Dear  Friends,

We are all very lucky to be witnesses to newer scientific researches and to receive easy and convinient cures for so many diseases which were put into the category of ” incurable” .

Day  in and day out we read of scientific researches taking place around the globe regarding the diagnosis , treatment of diseases and also improving the well being of the person. Quite a number of these are in preventive stages or being researched on animals. However, a small little cell called the stem cell has  acted like the revolutionary ” big bang” changing the universal picture of various diseases that were hitherto unamenable to treatment. This therapy has opened up new horizons of hope in the darker areas like neurodegenerative disorders, diabetes mellitus, cancer, etc.  It is interesting to observe that now man is peeking beyond diseases to use these litle stem cells to maintain  youth and vigour.

What are stem cells , is the right question that comes to mind now. They are the most early cells in the development of the human body and they have the potential to develop into any organ tissue of the body. This principle was behind the thought that has matured now into stem cell therapy for hitherto incurable diseases. When these cells find a way into the human body and are accepted by host body without any untoward reaction, they reach the organ where there is disease / degeneration. They lodge themselves there. They metamorphose into the cells of that tissue and start functioning there. This cell then in a diabetic patient starts secreting natural insulin  and is given hope of total cure to millions of diabetics across the globe. Similarly these cells lodge in the appropriate area of the nervous system giving hope to patients with degenerative brain disorders, post traumatic neurodegenerative diseases, spinal injuries, etc.

These stem cells were initially used in animal experiments successfully. However for the stem cells of animal origin to be successfully reach in humans took quite some time and research . As these cells were originally from animals they could be used only when the immune system of the host was suppressed to allow them to reach the target organs. Here cropped up the idea of stem cells of human origin. The umbilical cord is a rich source of stem cells. However using these stem cells needs appropriate tissue matching. Another source of stem cells is the human bone marrow cells  of an adult. Here the bone marrow cells are made to regress to stem cells by artificial culture. These are  then to be injected into the persons body. This has lead to very good results because the cells being drawn from the host himself do not lead to antigen antibody reaction in the host.  The latest and easiest in this line is using a persons dermal cells ( from skin) to develop stem cells. Both these techniques have been extensively researched and are now being  introduced in human beings.  However these are very new techniques and out of reach of the common man.

And now comes the easiest and plentiful source of stem cells – the wasted human embryos. After fertilisation there is rapid multiplication of cells, which form a ball of cells called morrula. All these cells will later on reorganise themselves and grow into various human tissues and organs. These embryonic stem cells also are a great source for  therapy. But at the moment they are still engulfed in certain controvercies…….

More on that later…..