10 ways stem cells promote medical development

Although stem cell research and application is still limited and difficult, stem cells are still considered 'savior' of humanity in the future.

Something about stem cells

According to the Open Encyclopedia (EWP) stem cells are biological cells capable of differentiating into individual cells and dividing to create more stem cells. It is found in multicellular organisms, mammals alone, there are two types of embryonic stem cells (Embryonic), isolated from the cell mass inside the blastocyst, and adult stem cells ( Adult), found in different tissues. In adult organisms, stem cells and progenitor cells act as a repair system for the body, they replace and replenish aging or damaged cells in adults. In developing embryos, stem cells can differentiate into specialized epidermal, endoderm and endometrial cells but also maintain the number of cells of regenerating organs, such as blood and skin. , or intestinal tissue.

Cells are the basic unit of life.

There are three known sources of autologous adult stem cells in humans: bone marrow, adipose tissue and blood. Stem cells can also be taken from umbilical cord blood immediately after birth. By definition, cells self-derive from their own bodies, like people can use their own blood for their surgeries. Adult stem cells are often used in various medical therapies such as bone marrow transplants. Stem cells can be developed artificially and differentiated into specialized cells with properties that are suitable for cells of different tissues such as muscles and nerves.

There are significant differences between non-embryonic and embryonic stem cells . As its name suggests, embryonic stem cells are exclusively derived from human embryos. A human embryo survives right after the process of fertilization of fertilized eggs. Unlike umbilical cord stem cells or cells found naturally in the body, embryonic stem cells can develop into any type of cell. This does not mean, umbilical stem cells and adult cells are useless; It is simply limited to use for research purposes. The advantage of stem cell research is diverse, such as cancer treatment to improve genetic disorders and other potentially large applications that are not yet fully exploited.

1. Create complete body parts

What if we create all the organs from the 'almost no' starting point for organ transplants while the bio-donor material is seriously lacking. Hundreds of thousands of people in the United States die each year from the lungs, kidneys, liver and heart failure. To overcome this deficiency, stem cells are considered extremely bright candidates, available in hospitals. However, many barriers still exist, such as moral factors, and legal corridors.

Thanks to stem cells hope to overcome the shortage of organ donations.

2. Treating Parkinson's disease

This neurodegenerative disease is literally terrible. It begins in the brain with the death of nerve cells producing dopamine neurotransmitters that make every movement of the body difficult, beyond the control of humans as difficult to say, trembling limbs. . Embryonic stem cells will be used to regenerate whole dopaminergic neurons for Parkinson's patients, helping them live better. However, the material used to treat Parkinson's disease is also very strict, requiring 4 human embryos for 1 patient. It is not feasible to treat many older people. The research is currently underway and hopes to find a more effective and common way to handle it.

3. Cure autism

How to use disorder stem cells stemming from a lot of genes that currently do not know the specific cause? In children with autism, we often see parts of the brain with oxygen deficiency. Thus, theoretically, putting healthy blood cells into a child's brain by using stem cells, will improve brain function, reduce symptoms of the disease. The effectiveness of clinical trials currently being implemented in animals is quite satisfactory. Thus, stem cells not only improve brain function, but also help the medicine deepen the cause of autism.

4. Treatment of cancer

One of the stem cell applications is to treat cancer. Cancer begins when the cells accumulate enough, uncontrollably. For example, in the case of breast letters, the study found genetic markers on the body's stem cells, which divide very rapidly through control, eventually leading to tumors. A genetic marker is a gene or DNA sequence with a known position on a chromosome that can be used to identify individuals or species. This discovery opened a new direction, when a tumor appeared, it was difficult to prevent its development. Currently, mastectomy is important. However, understanding this mechanism has developed a screening method for early detection of mutant cells, destroying them before cancer appears.

5. Type 1 diabetes mellitus

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease, meaning, the body's immune cells attack itself, leading to incurable complications. Type 1 diabetes mellitus appears to be damaged by the beta cells of the pancreas. Beta cells are responsible for producing insulin, hormones to process sugar when ingested. If insulin is not enough, the patient must inject artificial insulin. Both adult stem cells and embryos have been researched by scientists for the regeneration of these damaged cells. The study showed heterogeneous results, with successful studies of beta cell replication missing, but failed studies. Finding the beta cells is very important for the diabetic group, although it has not yet achieved results, but the medical community is still optimistic about stem cell-related studies.

6. Disorders of the spinal disc

More than 80% of Americans experience problems related to spinal disc or disk herniation . The spinal disc is an internal fluid that is sandwiched between the vertebrae. Its mission is to provide the body with a variety of shock and shock absorption. They naturally thin when people get old due to their inability to regenerate bone tissue. To overcome this, adult stem cells were injected into degenerative discs. The results showed an increase in intervertebral disc cells, making the whole spine stronger. This is a perfect example of how stem cells can be used in preventive medicine, hoping the disease will be successfully treated in the future.

7. Heart attack

Heart attack is a disease that many people are concerned about because it involves families. A heart attack occurs when a coronary artery is blocked, resulting in death or lack of oxygen in the heart tissue, an irreversible heart and death. Until now, science has done many studies using embryonic stem cells to treat mice with heart attacks. Stem cells are able to mimic almost the entire function of heart cells, using electrical impulses to make the heart beat. In the future, if treated with stem cells, those who have survived their heart attack for the first time can significantly reduce the risk of having a second heart attack as well as complications caused by heart attacks.

Using stem cells to treat heart disease is considered a promising direction.

8. Liver disease

Normally, the liver is the only organ in the human body that can regenerate and repair itself. Regretful when the liver is damaged, if not treated promptly, it can lead to scar tissue that cannot be replaced. The scarring of the liver can be caused by obesity, alcoholism, diabetes and many other diseases. Stem cells in adult bone marrow can be used to restore the liver, restore damaged liver tissue and prevent liver failure. Therefore, the project of using adult bone marrow stem cells to treat liver diseases is considered a new and promising direction, which can save patients with cirrhosis in the future.

9. Chronic arthritis

According to many studies, adult bone marrow stem cells have been used to protect cartilage around the injured knee joint in people with chronic osteoarthritis. The results were excellent, whereby injecting stem cells directly into the joint completely stopped cartilage degradation. Theoretically can prevent articular cartilage degeneration and maintain knee osteoarthritis not progressing worse and improve the quality of life for patients.

10. Injury of the cornea

The eyes are one of the most important parts, but unfortunately many people are partially or totally blind due to congenital or disease-causing accidents. In the US alone, more than 35 million people suffer from eye disease, costing more than $ 139 billion a year. Recently thanks to stem cell therapy, many people with this disease can benefit. One study found that the success rate of using stem cell therapy to regenerate healthy corneal tissue was over 76.6%. It is done by taking healthy corneal cells from donors, which are then cultured with embryonic stem cells and multiplied until they are sufficient in size and grafted into the patient's eye. .