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Posts Tagged ‘adult stem cell research’

stem cells research

“When we know, in effect, what our cells know, health care will be revolutionized, giving birth to regenerative medicine — ultimately including the prolongation of life by regenerating our aging bodies with younger cells,” Dr. William Haseltine, CEO of Human Genome Sciences Inc., told the New York Times in a November 2000 article. He added that by learning the cell’s language and chemical processes that turn on/off cell repair, we can in essence connect with our internal fountain of youth. That’s not all stem cells research, nanotechnology and regenerative medicine can do though.

Regenerative medicine has great potential to help patients suffering from severe injuries and lost limbs. Take Lee Spievack, for instance. He sliced off his fingertip while working with a hobby shop airplane propeller. His brother happened to be a medical researcher and instructed him to apply a special powder to his wound. After four weeks, Spievack’s entire fingertip had grown back; the skin, nail, blood vessels and all! The powder was made from the extracellular matrix of a pig bladder containing proteins, connective tissues and stemcells. “It tells the body, start that process of tissue regrowth,” explains Dr. Steven Badylak of the University of Pittsburgh. Theoretically, if a person can regrow a body part, they can even regrow a missing limb, he added.

Similarly, regenerative medicine may prevent scarring and disability. Geron Corporation has been given FDA approval to begin the first set of clinical human trials applying adult stem cell research to people who have recently injured their spines. Transplanted cells can also inspire the skin of burn victims to regrow. Muscular dystrophy and multiple sclerosis can benefit from stem cell therapies that repair or replace damaged nerve cells. Scientists hope they can one day engineer living tissue from a person’s own stem cells that can replace parts of the heart damaged by heart disease.

Much of the progress being made in regenerative medicine involves studying animals that possess this asset. For instance, salamanders can regrow tails or lost limbs. Most stem cells research suggests that mammals have the ability to regenerate skin, bone and liver, but cannot regenerate entire limbs on their own. If scientists can harness regenerative capabilities, then the life span of humans can be extended indefinitely and new ways to reverse the effects of aging will be uncovered.

stem cell controversy

Think of fetal stem cells like a blank canvas. These teeny tiny parts of the human body begin as generic tidbits of DNA that can differentiate into any type of cell, tissue or organ. Scientists are extremely interested in what sort of biological and environmental triggers cause cells to develop. It’s believed that the information derived from stem cell research will help accident victims to naturally regenerate missing skin, and slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

In an embryo that is just three days old, stem cells are found that will later transform into the heart, lungs, skin, tissues, bone marrow, muscle and brain. Advocates of stem cell research believe that there may be a way to generate replacement cells for parts of the body lost through injury, disease or aging. What makes stemcells different than blood, muscle or nerve cells is their innate ability to replicate for months in a laboratory setting. Scientists are hopeful about the potential for long term rejuvenation using these self-renewing human stem cells.

In the summer of 2008, the FDA approved of a stem cell trial for paraplegics in hopes of restoring mobility for some patients. Another stem cell research trial in the UK will implant human stem cells into the brains of stroke victims. If the portent is good on these initial trials, it’s likely that there will be many more for cancer patients, blind people, burn victims and those suffering from degenerative diseases like diabetes, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.

While stem cell research has been full of controversy in America, other nations, notably Iran, have nothing against stem cell research at all. “Policies that may be classified as liberal in the American political system seem to be common sense to Iranian politicians,” explains Hassan Ashktorab of the Howard University Cancer Center in Washington, DC. While George W. Bush banned research on fetal stem cells, Iran’s Ayatollah Khamenei embraced the modern science. While human cloning is still condemned in Iranian culture, they believe it is their duty to do their best to prevent illness and protect human life.