By Betty Hayes There are many medical conditions that used to be a certain death sentence but that can now be treated or managed. Conditio...

Stem Cell Therapy Promises A Revolution In Treating Disease

By Betty Hayes


There are many medical conditions that used to be a certain death sentence but that can now be treated or managed. Conditions such as certain types of cancer, HIV, tuberculosis, hypertension and many others are now routinely cured or kept under control. Massive investments is made to develop new medicines and to investigate the potential of new technologies in the medical field. Stem cell therapy, specifically, and its many potential benefits has particularly excited scientists and the public alike.

Bone marrow transplants have been performed for the past thirty years, albeit on a rather small scale. The majority of recipients are cancer patients suffering from leukaemia or lymphoma. They routinely receive chemotherapy but unfortunately the chemicals kills indiscriminately. Bone marrow transplants are used to introduce new, healthy cellular material that will boost the immunity of the patient and encourage the growth of new bone marrow.

Bone marrow transplants have proved to be very valuable in treating certain types of cancer, but researchers are positive that this treatment method will become commonplace in the treatment of a very wide variety of medical conditions. It is an extremely complicated science however, and there are potential dangers that need to be addressed and new techniques that must be developed before this technology can be used on human patients.

Much research is being conducted in the potential of bone marrow transplant with patients that suffers from conditions that cause degeneration of the brain. It is believed that the damage suffered by stroke victims and those with with Parkinson and Alzheimer disease or brain injuries will be reversible in the future. Even the effects of serious damage to the spinal cord will be reversed in future.

Heart disease is one of the most common modern medical problems. Much progress has been made but once the heart is physically damage not much can be done. Research indicates that bone marrow transplants will make it possible to repair damaged heart muscles and to grow new blood vessels inside the heart. Sadly, human patients will only benefit from this research in the years to come.

Bone marrow transplants and the research performed in this area have many critics. They say that the potential harm that can be caused by these procedures have not been researched fully and that patients may experience very severe side effects. They argue that much more research need to be done before transplant procedures are offered to human patients. If the body of the recipient rejects the transplanted bone marrow the result could be death.

Critics also complain that researchers are overly optimistic about the potential uses for this technology and that they are misleading the public about the progress made thus far. They say that facilities that already offer this type of treatment raise false hopes in patients and that such treatments are nothing other than an indecent pursuit of profits.

The fact remains that much progress have been made and amazing laboratory results have been achieved. Massive efforts are being made to accelerate research efforts. Many eminent scientists firmly believe that this technology will prove to be one of the most important medical breakthroughs ever.




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