Stem Cells: The New Medicine Medical Research Has Provided

June 8, 2015

Stem Cells: The New Medicine

Stem cell research has been conducted for many years. With stem cells we can now have a better understanding of how organisms that are complex develop from something simple as a fertilized egg. In a laboratory setting, researchers are able to follow up the process of stem cells division into specialized cells that make up the brain, bone and skin as well as other types of cells.

The process involves identifying mechanisms and signals that determine whether or not a stem cell will differentiate into something complex. Understanding will help us understand which processes control the normal cell and organ development.

The stem cell research has been triggered for years by development of serious medical conditions such as birth defects and cancer which often are as a result of abnormal growth and development of cells. Wen cells do not mature, divide and differentiate as they should then conditions such as cancer are likely to develop. A better understanding of molecular and genetic controls of the process of cell division and differentiation will yield more information as to why these conditions come to be and in the process new approaches can be sort. This is an important goal in research on stem cells.

What is a stem cell?

A stem cell is basically a cell that has not reached maturity and one that can potentially become specialized into different cells types in the boy for the formation of different body organs. Stem cells exist in two types: embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells. Embryonic stem cells come to be during division of a newly fertilized cell. When these stem cells divide, they are differentiated to become any type of cell in the body that is required for the formation of different body organs as the foetus develop in the womb.

Adult stem cells on the other hand are very different from embryonic stem cells. These types if stem cells are found I already developed tissues. They are therefore found in both children and infants. These stem cells are not developed or a fertilized egg but are found later when different tissues have already developed. These types of stem cells act like replacement cells. This means that they undergo division regularly in order to replace worn out, dead or lost cells. They are specialized to take the place of cells that have been lost or those that have died. Adult stem cells can be found in tissues of the body such as blood, brain, bone, skin and muscle. N as much as research on stem cells has been going on for long, the research has not been able to yield much result due to the inability to develop and differentiate these cells in a laboratory setting.

The medical breakthrough in stem cells research

As seen much earlier, stem cells are immature cells that have the tendency to develop and specialize into any type of cells. This being the case, researchers have tried to use stem cells in understanding and dealing with medical conditions such as birth defects and different types of cancers like leukemia. Because stem cells can be specialized into any type of cells they have the potential of treating disease and other disorders.

Today stem cells research procedures are used life-saving options for patients suffering from lymphoma, leukemia, some types of tumors and other disorders of the blood.

stem cells

Bone marrow transplant: For many years bone marrow transplant has been used tin treatment of diseases like leukemia. Bone marrow transplant involves removal of a donors bone marrow stem cells and replacing them with those of a sick patient. If the procedure proves successful, the bone marrow form a healthy donor migrates into the bone marrow of the patient. The healthy bone marrow will then begin producing healthy white blood cells which will end up replacing the abnormal cells in the patient. His s one of the major breakthroughs in stem cells transplant hat has seen many leukemia patients get a second chance.

Peripheral blood stem cells (PBSCs): naturally may of the blood stem cells are fund n he bone marrow, however a small number of these can be found n he blood stream. The process of obtaining stem cells from the bone marrow is usually a difficult process. Since stem cells are also resent in the blood, they can be obtained with ease form drawn blood making the process of obtaining stem cells easier. The only problem is that, stem cells in the blood stream exist sparsely in the blood stream which can prove difficulty while trying to extract enough of them for a transplant.

Umbilical cord stem cells transplant: the umbilical code s normally discarded as a waste product of the process of birth. However research shows that the blood found in the umbilical cord is rich in stem cells. These can be harvested and used to treat patients of cancer and other conditions of cell defects. These stems cells have been used to treating the same conditions as those treated by stem cells of the bone marrow and PBSCs.

Stem cells transplant is proving to be a promising approach to health conditions such as lymphoma and leukemia. You can tap into these benefits. Dr. Dalal Okoury is an expert in integrative medicine. Don’t also forget to attend the Integrative Addiction Conference 2015. The conference will provide a once in a lifetime opportunity of approaches to identifying and treating patients of addiction. Visit http://www.integrativeaddiction2015.com for more information about the addiction conference.

