Doctors have been using adult stem cells, such as the blood-forming type in bone marrow (called hematopoietic stem cells), to perform bone marrow transplants for over 40 years. Similar techniques have since been developed for treating leukemia, lymphoma and several inherited blood disorders. Recent studies have shown that adult stem cells may be able to treat a wider range of diseases than previously thought.

Not yet. Although embryonic stem cell research has shown great potential, the field is still very new; human embryonic stem cells were first identified in 1998. Moreover, in the US and some other countries, progress has been slowed by funding restrictions and political controversies.

For more than 30 years, bone marrow stem cells have been used to treat cancer patients with conditions like leukemia and lymphoma. During chemotherapy, while most of the leukemia cells are killed, so are the blood-forming stem cells in the bone marrow that patients need to make new blood cells. As a result, many patients die from the toxic effects of chemotherapy against normal blood cells.

Stem cells have been reported in the: brain, termed neural stem cells, gut, root of teeth, skin, heart, kidney and teeth. Scientists are still finding different stem cells.

In spinal cord injury and Parkinson’s disease, the body is unable to naturally heal the damaged axons and dopamine-producing neurons of the spinal cord and brain, respectively. In spinal cord injury, loss of muscle and sensory function is seen below the site of the injury. In Parkinson’s disease, involuntary movements and tremors result from the damaged neurons in the brain.

Yes, adult or somatic stem cells have been used for some time to treat disease. For example, blood stem cells created in the bone-marrow are used in “bone-marrow transplant" as a common therapy for various blood based diseases such as leukemia and aplastic anemia. Organ transplantation also uses stem cell technology.

Stem cells are used today in the treatment of leukemia, breast cancer, lymphoma, Hodgkin's Disease, Aplastic Anemia, Sickle Cell Anemia, various other cancers, blood diseases, hereditary/genetic conditions and immune system disorders. There are approximately 1.4 million new cancer cases each year. As stem cell transplants become routine, they may be used to fight lung cancer, Multiple Sclerosis, Lupus, AIDS and many other genetic diseases.

Human embryonic stem cells are thought to have much greater developmental potential than adult stem cells. This means that embryonic stem cells may be pluripotent—that is, able to give rise to cells found in all tissues of the embryo except for germ cells rather than being merely multipotent—restricted to specific subpopulations of cell types, as adult stem cells are thought to be.

This research does not use adult stem cells. In addition, splenocytes will not be used in the human trials. In one version of Dr. Faustman's experiments, she used live spleen cells to reverse diabetes in mice. It is important to note that live spleen cells are not necessary in the human research and that they have never been proposed for the human clinical trials.

Scientists have only been able to do experiments with human embryonic stem cells (hESC) since 1998, when a group led by Dr. James Thomson at the University of Wisconsin developed a technique to isolate and grow the cells. Moreover, federal funds to support hESC research have only been available since August 9, 2001, when President Bush announced his decision on federal funding for hESC research.

long as the embryonic stem cells in culture are grown under certain conditions, they can remain undifferentiated (unspecialized). But if cells are allowed to clump together to form embryoid bodies, they begin to differentiate spontaneously. They can form muscle cells, nerve cells, and many other cell types. Although spontaneous differentiation is a good indication that a culture of embryonic stem cells is healthy, it is not an efficient way to produce cultures of specific cell types.

Some research studies show rare events by some adult stem cells to repair tissue. Tissue repair by hematopoietic stem cells is controversial, due to questions of cell fusion. However, hematopoietic stem cells have been successfully used in bone marrow transplants to repopulate the immune and blood systems. Research is ongoing to determine if adult stem cells can help repair the damaged heart and brain, among other tissues.

Although there are many ethical and scientific issues with embryonic stem cells, these cells have the greatest capacity to make new tissues. To date, adult stem cells have not been shown to give rise to the variety of tissues that embryonic stem cells potentially can. Additionally, under certain conditions, embryonic stem cells can form cancerous cells. For this reason, embryonic stem cells have the potential to be studied as a model of cancer development.

Using stem cells to combat cancer is an interesting prospect. Research into this area is very new and novel. One research group found that they could use mesenchymal stem cells to deliver a cancer-toxic protein to developing tumors. Studies like this combine stem cells and gene therapy.

Blood cells grow in the same way as other human cells. They are developed in the bone marrow from a parent cell known as a “stem cell.” These stem cells begin to divide and mature until they are fully developed, forming all the different types of blood cells: white blood cells, platelets and red blood cells. Stem cells are usually found inside the bone marrow spaces of large bones, however, they can also travel from one bone to the other by way of the blood system.

Embryonic stem cells have some distinct advantages over adult stem cells. Foremost are their unique qualities to become any cell or tissue in the body and to reproduce indefinitely in culture. The latter suggests that limitless cells or tissues could be made available for therapy and research. No adult stem cell has these capabilities. Moreover, embryonic stem cells provide the only window we have to the earliest stages of human development.

Stem cells from a baby are a perfect match only for the baby or for an identical twin, and may be a very good match for a sibling. They can be used for a relative or friend if their cells closely match the baby's cells.

Some organs contain stem cells that persist throughout adult life and contribute to the maintenance and repair of those organs. Not every organ has been shown to contain stem cells, however, and generally adult stem cells have restricted developmental potential, in that their capacity for proliferation is limited and they can give rise only to a few cell types.

Embryonic stem cells have two unique qualities: 1.) They are able to develop into any of the over 220 types of tissues that make up the human body. 2.) They have the ability to reproduce indefinitely in culture, which means it is possible to obtain large amounts of cells for scientific study or therapy. Adult stem cells are found in some tissues of the body. Some have shown a capacity to be "reprogrammed" to become other types of cells.

Human embryonic and adult stem cells each have advantages and disadvantages regarding potential use for cell-based regenerative therapies. Of course, adult and embryonic stem cells differ in the number and type of differentiated cells types they can become. Embryonic stem cells can become all cell types of the body because they are pluripotent. Adult stem cells are generally limited to differentiating into different cell types of their tissue of origin.

Stem cells are the way of the future in medical technology. Ethical research is underway throughout the medical community and scientific discoveries are being made every day that are bringing us closer to being able to treat and cure many diseases once thought to be incurable or terminal.

The adult stem cells become specialized by responding to local stimuli and signals from the injured tissue. In addition, MPCs secrete biochemical factors that induce the body's own tissue or cells to grow and regenerate, effectively shrinking the injury.

Tooth stem cells can potentially be used to treat conditions in first or second degree blood relatives (siblings, parents, grandparents, uncles, and aunts) in addition to the donor. Please see previous question.

Some diseases, such as Parkinson's or diabetes, are caused by cell defects. Replacing the faulty cells with healthy ones grown from stem cells offers the hope of lifelong treatment. Similarly, injecting healthy cells to replace damaged or diseased cells could shore failing hearts and other organs, in theory, up.

Stem cells have the potential to develop into many different cell types in the human body. The cells can theoretically divide and multiply without limit to replenish certain cells as long as the person is still alive. During the division of a stem cell, each new cell has the potential to remain a stem cell or become a different kind of cell with a specific function. Examples include muscle cell, brain cell, or a red blood cell.

Click here for a list of the types of diseases and conditions that stem cells can help or that therapies are in the process of being developed for.

least 70 diseases have been treated with stem cells. These include cancers (leukemias, lymphomas, myelomas), blood disorders (thalassemias, sickle cell anemia, Fanconi's anemia), immune deficiency diseases, genetic diseases and others. StemCyte has now supplied cord blood units for over 40 different life-threatening diseases.