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C21
On Stem Cell Research
 

This write-up is not about the politics of the stem research, but a brief description of what this research is all about, written by a curious person who is not in this field. This is an opportunity for this Lighter to learn something about it, since one of the best ways to learn about something is try to explain it.

At the Vancouver mini-reunion, I had the chance to discuss the issue with a Lighter, who encouraged me to write something relatively simple for our webpage, but leave the politics alone. This simple write-up is the result of his encouragement, and I thank him for it.

Let us first define what stem cells are. According to a Google search, I found the following definition, sufficiently simple for me to understand: Cells that can give rise to other types of cells; they are produced both during embryonic development and in the adult body. Embryonic stem cells begin with the ability to become any cell type, and quickly differentiate into cells committed toward a certain type of tissue, eg, blood, skin, or neural stem cells. These are termed multipotential stem cells, because they further divide into cells with a particular function, such as red and white blood cells and platelets. Multipotential cells are also present in adults. Stem cells are capable of dividing for indefinite periods in culture (see for example : www.myelin.org/glossary.htm).

Human Fetal Stem Cell Therapy is a medical treatment whereby human Fetal Stem Cells are transplanted into a patient. These cellular building blocks are usually administered intravenously. The Fetal Stem Cell searches out, detects and then attempts to repair any damage or deficit discovered, as well as releases growth factors, which stimulate the body's own repair mechanisms.


Fetal Cell Properties

Human Fetal Stem Cell Therapy can be compared to a bone marrow transplant, which is known to be a successful treatment for a variety of malignant, autoimmune and genetic diseases. The primary advantage of Fetal Stem Cell transplantation is that unlike a traditional bone marrow, or umbilical cord blood stem cell transplant, there is no need for the difficult and at times futile attempt to find a donor match.
The Fetal Stem Cell does not have antigenicity (a cellular fingerprint) therefore they can be given to anyone without any rejection phenomena, thereby eliminating the use of immunosuppressive therapy (drugs that suppress the much needed immune system) ---[meaning the recipient would not likely to reject the cell transplant, C21]
These properties of the Fetal Stem Cell allow for unique treatment intervention in a multiplicity of diseases for a large group of patients who up until now have not had any means for recovery.
Now one can see why this potentially beneficial medical treatment is so controversial, since fetal stems cells are extracted normally from unborn fetuses. That is why procuring fetal stem cells from something other then unborn fetuses, such as embryonic-like stem cells from umbilical cord blood, is so important a research area.


This write-up is long enough. Need to read more to continue lah!!!!!!

Knowledgeable and interested Lighters, please comment, suggest and improve on this simple write-up and upload.


The following is a short excerpt I copied from (or stole is more like it), from the UC Berkeley Alumni magazine (September/October, 2005 issue). It summarizes the potential benefits nicely. If my fellow CAL FAN, Sally Lehrman, is unhappy with me, I hope she understands that my intention is to make all of us more aware of these issues.



Excerpt from
California Monthly, September/October 2005


State of the Science

Spinal cord injury

The aim: Restore the insulation around neurons, called myelin, or repair the spinal nerve fiber.

Next steps: Proof of principle has been shown in rats. Geron, a Menlo Park company, wants to restore myelin in people. This may help communication between nerves, but won’t repair a broken connection. Mature nerve cells taken from the nasal cavity also have shown promise as a way to generate spinal nerve fiber and stop scarring.
Alternatives: Regulators recently approved a neural prosthesis that allows people to control their hands by moving muscles in their shoulders.

Alzheimer’s disease

The aim: Replace brain cells lost to disease.
Next steps: Grow embryonic stem cells that contain the genetic material from a person with the disease so scientists can watch it develop. Very little is known about how this disease kills cells. No one is even certain which cells would be best to replace.
Alternatives: Trials for gene therapy using a nerve growth stimulant have begun. The process involves taking cells from a patient, adding the growth factor gene, and then implanting the tissue back into the brain. Groups at UC San Diego and Rush Medical Center in Chicago have tested a small number of people with encouraging results. Now plans are underway for second-stage testing. Researchers also are testing drugs that may slow or stop disease progression, including cholesterol-lowering medicines and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs already on the market.

Heart disease

The aim: Repair heart muscle after a heart attack.
Next steps: Stem cell biologists can grow large amounts of heart cells in a petri dish, but they don’t know if these can function once transplanted.
Alternatives: Working with mice, Japanese researchers used gene transfer to block a harmful immune reaction that normally occurs after a heart attack.

Juvenile diabetes

The aim: Replace insulin-producing islet cells in the pancreas or grow pancreatic tissue for transplantation.

Next steps: Researchers must learn how to produce functioning beta islet cells from stem cells. Cell transplants from deceased donors have been able to help many people, but these are in short supply and recipients must take powerful immune suppressants.

Alternatives: An implantable device under development would measure blood glucose levels and continuously pump out the appropriate amount of insulin. Other approaches aim to calm the immune system reaction that kills islet cells and to stimulate the pancreas to produce more of them.

Parkinson’s disease

The aim: Replace dopamine-producing nerve cells deep in the brain.

Next steps: Tests in rats and a small number of monkeys show promise, but only a tiny portion of the implanted cells survive and behavioral changes are small.

Alternatives: Gene therapy to enhance the survival of dopamine-producing neurons, boost dopamine production in another part of the brain, or shut down the cells that overreact and cause movement problems when dopamine levels fall too low. A couple of these approaches have worked well in monkeys.