Stem+Cell+Power

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 * "Mum says I am very special! Just look at the many wonderful achievements in my short life! But that's not all, I'm just getting started!"**

Stem Cell Therapy experiments have been conducted in an attempt to treat a wide variety of both neurological and physiological disorders... These include:


 * Autoimmune diseases: multiple sclerosis, lupus, juvenile and rheumatoid arthritis
 * Stroke
 * Angina
 * Immunodeficiencies, including a new treatment for severe combined immune deficiency when used with gene therapy
 * Anaemia
 * Epstein-Barr virus infection
 * Corneal damage: For patients treated in clinical trials, full vision was restored
 * Blood and liver diseases
 * Osteogenesis imperfecta
 * Cancer treatment: As a supplementary treatment to chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy
 * Brain tumors
 * Retinoblastoma
 * Ovarian cancer
 * Solid tumors
 * Testicular cancer
 * Multiple myeloma, leukemias
 * Breast cancer
 * Neuroblastoma
 * Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
 * Renal cell carcinoma
 * Cardiac repair after heart attack: clinical trials were conducted and later announced in 2001
 * Type I diabetes: don't incorporate actual stem cells, but pancreatic islet cells from donors are manipulated in a similar way
 * Cartilage and bone damage

=AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE=

 __  Stem Cells in Parkinson's Disease?!   __
 **__Definition:__**  //Parkinson's disease is a very common neurodegenerative disorder that affects more than 2% of the population over 65 years of age. It is caused by a progressive degeneration and loss of dopamine (DA)-producing neurons, which leads to tremor, rigidity, and hypokinesia (abnormally decreased mobility).// (stemcells.nih.gov)   It is thought that this disease may be one of the first diseases to be effectively treated using stem cells such as Sammy via stem cell transplantation. In order for such treatment to go ahead knowledge about the specific cell type (DA neurons) has had to be developed and in several laboratories methods of enducing embryonic stem cells to differentiate into cells with many functions of DA neurons have occured.   <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">In a recent study, scientists allowed mouse embryonic stem cells to differentiate into DA neurons by introducing the gene <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Nurr1. When these neurons were transplanted into the brains of a rat model of Parkinson's Disease, these stem cell-derived DA neurons re-energised the brains of the rats Parkinson's model, released dopamine and improved motor function, proving to be a great success. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">      <span style="color: rgb(6,4,4);"> <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> However in regards to human stem cell therapy, scientists are having to develop a number of strategies for producing dopamine neurons from human stem cells. After development in the laboratory this cells will then face transplantation into humans with Parkinson's disease. If a successful creation of an unlimited supply of dopamine neurons could occur, it would make neurotransplantation widely available for many sufferers of Parkinson's Disease in the future. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">   <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Pictured above: Sammy and his Cousin Eddie ( <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"><span style="color: rgb(205,14,14);"><span style="color: rgb(16,20,17);">previously differentiated into a neuron) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"><span style="color: rgb(205,14,14);"><span style="color: rgb(16,20,17);">

=PHYSIOLOGICAL DISEASE= = __<span style="font-size: 170%; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;">Stem Cells in Heart Disease?! __ = <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"><span style="color: rgb(0,0,0);"><span style="color: rgb(23,45,146);"> **__Definition:__** <span style="color: rgb(35,26,26);"> //Coronary artery disease, the most common type of heart disease, happens when the heart doesn't get enough blood. Other types of heart disease involve the heart muscle and blood vessels.// <span style="color: rgb(0,0,0);"> //Heart disease - which causes damage to blood vessels near the heart - is one of Australia's biggest killers, claiming thousands of lives each year.// <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"><span style="color: rgb(0,0,0);"> In recent studies performed by Australian doctors stem cells have been taken from the patients, treated, then injected them back into the patients. This new treatment, which is currently undergoing trials, is hoped to improve heart function and increases the quality of life for people with severe heart disease. Scientists hope that if tests prove successful, the ground-breaking treatment could be available to sufferers in as little as three years.

The research, carried out at the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, linked to the University of New South Wales, involves creating new blood vessels from stem cells to replace damaged ones and improve heart function. (The Daily Telegraph)

Scientists have successfully injected the G-SCF hormone to stimulate the release of stem cells - the body's "master cells" which are capable of differentiating into specialised cells.

These cells then form new blood vessels, which increase the amount of blood flow to the heart, reducing levels of pain and breathlessness in sufferers.

