What are stem cells?

The human body is made up of billions of cells, each one of which is derived from a single fertilised 'egg cell'. However, the body's cells are not all identical. There are at least two hundred distinct cell types, all with different features and functions, such as neurons (nerve cells), liver cells, skin cells, and so on. These specialised cells are the body's mature or fully differentiated, cells, all of which are derived from their common ancestors, stem cells.
Stem cells themselves fall into three categories of potency, or ability to differentiate into other cell types, depending on their stage of development. 'Totipotent' cells are considered the 'master' cells of the body because they contain the genetic information needed to create all of the cell types in the body. Human cells only retain this capacity during the first few divisions of a fertilized egg.
Next come 'pluripotent' cells, which are also highly versatile and can give rise to any cell type except the cells of the placenta. Embryonic stem cells are pluripotent stem cells Finally, some adult tissues (such as bone marrow), the stem cells found are 'multipotent', meaning that they can give rise to several other cell types, but those types are limited in number and normally specific to the organ system in which they reside. These are also termed somatic, or lineage-restricted, stem cells.

Treatment: - Fetal Stem Cells Therapy

Stem cell therapy has the potential to revolutionise the treatment of a variety of human conditions. Rather than addressing the symptoms of a particular disease or condition, stem cell therapy seeks to address the cause of the condition, to effect repair or reversal of the disease state through the regeneration of the affected tissue.

Stem cell therapy offers particular potential in areas of significant unmet, or poorly met, medical need. Diseases of the brain, such as stroke and Parkinson's disease, can dramatically reduce quality of life. They consequently represent major healthcare costs, particularly in terms of long-term care. There are no treatments that effectively address the causes of these diseases. Stem cell transplantation therapy offers the potential to alleviate the symptoms of, or cure, these diseases and many others.

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	STEM CELLS - Wikipedia Stem cells are cells found in most, if not all, multi-cellular organisms. They are characterized by the ability to renew themselves through mitotic cell division and differentiating into a diverse range of specialized cell types. Research in the stem cell field grew out of findings by Canadian scientists Ernest A. McCulloch and James E. Till in the 1960s. The two broad types of mammalian stem cells are: embryonic stem cells that are isolated from the inner cell mass of blastocysts, and adult stem cells that are found in adult tissues. In a developing embryo, stem cells can differentiate into all of the specialized embryonic tissues. In adult organisms, stem cells and progenitor cells act as a repair system for the body, replenishing specialized cells, but also maintain the normal turnover of regenerative organs, such as blood, skin or intestinal tissues. Stem cells can now be grown and transformed into specialized cells with characteristics consistent with cells of various tissues such as muscles or nerves through cell culture. Highly plastic adult stem cells from a variety of sources, including umbilical cord blood and bone marrow, are routinely used in medical therapies. Embryonic cell lines and autologous embryonic stem cells generated through therapeutic cloning have also been proposed as promising candidates for future therapies.

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Last  updated 19 march 2010