How Do Stem Cells Cure Diseases
In order to understand how stem cells have the potential to cure diseases it is important to first fully understand what stem cells are and how they relate to our bodies. First formed in an embryotic state, stem cells are cellular structures that are virtually a genetic blank slate – meaning that they can differentiate and change themselves to form tissue, bone or nerve cells as needed by a body during development. As we grow older and develop these cells specialize in specific tasks, forming our skin, skeletal structure, organs, nervous system and brain. Even our blood is formed through developing stem cells and generated through their specialization to that task.
As our body develops further some of these stem cells then compartmentalize into specific body areas to be used for cellular regeneration later on as needed. While these stem cells are generally less flexible than their embryotic counterparts due to the fact that they have generally partially specialized to a particular task (such as knee stem cells generally being best suited for knee bone, cartilage or fat generation) they are still flexible enough to be used by the body for whatever specific task may be needed at any given time.
Because of the flexibility and potential for stem cells to be used in so many different ways many scientists believe that they hold the cure for a number of different diseases affecting people today. As diseases generally target specific cellular structures and in many cases render them useless (such as the thalamus’ production of dopamine being rendered inactive in the case of Parkinson’s Disease) researchers feel that harvesting stem cells and “programming” them with the genetic code necessary to develop into a healthy version of the affected area and then re-injecting them into the body could effectively be used to treat or cure a number of different diseases, disabilities or even traumas such as spinal cord injuries that until now have been considered untreatable.
The primary limiting factors facing most stem cell applications in the treatment of human diseases lie in both the source of the stem cells as well as the actual usability of the end product down the line. Embryotic stem cells, for instance, have the highest ability to conform to any existing body structure and be effective in treatments, however the harvesting of these cells would generally mean the destruction of a human embryo for the sake of the stem cells’ harvesting and is therefore considered highly unethical (and is even banned in most countries by government mandate). Alternatively pre-existing stem cells harvested from adults could also be used, however these have much less flexibility in terms of usefulness and if taken from donors may also run the risk of the body rejecting the cell outright as a foreign organism.
Still, scientific advancements in terms of stem cell development and application to the treatment of diseases are progressing rapidly and many believe that many of the difficulties currently facing stem cell usage will be overcome in a few short years, allowing for the successful treatment and possible cure of many ailments.
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