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Stem cell therapy essay
Stem cell therapy essay
What are the advantages and disadvantages of stem cell research
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tem cell therapy is a type of cell therapy wherein cells are introduced into the damaged tissue so as to treat the disorder or the injury. There are a number of medical researchers who believes that the stem cell therapy has the potential to change the treatment of human diseases and reduce the suffering people face when they have a disease. They believe that there are a lot of potential to replace the damaged and diseased tissues in the body without getting the risk of rejections.
The stem cells have the ability to self-renew and also give rise to further generation of cells that can multiply. There are a number of stem cell therapies that do exist but most of them are still in the experimental stages. The treatments are very costly with an exception of bone marrow transplant. However, researchers believe that one day they will be able to develop technologies from embryonic stem cells and also adult stem cells to cure type I diabetes, cancer, Parkinson’s disease, cardiac failure, neurological disorders and many more such ailments.
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Here are some of the pros and cons of the therapy.
Pros of the stem cell therapy include:
• It offers a lot of medical benefits in the therapeutic sectors of regenerative medicine and cloning.
• It shows great potential in the treatment of a number of conditions like Parkinson’s disease, spinal cord injuries, Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia, cancer, diabetes and many
It helps medics to find a direct genetic cause of the patient’s condition and target it with pharmaceutical or other therapies. The technology is used for the identification of DNA sequences that increase risks of current diseases and disorders; with this information carriers can start to make efforts to prevent them before the development of the problem. The video mentioned 200 actionable genes, structures that have direct links with a specific condition. Knowing about their presence, people have a chance to bring in preventive measures like taking anticoagulants in the case of identification of a thrombogenic gene. The technology led to the significant improvement of diagnostics and personalized treatments. It helped to find a rare, life-threatening mutation in case of Beery twins and assign a drug to a girl (Alexis) that returned her to a normal life. In the case of cancer genome sequencing led to the development of genetic drags, which target essential tumor genes and make malign structures to shrink. The video mentioned a product that works with the BRАF protein that induces cells to uncontrolled division; the drug led to the remission in the patient with metastasizing melanoma. Such treatment was effective in the case of cystic fibrosis. In the case of the breast cancer the technology helps to evaluate the aggressiveness of the condition and make a personalized decision about chemotherapy. The video also mentioned the pre-implantation genetic diagnosis – an early-staged technology that prevents the development of inherited disorders in
Pharmaceuticals have examined and found to ”work by changing the biological functions of the target cells in the body through chemical agents“ (Doweiko, 2015, p. 16). ”Many people in the past have thought that drugs that
Drugs can be tested on stem cells that develop into the target tissue before using it on human test subjects, which improves safety. Finally, transplantation of organs created from stem cells could eliminate the need for human organ donors.... ... middle of paper ... ... The 'Standard' of the 'Standard'.
Guided by fabulous results in preventing permanent damage from stroke and other injuries to the central nervous system in rats and other animals, researchers around the world have launched scores of trials in humans (12). However, many promising new therapies are sitting on the shelf because of a lack of money and other resources necessary to conduct large, lengthy, and expensive studies to conclusively show that a new drug or treatment really works in people. The requirement for safety and efficacy can be frustrating, especially for badly needed treatments that are very promising, but such caution is necessary.
Amgen's first product, Epogen was approved in June 1989 for use in the United States. Neupogen (filgrastim) Amgen's second product, received approval for use in February 1991, is used for preventing infections in cancer patients that receive chemotherapy for bone marrow and peripheral blood progenitor cell transplantation patients and treatment for chronic neutropenia, which is a rare blood disorder. Amgen has research in the areas of hematopoiesis, neurobiology, inflammation/autoimmunity, and soft tissue repair and regeneration. Products from the research, in the four areas mentioned from above, may, sometime in the future, be used in treating conditions characterized by disorders of blood and bone marrow, neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, or traumatic nerve injury.
