Stem Cell Therapy
Sarah Camp and Lexi Ong
Intro to Stem Cells
The use of stem cells in regard to treating diseases is important because it is beneficial towards many diseases and many advancements improving this therapy are being discovered.
What are Stem Cells?
Stem cells are cells that are distinguished by two important factors, the cell division process, and through the process of making tissue. There are two types of stem cells can be used for cell therapy, embryonic and somatic.
How do Stem Cells work?
Stem cell therapy promotes the reparative response of dysfunctional, contaminated, and injured tissues using stem cells. Embryotic cells, cells derived from a human embryo, are cells from which all of the tissues in the human body generate making them universal. Cells derived from bone marrow, somatic cells, are taken directly from an adult. After implantation into an effected area, the stem cells actively divide and produce new blood cells within two to six weeks. This results in a renewable source of replacement cells and tissues.
Discoveries in relation to Stem Cells
The discovery of stem cells date back to the late 1900’s and many advancements of this therapy have arose. The first in vitro stem cell line was developed from mice in 1981 and has advanced the progression towards a cure for cancer.
Treatment of disease through Stem Cell Therapy
Research has provided evidence that stem cell therapy results in improvement of diseases such as those mentioned and many more. This therapy has already been proven accurate in eight diseases, and the research is still continuing.
Detriments of Stem Cell Therapy
Some believe that this therapy will further aggravate the process of the disease, making it worse than before undergoing therapy. In addition, many countries provide humans with this therapy using unchecked stem cells, meaning that a human can possibly be administered a stem cell from an animal. One out of the two types of stem cells include embryotic, derived from an embryo whether it be in a fertility clinic on a growing embryo, or a miscarried embryo. Some find this practice immoral.
Benefits
Support
More than half of society favor the use of stem cells due to the therapy's many benefits and with rapidly increasing cases of cancer and many other diseases, all possible roads to a cure must be explored.
Sources
http://www.vistastemcell.com/images/graph2.png
http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/stemcells/quickref/somaticstemcells.jpg
http://www.ichstm2013.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Human_embryonic_stem_cells.jpg
http://www.ichstm2013.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Human_embryonic_stem_cells.jpg
http://media.trb.com/media/photo/2011-04/209727720-29142719.jpg
http://thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2006/06/stemcellpoll.JPG