Executive director of the Victor Chang Centre, Professor Bob Graham said, "The 20 patients trialing the innovative treatment responded extremely positively." (The Daily Telegraph) "Most experienced a reduction in angina and found they were able to reduce their intake of pain relief with marked improvements in some patients."

He also said: "Research into how we can harness stem cells to repair or replace diseased blood vessels is exciting. It brings fresh hope for new disease treatments."

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"><span style="color: rgb(203,26,26);"> =OTHER STEM CELL CASES= = =     __   **<span style="font-size: 150%; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;">Stem Cells in Paralysis?! **  __     <span style="font-size: 70%; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;">    Geron, a private firm in Menlo Park, California, is currently conducting clinical trials aimed at treating paralysis caused by spinal cord damage. The experiment involves transforming embryonic stem cells into oligodendryctes, which, themselves form the myelin sheath-a structure which encompasses neurons in nerve cells and insulates nerves, protecting them from leakage of electrical signals that convey messages. The trials, already conducted on rats using human embryonic stem cells, revealed that oligodendrocytes injected using this process can aid repair to the myelin sheath following damage in spinal cord injury, which, in turn, may restore and correct nerve cell function is carrying and conveying signals. This clinical trial will next be conducted on between 8 and 10 human patients who suffer from severe spinal cord damage within 1 to 2 weeks following the injury. Despite this incredible discovery, this therapy will not be effective in all cases of spinal cord injury, as the nerve cells themselves are not actually replaced, however, if proven effective in humans, this treatment may serve to reconnect the brain and limbs of those suffering from severed spinal cords and may even lead to a way in which to grow new nerve cells. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"><span style="color: rgb(203,26,26);"> <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"><span style="color: rgb(203,26,26);">  <span style="font-size: 80%; color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;">  <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"><span style="color: rgb(203,26,26);">             ** __ Stem Cells in Oocytes?! __ **              <span style="font-size: 70%; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;">   The International Stem Cell Corporation (ISCO) in Oceanside, California has found a way to produce 'embryonic-like' stem cells from an unfertilized eggs, by chemically stimulating the discarded egg. This causes the egg to form a non-viable embryo consisting of these "stem cells". Although the embryo could not be implanted into a woman's womb to produce an offspring, its cells share the same characteristics as stem cells. Moreover, these stem cells present an added advantage over embryonic stem cells in that the line of cells created only has one parent, therefore they are immunologically simpler, containing a smaller variety of the proteins that trigger immune rejection. This decrease in variety may allow for this new line of stem cells to be matched to every or many immune types in the human population, making this therapy more widely available and more effective for a variety of treatments and uses.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"><span style="color: rgb(203,26,26);">  <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"><span style="color: rgb(203,26,26);">    <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"><span style="color: rgb(203,26,26);">        <span style="font-size: 80%; color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;">  <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"><span style="color: rgb(203,26,26);">    __     **Stem Cells in Adipose Tissue?!**     __ <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">             Adipose tissue (more commonly referred to as fat) is thought to have an abundance of stem cells. If this is the case, Adipose Stem Cells could be utilized for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. These cells can be acquired through discarded fat, the sort that is found in the more than 300,000 liposuction procedures performed in the United States alone annually- producing about 150,000 gallons of fat which is later discarded. Research conducted in the US in 2001 cited that this extracted Adipose Tissue contained Stem Cells, which later studies have shown can be manipulated into other cells types or display other cell properties, including that of bone, blood vessels, nerves and muscle. It is rumoured that such an advance may be useful in the development of treatments for heart attack or bone injury. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"><span style="color: rgb(203,26,26);"> __** Stem Cells in Gene Therapy?! **__         <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">   Involves re-injecting infants with cultured stem cells of missing or damaged genes, in the prevention or treatment of early onset illness/disease.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"><span style="color: rgb(203,26,26);">   <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"><span style="color: rgb(203,26,26);"> __** Stem Cells or Bone Marrow?! **__    <span style="font-size: 110%; color: #100f0f; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;"> Stem Cells are considered to be more effective as they restore blood count faster which results in a higher rate of recovery. Content and Images from:
 * [|http://www.stemcellforpets.com]
 * http://www.innovations-report.de/html/berichte/biowissenschaften_chemie/bericht-34448.html
 * http://www.usccb.org/prolife/issues/bioethic/adult701.htm// <span style="color: rgb(0,27,255);">
 * <span style="color: rgb(0,27,255);">//__  The Economist Magazine: January 31st 2009. Page 77   __//