Adult stem cells were first found in the bone marrow to replenish blood cells, soon, scientists found adult stem cells in skin, brain, blood vessel and so on. Not only adults have this type of cell, but also children. They also have extremely important roles such as curing diseases, replace wounded skin.
There are a lot of differences and similarities between and . Each type of stem cells has its own adventages and disadventages regarding potential of the cells regeneration. can become all cell types of the body and relatively easy to grow in culture because they are . However, adult stem cells are generally limited in changing into different cell types of their tissue of origin and they are hard to be found in mature tissues. This distinction determined that large numbers of cells are needed for stem cell replacement therapies.The benefit of using stem cells from an adult is that the patient's own cells could be expanded in culture and then replace them into the patient’s body. One of the most difficult problem, the immune rejection could occur after somebody had a kidney replacement surgery, sometimes it could cause the death of the patients. Instead,adult stem cells could solve this problem successfully. Using the patient's own adult stem cells mean that the cells would not be rejected by the immune system. Comparing to adult stem cells, embryonic stem cells from a donor introduced into a patient could cause transplant rejection. Nowdays, scientist conclude that embryonic stem cells have much more potential than adult stem cells because they are totipotent.
Nowdays, the use of stem cells in medical field is still the most advancing technology around the world. However, after hundred years of developing, it is clear now that these cells can be used to treat and possibly cure, a wide variety of diseases. Stem cells therapy brought a new medical revolution. Normally, if some organs in our body is out of function. Doctor transplant a new organ into the body, but sometimes this method could lead to a deadly consequences because of the immune rejection. Stem cell therapy, on the other hand, attempts to treat the disease by introducing whole human cells into the body to retore the patient’s health.
Many researches had been done on stem cell field. Scientists hope to use stem cell to treat lots of incureble diseases. As we know, stem cells can change into many types of cells, heart, nerve ,muscle, skin, etc. Because of this capacity, stem cells could be used into many types of diseases. Perhaps the best-known stem cell therapy to date is the bone marrow transplant, which is used to treat leukemia, a cancer of the blood cells. The standard treatment for leukemia involves radiatian and chemotheraph, which could kill the cencerous cell and also normal cells. Those treatments has many side affects, such as nauseas and lose hair. The greater problem assiciated with this therapy is the task to find a donor. Even if they patient could find the donor, immune infection has the possibility to cause the failure of the operation. However, stem cell therapy successfully solved this problem with autologous transplants. Through the treatment, stems cells are isolated from the bone marrow of the affected patient. Then they are induced to the normal white blood cells and grow and increase their number. Once these cells are collected, the patient’s cancerous bone marrow is destroyed. In this way, thise incureable diseases could be treated by stem cells.
Another common disease that could be treated is diabetes. It is also a serious disease that causes approxiamately 500000 deaths every year because the patient’s ability to utilize glucose is destroyed, and it could lead to blindness, heart disease or kidney failure. Diabetes is curruently treated with daily injections of insulin. However, it does not cure diabetes even it could control the immediate danger of high blood glucose levels, nor does it remove the complications of this disease. In 2001, the institutes of health found a way to induce ES cells to human body by using adult stem cells. It had been proved that stem cells from bone marrow could be converted into insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas to replace those damaged by diabetes. Although the researchers say their findings cannot help diabetics immediately, but one day be possible to produce unlimited quantities of insulin-producing cells and curing the disease.
Despite the fact that stem cells offer the hope of curing diseases, the strategies that scientist used requires the destruction of human embryos. So stem cell therapies became more controversial than any other new biological technologies. Research opponents such as conservative Christians stated that this method destroy human lives. Contrarily, medical researchers argued that the medical potential of stem cells worth to cost the destruction of the human embryos. The most recent issue in stem cell research has to do with President Bush. On August 9, 2001 who refused to allow research on any cell line created in the future so as to prevent the federal government from acting in a way that encourages the destruction of human embryo. The debate involves stem cells still varies from country to country nowdays.
Although many people oppose stem cell research, I believe its benefits outweigh its costs. Many people argued that stem cell research is immoral because of the destruction of the embryo cells. However, when we look at the extraordinary benefit that stem cell could bring us, it definitely worth some cost. In the future, stem cells hold the most promising method to cure many diseases. A lot of tests and experiments are needed to prove that stem cells are perfectly safe for patients because the technology about stem cells now still remain in the first phase. Hopefully, the destruction of embryo cells could be solved by creating embryos in the future. The benefit of stem cell research is innumerable, if those problems could be solve, stem cell technology will bring many more advantages and soon it will bring us another revolution in medical field.
Bibiography
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/2849667.stm
stem cell research, written by joseph panno.