Stem Cells: The New Medicine Medical Research Has Provided

Stem Cell Treatment for Back Pain and Joint Disease

May 1, 2015

Relieve Chronic Pain without Surgery Stem Cell Treatment for Back Pain and Joint Disease

Joint diseases are known for the pain they cause. Then there is the back pain that many people are tied to without relief. There is little that is done to avail the much needed permanent relief to the patients enduring the chronic back and joint pains. To some people pain may be synonymous to addiction as that is where their addiction stemmed from. The common way of dealing with pain is to give the patients pain medication that in most the case is to help them endure the pain rather than correcting the mishap in the joints and promote healing. The opioids that are mostly used by pain patients often cause addiction and dependence when used for a long time. However there is now a ray of hope for these patients suffering from chronic back pain and joint diseases.

It has been reported that Medical researchers are trying a new treatment for low back pain. Their hope is that harvesting and then re-injecting the body’s own bone marrow which is rich in stem cells may repair worn-out discs in the spine and promote recovery. The stem cells have been a center of focus in degenerative medicine and several experiments that have been done on the use of stem cells for treatment of degenerative disease have raised hope of patients. Already there are doctors using the stem cell therapy in treating their patients suffering from various diseases.

The researchers are reported to have done a small study in which none of the patients reported any adverse effects on their pain after they were treated with the bone marrow derived stem cells. Therefore the study is deemed safe and effective. However the team of researchers admitted that there is still more research that is needed to be done on the area but still they maintained that it is a promising cutting-edge treatment.

“I tell everybody that this is experimental, with a capital E,” said Dr. Joseph Meyer Jr., an anesthesiologist and pain medicine specialist at the Columbia Interventional Pain Center, in St. Louis. “We don’t know if it works. I do believe that it’s safe, but it might not do anything for you.”

For the study, Meyer and his colleagues reviewed the case histories of 24 patients who were injected with their own bone marrow aspirate cellular concentrate (BMAC). Bone marrow concentrate contains adult stem cells, which have been called the body’s own repair kit because they can change into different cells and tissues in the body and potentially heal different kinds of tissues that are often affected by various diseases.

The patients that Dr. Meyer used in the experiment were reported to have suffered from chronic low back pain for anywhere from three months to 12 years and had had shown some evidence of degeneration, or damage, to the discs that cushion the bones of the spine. Disc degeneration is common with age, and it is thought to be a major cause of low back pain. Most of the times patients will be advise to exercise and reduce weight but if these methods fail to give any desirable results then the only option available for the patients has been invasive spinal fusion surgery.

“Fusion is a big, big step with questionable effectiveness,” he said. “Often, you’re back in the same boat a year later.”

As noted by Dr. Meyer, the invasive spinal fusion surgery is not really a lasting solution but rather helps temporarily as the problem will reoccur later most even more unbearable. He therefore opines that the stem cell treatment is potentially the best treatment that patients should consider before delving into spinal fusion surgery.

The healing potential of the stem cells

Joint disease From the experiment that Dr. Meyer conducted, a procedure that he did by using a long needle with which he harvested stem cells from the bone marrow of the patients and re-injected it into the spinal discs that had problems, half the patients used in the in the experiment went back to their other procedures over the next 30 months, making it impossible to know what might have affected their back pain. Of the other 12 who had no other kinds of treatment, 10 reported that their pain lessened in the two to four months after their injections. After a year, eight patients were still reporting significant pain relief, while three said their back pain had not improved. One patient had not yet reached the 12-month mark. After two years, five said their back pain was better, and three had no improvement. For the other four, it was still too early to tell.

Nevertheless, the healing powers of the mesenchymal stem cells have been hailed by different doctors, institutions and researchers. The stem cells owe their ability to treat to their unique properties; they are capable of dividing and renewing themselves for long periods; they are unspecialized; and they can give rise to specialized cell types. It is these distinct characteristics of the stem cells that make them effective in treatment of degenerative diseases.

With research that has been done on the effects of stem cells injection in healing the patients suffering from joint pain and other pains, it can be concluded that there is more hope for those suffering from these diseases. Dr. Dalal Akoury (MD) is an expert in integrative medicine and a founder of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Center located at Myrtle Beach South Caroline. Visit her for more information on most lifestyle diseases.