Stem+Cell+Research+Goals+and+Achievements

Stem Cell Research __**
 * __Goals and Achievements Made by:

**Overview of Stem Cell Research** Stem cells are the basic building materials of the human body. As the human body ages, the body’s ability to grow, maintain or repair itself, which is heavily dependent on the body’s stem cells, degenerates. Therefore scientists have been studying stem cells for many decades in order to treat a variety of health problems.

**Three Main Goals of Stem Cell Research ** 1. Gaining important scientific knowledge about embryonic development and its application to related fields 2. Curing diseases (Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, diabetes, stroke, spin​al cord injuries, bone diseases, etc.) 3. Screening drugs for pharmaceutical companies, instead of having to rely on animal models.



** Treatable Health Problems through Stem Cells **  - Diabetes - Burns - Limb Amputations - Neurological Disorders - Heart Disease - Spinal Cord Injuries


 * Diabetes[[image:http://stemcells.nih.gov/StaticResources/info/scireport/images/figure71.jpg width="359" height="383" align="right"]] **

In stem cell research, scientists are still trying to find ways to cure diabetes and prolong its torturing affects. Scientist are still researching new methods and conducting experiments to stop the destruction of insulin producing islet cells of the pancreas. Though the task is difficult for them, they turned their research towards adult stem cells which is the precursors to islet cells and embryonic stem cells that produce insulin.

Stem Cells researchers are looking into adult tissues and fetal tissues; they are trying to find a new source of islet cells. Scientist used mice to compare the insulin content of implants from sources of stem cells from human fetal pancreatic tissue, purified human islets, and cultured islet tissue. From these test, they found that insulin was greater in fresh tissues and purified islets. Gradually when time increased, the concentration of insulin decreased except for the purified islet graft, it remained the same. The researchers also found that it is also difficult to expand cultures of fetal islet progenitor cells in culture because when the cultured islet were implanted, the insulin increased over three month period, but couldn’t continue to replicate after

The precursor cells in cultures were able to replicate and specialize into tissues but those that already differentiated could not further replicate. Researchers have found it difficult to expand cultures of fetal cells in cultures.

One of the most important applications of stem cell research is tissue regeneration. Stem cells could be used to produce a particular type of organ or tissue. With the use of stem cells, new skin tissues could be engineered to help severely burnt victims. This method would be far more efficient when compared to the standard method of donating and transplanting organs because the demand for organs always exceeds the amount readily available.
 * Burns/Tissue Regeneration **

**Limb Amputations** Stem cell applications have already made a significant impact on potential victims of limb amputations. Stem cell research in the form of Adult Stem Cells has saved many limbs from amputations. The application of such stem cells have brought damaged limbs back to normal. “According to Dr. Hallett, 87.5% of the Indian patients were able to keep their legs while in Europe, the results are 70% were able to keep their legs. Without stem cell treatment, in similar cases of Peripheral Artery Disease, 80% LOSE their legs. So, a 70-80% success rate for this Adult Stem Cell treatment is wonderful.”

**Neurological Disorders** Stem cells are extracted from embryos and can be induced to become any type of cell. This property makes stem cells very powerful in regards to treating many diseases, specifically brain disease. By replacing damaged brain cells with new healthy ones, the body can keep unneeded muscles from moving (Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease).

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 150%;">**Heart Disease** <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Heart attacks and heart failure are the Nation’s health most challenging fight in finding a successful treatment. The restoration of the function to the damaged heart remains a formidable challenge because of the damaged heart muscle cells and the establishment of new blood vessel to supply them. Stem Cell researchers are trying to use adult stem cells to provide a recovery to the damaged heart muscle when a disease or attack occurs.



<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">One of the experiment researchers are testing is using Mouse adult stem cells and Human adult bone marrow stem cells. Mouse adult stem cells are injected to the muscle of the damaged ventricular wall of the mouse heart, and then the adult stem cells will help regenerate the damaged heart muscle cells. The other injection is human adult bone marrow which is injected into the tail of a rat, the adult stem cells induced new blood vessel in the damaged heart muscle and create new blood vessels. These are the goals that are still being achieved today for heart failure and disease.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">The FDA has been working to restore spinal cord injuries. Scientists have been clinically tried to remyelinate the injured spinal cords. By doing this, the spinal nerve fibers are able to regain some sensory function as well as a measure of neuromotor. In their first clinical trial to remyelinate the spinal cords, scientists took 8-10 patients, who are diagnosed with Grade A spinal cord injuries and these patients were injected with oligodendrocyte progenitor cells, which were derived from stem cells. Rat models have shown that these injections have been proved successful in that these rodents were restored partial motor and sensory functions compared to the untreated rodents, who suffer from permanent paralysis. Although the success in humans has not been seen yet, the success and progress achieved by the experiments done on the rats demonstrate and propose great optimism. Soon enough humans will be able to restore their mobility from spinal cord injuries through remyelination from the stem cells.
 * [[image:http://repairstemcell.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/spinal-cord.jpg width="275" height="348" align="left"]]<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 150%;">Spinal Cord Injuries **

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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/tech/stemcells/scresearch/ <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/irv/irv_19stemcellprocon.html <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">http://www.stemcell.umn.edu/stemcell/about/mission/home.html <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">[] <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [] <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> __ <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">[] __ __ <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">[] __<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">[] <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">http://websites.afar.org/site/PageServer?pagename=IA_b_stem_7_r_spin
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