup that will not match that of the person who receives the transplant. That person's immune system will recognize those cells as foreign and reject the tissue unless a person is on powerful immune suppressive drugs.The same is true for adult stem cells from a donor.

Stem cells generated through SCNT or iPS cell technology, on the other hand, are a perfect genetic match. The immune system would likely overlook that transplanted cells, seeing it as a normal part of the body. Still, some suggest that even if the cells are perfectly matched, they may not entirely escape the notice of the immune system. Cancer cells, for example, have the same genetic make up as surrounding tissue and yet the immune system will often identify and destroy early tumors. Until more information is available from animal studies it will be hard to know whether transplanted patient-specific cells are likely to call the attention of the immune system.

Find Out More:
Jeffrey Bluestone talks about immune rejection of stem cell-based therapies (4:05)

How do scientists grow stem cells in the right conditions?

In order to be approved by the FDA for use in human trials, stem cells must be grown in good manufacturing practice (GMP) conditions. Under GMP standards, a cell line has to be manufactured so that each group of cells is grown in an identical, repeatable, sterile environment. This ensures that each batch of cells has the same properties, and each person getting a stem cell therapy gets an equivalent treatment.

Updated 2/16

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Stem cells have the potential to treat a wide range of diseases. Here, discover why these cells are such a powerful tool for treating disease-and what hurdles experts face before new therapies reach patients. How can stem cells treat disease? What diseases could be treated by stem cell research?

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Recently, certain types of stem cells have been used to test drugs for safety and quality. This will most likely have a direct impact on drug development for cardiac toxicity testing.

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In boston childrens hospital they are researching how stimuli causes stem cells to divide and multiply, transform into other types, move to other parts of the body, and become a functioning part of tissues. Researching these helps create better stem cell treatments

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A large effort, involving many labs at Boston Children's, is being devoted to understanding the stimuli that cause stem cells to divide and multiply, transform into specialized cell types, migrate to other parts of the body, and become a functioning part of tissues. Understanding these responses will help in designing more effective cell-based treatments.

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Patients receive healthy stem cells in their bloodstream that travel to their bone marrow. These healthy stem cells replace the unhealthy stem cells and make healthy red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets.

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What are Stem Cells?

Blood stem cells are produced in the bone marrow and can become any kind of blood cell the body needs. Stem cells are constantly dividing and maturing into different types of blood cells, replacing older and worn-out blood cells in the body. They produce billions of new blood cells every day. If the stem cells cannot make enough new blood cells, many serious health problems can occur. These problems may include infections, anemia or bleeding.

Healthy stem cells are needed to live. When cancer or cancer treatments destroy the stem cells, stem cell transplantation (SCT) may be the best treatment option.

What Is a Stem Cell Transplantation?

Stem cell transplantation (SCT), sometimes referred to as bone marrow transplant, is a procedure in which a patient receives healthy stem cells to replace damaged stem cells.

Before SCT, the patient receives high doses of chemotherapy, and sometimes radiation therapy, to prepare the body for transplantation. This is called "conditioning treatment." After the stem cells are infused into the patient's bloodstream, they travel to the bone marrow and begin the process of forming new, healthy blood cells including white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets. This process is called "engraftment."

Types of Stem Cell Transplantation

The main types of SCT are:

Autologous transplantation uses the patient's own stem cells. These cells are removed, treated and returned to his or her own body after a conditioning regimen.

Allogeneic transplantation uses stem cells from a donor. A donor may be a family member or someone who is not related to the patient.

A syngeneic transplantation is much less common. Syngeneic transplantation is rare for the simple reason that it's only used on identical twins. In addition, the donor twin and the recipient twin must have identical genetic makeup and tissue type.

Are You a Candidate for Stem Cell Transplantation?

Stem cell transplantation has been used to cure thousands of people who have cancer, but there are serious risks to this treatment. Before undergoing stem cell transplantation, patients considering this treatment should discuss the risks and benefits with their doctors.

Not all patients are eligible for stem cell transplantation because not all patients can withstand the conditioning regimen and the side effects of treatment. Some patients also may not be eligible for standard transplantation if they have other major health problems. For some of these patients, however, a reduced-intensity allogeneic stem cell transplant may be a treatment option.

In order to determine if a patient is a good candidate for a stem cell transplantation, the patient's healthcare team will consider

The patient's general health and medical condition

The type and stage of cancer or disease

Prior treatment history

The likelihood that the disease will respond to the transplant

The availability of a suitable donor or the ability to use the patient's own stem cells.

The risks of stem cell transplantation have decreased with the passing of each decade. Ongoing research is likely to continue to improve the procedure. For some diseases and patients, however, effective new drugs and new types of therapies may be better treatment options than stem cell transplantation. Doctors and their patients will consider many factors when deciding whether stem cell transplantation is the best treatment option.

Preparing for Transplantation

Medical Tests. Stem cell transplantation is a rigorous medical procedure. Before undergoing transplantation, patients will be given a number of medical tests to ensure that they are healthy enough for the procedure.

Caregiver. It is important for patients preparing for transplantation to choose a caregiver. Sometimes a caregiver is one person, but often several people can help at different times throughout the process. A caregiver should be with the patient all the time once the patient is discharged from the hospital in case unexpected complications arise and help is needed. Once the patient returns home, the caregiver will need to provide medical, emotional and daily support during recovery. Members of the patient's healthcare team will teach the caregiver(s) the necessary skills to care for the patient.

Cost of Transplantation. Stem cell transplantation is a very expensive procedure. As soon as a stem cell transplant is being considered as a treatment option, patients should discuss financial issues with their treatment team. Transplant centers have staff members who can help patients to get answers for financial questions concerning health insurance and financial assistance.

Most insurance plans cover some of the costs of transplantation for certain cancers or diseases. Before undergoing transplantation, patients should contact their medical insurance providers and determine which costs the insurance provider will cover. If their insurance company denies coverage for a recommended treatment, procedure, or prescription medication, patients may be able to get the decision overturned by filing an appeal with their insurance company. If claims are repeatedly denied, patients may want to contact their state's insurance agency or an attorney.

Contact an LLS Information Specialist for additional resources.

Fertility. High doses of chemotherapy and radiation can affect cells in both male and female reproductive systems. Recovery from stem cell transplantation may take months to years, and patients of childbearing age may not be physically or psychologically ready to think about parenthood for several years after transplantation. Patients who may want to have children in the future should discuss options to preserve fertility before transplantation.

See Fertility for more information.

Insertion of a Central Venous Catheter. During the transplantation process, a patient will need to have a number of intravenous (administered directly into a vein) infusions. In addition to the infusion of stem cells, patients may also receive other infusions, including fluids, chemotherapy, antibiotics, other drugs and transfusions of red blood cells and platelets. Patients will also need to have blood drawn frequently for testing to monitor their progress. These injections, if given individually, would be painful and the veins in the hands and arms could not sustain so many frequent needle pricks. Therefore, prior to the transplantation, patients will have a central line (central venous catheter [CVC]) inserted if they do not have one already. A CVC is a tube that is inserted through the skin into a large vein, usually in the upper chest. Placement is usually done under local anesthesia.

Related Links

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Blood stem cells are produced in the bone marrow and can become any kind of blood cell the body needs. Stem cells are constantly dividing and maturing into different types of blood cells, replacing older and worn-out blood cells in the body. They produce billions of new blood cells every day.