be less erratic.
Parkinson’s disease is not the only illness of the nervous system that has been positively affected by stem cells. Alzheimer’s disease within mice has been shown to effectively respond to stem cell treatment. Alzheimer’s disease is a form of dementia with no known cure. In 2010, it was reported that 35.6 million people were living with the disease worldwide. The causes of Alzheimer’s are still being determined. However, it has been linked to an increase in the buildup of amyloid beta plaques within the gray matter of the brain. Alzheimer’s ultimately leads to long-term memory loss. The degradation of the mind goes so far that vital bodily functions are eventually lost, ultimately ending in death.
Currently, there is no known cure for Alzheimer’s disease. The medications available on the market can only alleviate some of the light symptoms of the disease, including confusion, irritability, aggression, and mood swings. However, a means to combat the cause of the disease still evades modern medicine. To date, over 1,000 clinical trials have been performed, testing a barrage of medications and chemical compounds to combat the disease. Stem cells, however, may very well hold to the key to unlocking the mystery of this disease.
In 2012, a study in South Korea brought a great deal of hope to the fight against the disease. Researchers in Korea used fat-derived adult stem cells (adMSCs: human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells) to counterattack the effects of Alzheimer’s within mice in which the disease had been induced. The researchers injected these cells intravenously through the tail of the mice, and something remarkable occurred. The cells traveled the length of the animal’s body and actually crossed the blood-brain barrier, a feat that had long been thought impossible for adult stem cells. The cell treatment worked wonders on the mice. In every neurological benchmark, the mice showed improvement, from the ability to learn to the ability to remember.
The treatment of Alzheimer’s with stem cells in humans is still a long way off. However, the trial’s positive test results in South Korea have greatly opened the doors toward human-based clinical studies. More evidence will need to be found to corroborate the results of this initial study. However, stem cells are quickly emerging as the premier form of intervention for Alzheimer’s disease.
Along with Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases, stem cells have shown promising results in early trials against the damage caused by strokes. A heart attack is to the heart as a stroke is to the brain. To put it quite simply, a stroke is the result of an occlusion of a vessel to any part of the brain. This occlusion blocks off the flow of oxygen to the brain, resulting in death of the surrounding tissue. This is analogous to the ischemic damage sustained by the heart post-MI. Since the brain is the control center of all bodily functions, a stroke can have catastrophic effects on an individual. Even those who are lucky enough to survive a stroke are only met with a life filled with hardships and, in some cases, in need of years of rehabilitation.
The possibility of regenerating the sections of the brain left in ruin by a stroke has long evaded the scientific community. As with a litany of other diseases, stem cells may finally provide answers to reverse what has for so long been deemed irreversible. The regenerative potential of stem cells is, arguably, unlimited. In the case of stroke victims, the most heavily damaged portions of the brain may soon be revitalized. Trials are still in their very early phases, but results look promising.
A revolutionary study at Lund University in Sweden hopes to usher in a new age of stem cell research focusing on the cells’ efficacy to treat the effects of stroke. The Swedish research team harvested adult skin cells from humans and reprogrammed them into pluripotent cells, known as induced pluripotent stem cells. They then reintroduced these stem cells into cerebral cortices of stroke-induced rats. Upon transplantation of the cells, the rats exhibited great progress in motor capabilities. The study posits new avenues of research on the subject. The viability of induced pluripotent stem cells could possibly curb a likely shortage of stem cells in the future. The ability to reprogram common, differentiated cells into a pluripotent, progenitor state will do wonders for the field of stem cell research as a whole.
The effectiveness of this new variant of stem cells on the effects of stroke will have huge implications moving forward. Full-blown clinical trials are still a while away. However, the promising results from this Swedish trial as well as the astounding results from the clinical trial in heart attack victims add credibility to the use of stem cells in a clinical setting as an intervention for stroke.
For too long, the brain has appeared far too abstract for the grasp of medicine to reach, but no longer is that the case. The stem cell has provided a unique and unforeseen opportunity into the realm of the brain. Now, even the direst of conditions may soon be cured, not simply treated, with the aid of these marvelous cells. More research is undoubtedly needed to validate these early findings. However, with each passing day, a new breakthrough is discovered. We are but on the shores of a sea of endless possibilities, and the stem cell is our ship.
Arthritis
Arthritis is a disease known all too well by millions of people. The word arthritis is used as an umbrella term to group over 100 known diseases. The most common form of arthritis is osteoarthritis, a type of degenerative joint disease. It can result from a variety of causes, including age, trauma to the joints, and even infection of the joint. Osteoarthritis is characterized by a steady degradation of the cartilage of the joints. Symptoms include bouts of joint pain, rigidity within the joints themselves, and tenderness. In the United States, osteoarthritis is the most prevalent cause of long-term disability, affecting nearly 27 million Americans.
Current therapies for the disease are simply a means to assuage its superficial symptoms. Pain relievers are often prescribed to alleviate the accompanying joint discomfort. However, these medications carry their own risks, resulting in increased rates of cardiovascular disease and, in some cases, gastrointestinal bleeding. The need for a more effective and permanent cure for the disease is at the forefront. Stem cells may provide a means to regenerate the lost cartilage of the joints.
Again, the limitless capabilities of stem cells may prove to hold the key to a cure for osteoarthritis. A study worthy of note has shown the benefits of a stem cell treatment for patients suffering from osteoarthritis of the knee. Researchers injected mesenchymal stem cells into the knees of six patients suffering from osteoarthritis and followed them for one year. The findings were remarkable. The patients experienced a reduction in pain, along with an improvement in function, and significant reformation of the lost cartilage documented via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). This is just one of the countless number of clinical trials under way targeting osteoarthritis. The injection of stem cells directly into the joints of interest is proving to be a more than effective form of intervention.
In large part, the tangible results of stem cells still seem years away. However, the battle against osteoarthritis is one where a clear sign of victory is just beyond the horizon. The groundbreaking results of the study listed above as well as the plethora of results soon to pour in from clinical trials just like it only reaffirm the stance that stem cells are more than just a mere possibility, they are a legitimate cure. The future is now. It is only a matter of time before the near-limitless potential of these cells is truly extracted.
Conclusion
This review is purely a means to introduce the reader to a very small sliver of the vast world of stem cell research. As stated above, it is by no means, nor does it try to be, a definitive guide. The studies are all very promising in their respective fields of interest. Magnificent strides have been made in the past 20 years and even more advances will be found in the coming years. Research has a compounding effect on the world around it. In this day and age, discoveries made in one part of the world will be known in another part in a matter of seconds, not years. The collaborative effort of researchers all across the world will carry our understanding of stem cells into a new era.
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