STEM CELLS BENEFITS : Fact or Fiction

Stem cells are cells found in multi-cellular organisms that can be grown and transformed into specialized cells. Due to controversies surrounding them, many people don't heed the fact that they can be used to treat other diseases. Here are some of the stem cells benefits:

Stem Cells and Human Development

Stem cells have a big role in health and medical research and one of the stem cell benefits is its ability to become a top research material. Scientists can study stem cells in order to fully understand problems in normal cells to be able to develop treatment for cancer and to avoid conditions such as birth defects.

Another stem cells benefit would include being able to restore burned tissue and muscle. This process is similar to bone marrow transplants, wherein stem cells create different specialized blood cells, which are then transplanted back into the patient to replace damaged tissues.

Stem Cells and Cell-based Therapies

Stem cells can also be used to form cells and tissues for medical therapies. At present, damaged or dysfunctional organs are replaced by donated organs and tissues. However, there are instances when patients die due to lack of donors. Another of stem cells benefits is, they are made to become replacement cells to treat such kinds of diseases such as Parkinson's disease, Type I diabetes, arthritis, burns, and cardiovascular diseases. They also reduce the mortality rate of patients awaiting transplants.

To further elaborate, instead of waiting for a brand-new heart from a donor, someone whose heart has been damaged could have it replaced by healthy new muscle cells. It would be the same for a damaged brain, as well as other damaged organs of the body. An innovation to this kind of technology would be a revolution in the world of science, such as addressing genetic birth defects by instant restoration of normal healthy cells, so that the baby would not have to grow and have such defects in his adult life.

Stem Cells and Drug Testing

An important stem cells benefit to the pharmaceutical field is their ability to become testers, instead of or before drugs being tested on human and animal models, stem cells can take the boot. For instance, a cancer cell line could be created to test an anti-tumor drug.

Current stem cell benefits are already researched on and there are no qualms as to the validity of studies' claims. More studies are expected to give way to the discovery of new treatments. Patients can choose to turn to this kind of treatment for hope of recovery and reversal of disease but only time will tell if such stem cell therapies are 100% fool-proof and safe.