(CNN) Here is some background information about stem cells. Scientists believe that stem cell research can be used to treat medical conditions including Parkinsons disease, spinal cord injury, stroke, burns, heart disease, diabetes, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. About Stem Cells:Stem cell research focuses on embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells. Stem cells have two characteristics that differentiate them from other types of cells:- Stem cells are unspecialized cells that replicate themselves for long periods through cell division.- Under certain physiologic or experimental conditions, stem cells can be induced to become mature cells with special functions such as the beating cells of the heart muscle or insulin-producing cells of the pancreas. There are four classes of stem cells: totipotent, multipotent, pluripotent, and unipotent.- Totipotent stem cells that develop into cells that make up all the cells in an embryo and fetus. (Ex: The zygote/fertilized egg and the cells at the very early stages following fertilization are considered totipotent)- Multipotent stem cells can give rise to multiple types of cells, but all within a particular tissue, organ, or physiological system. (Ex: blood-forming stem cells/bone marrow cells, most often referred to as adult stem cells)- Pluripotent stem cells (ex: embryonic stem cells) … Continue reading →

In a world first, surgeons in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou are planning to inject stem cells derived from human embryos into the brains of patients with Parkinson's disease with the aim of treating their debilitating symptoms. Meanwhile, another medical team in the same city is aiming to target vision loss using embryonic stem cells (ESC) to replace lost cells in the retina, marking a new direction in China in the wake of major changes in how the country regulates stem cell treatments. While similar treatments on Parkinson's patients have already been tested in Australia, those trials relied on cells taken from eggs that were forced to divide without first being fertilised in an effort to circumvent any ethical concerns. Stem cells are a little like blank slates that are yet to take on a specific task. If you rewind the clock on any of your body's tissues, its cells will become less specialised, until you're left with a cell with a lot of potential to become nearly anything. In the case of both kinds of embryonic stem cells, divided egg cells are subjected to various treatments to encourage them to develop into replacement cells that could treat a condition … Continue reading →

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. Doctors say a breakthrough in stem cell research from over a decade ago could someday replace traditional medicine. A procedure using a patients own fat stem cells has already helped many people across the world, but these types of procedures havent been approved in the U.S. Thats why one Sioux Falls man and some Sanford doctors traveled to Munich, Germany last year. Imagine a more natural way of treating pain or even a more advanced treatment for cancer. What if I told you common ailments like chronic back pain or arthritis could be healed? Thats what doctors say treatments using a patients own stem cells could do. One of those doctors is German Doctor Eckhard Alt. The next generation of medicine would be to learn how we can heal ourselves, without artificial implants, without drugs, that we use the regenerative power of our own body, said Dr. Alt. This might sound like something out of a Sci-Fi movie, but Dr. Alt says this type of practice is already being brought to clinical practice. In nature, tells you there is a regenerative potential in all of us. If you look at the lizard, you cut off the tail, … Continue reading →