So what is cellular therapy? The basic premise behind cell therapy is the injection, transplantation or ingestion (now the treatment comes in oral tablets!) of living or freeze-dried animal tissue from fetuses, embryos or organ's of young animals. The tissue is most commonly taken from sheep, cows, and sharks with sheep being the most optimal donors because they are "vital [and] hardy animals with the best immune systems" and their "proteins are particularly compatible with the human body" (www.youngeryounger.com, 2003). The tissues or cells transplan...
Somatic cell gene therapy is where genes can be put into specific cells and areas of the body which are affected by the disease. All cellular DNA in our body is essentially the same because it was replicated from the same zygote (fertilized egg). Cel ls differentiate into their respective tissues depending upon which part of the total genome is used.
...uscle tissue regeneration, the potential cure for neurodegenerative disease, and the potential use of therapeutic cloning. SC is the future of regenerative medicine, so why hinder the research if it has a lot of potential to save lives?
Because stem cells are essentially a blank slate, scientists are theoretically capable of growing any human tissue cell. There is enormous medical potential in this. Stem cell research is the next step in advancing the medical field. It is comparable to the discovery of penicillin or the inoculation for smallpox.
...velopment of tissues to replace damaged organs in the human body. Scientists have discovered for the first time how stem cells could be generated from embryo’s that were produced using adult stem cells.
In 2013 about 580,350 Americans were projected to die of cancer, almost 1,600 people a day. Cancer remains the second most common cause of death in the US, accounting for nearly 1 of every 4 deaths (Cancer Facts). Doctors and scientists are always trying to discover new ways to help battle cancer as well as other diseases. Doctors have tried everything from plants to radiation to try and destroy cancerous cells. Instead of destroying them Scientists and doctors are now trying to replace the old cancerous cells. In order to replace these cells they will need new cells. Stem cell research is the newest way doctors are trying to help with diseases. There are different types of stem cells. Stem cells are cells found primarily in embryos, and they have not yet taken on the characteristics of any particular type of cell, such as bone, muscle tissue or brain matter. The newest research being done is with embryotic stem cells. Embryotic Stem cells have been used in medical therapies to aid patients with many types of diseases; that being said it is imperative that we continue researching, practicing, and funding these medical advancements.
Yet there are also some major benefits that have already arisen from cloning. Stem cells are somatic cells in a primitive state, where they can grow into many different types of cells. In an explanation for some of the benefits of cloning, the following example is given, “These cells [stem cells] could then be used for medical purposes, possibly even for growing whole organs” (Utah University).
Many patients in hospitals are waiting for transplants and many of them are dying because they are not receiving the needed organs. To solve this problem, scientists have been using embryonic stem cells to produce organs or tissues to repair or replace damaged ones (Human Cloning). Skin for burn victims, brain cells for the brain damaged, hearts, lungs, livers, and kidneys can all be produced. By combining the technology of stem cell research and human cloning, it will be possible to produce the needed tissues and organs for patients in desperate need of a transplant (Human Cloning). The waiting list for transplants will become a lot shorter and a lot less people will have to suffer and die just because they are in great need of a transplant....
In order to discover the ways for the remedy of diseases, studies in therapeutic approaches have been doing widely and kept increasing at accelerated pace. A lot of research areas had emerged for that purpose including one of the most fascinating and highly active areas at present, stem cells therapies. Due to self-renewal property and differentiation capability of stem cell, it becomes a new hope in modern treatment.
The procedures that will be the future of modern medicine currently fall into the realms of taboo and fictional. These procedures encompass every aspect of medical science, from exploration of the human body, curing diseases, to improving a person’s quality of life. Many of these procedures are not very well known, while a few have been in the spotlight. These procedures include cloning, nano-robotics, retro-viruses, and genetic manipulation via gene-specific medications. For any serious breakthroughs in modern medical science, we must embrace these new forms of treatment instead of shying away from them. Second, I’ll attempt to explain how these methods and procedures could benefit mankind.