Stem Cell Treatment Centers Hold Great Promise

By Eric Davis


One can hardly comprehend the numerous advances that have been made in the field of medicine during the past few decades. Diseases and conditions that used to seen as a death sentence are now treated successfully. People live longer than before and there is no reason whatsoever to doubt that cures for many other diseases will eventually be found. One exciting development is stem cell treatment centers that may soon offer treatment for many dread diseases.

There is a lot of attention focused on marrow transplants at the moment but these transplants have been done for some time. Thus far, however, only patients with blood related cancer were treated. These patients undergo chemo therapy that destroys all cells, both healthy and diseased. This causes their immune systems to weaken and to make them more susceptible to infection. Bone marrow transplants are done to encourage the regeneration of healthy cells.

Marrow transplants certainly increase the life expectancy of cancer patients, but they do not yet offer a cure. Scientists hope that this situation will change and that bone marrow transplants will be able to cure many different types of cancer and other dread diseases. The process is riddled with danger, however, and progress is very slow. The common use of these transplants in fighting disease is still a number of years away.

Because the purpose of bone marrow transplants is to encourage the growth of new, healthy cells, scientists hope that this form of treatment will be effective in curing diseases and conditions that are caused by tissue or cell damage. They believe that it will become possible to reverse the damage caused to the brain by serious conditions such as Alzheimer and strokes. Other forms of brain damage may also one day be reversed.

Heart disease remains one of the biggest killers, especially in the western hemisphere. Researchers think that transplants will one day be used to repair damaged cells and tissue, even inside the heart, thereby curing many types of heart conditions. If this hope becomes reality, there can be no doubt that many millions of people will benefit greatly. In fact, it is hoped that any destroyed tissue will be able to be replaced eventually.

Bone marrow transplants remains a topic enveloped in clouds of controversy. During transplants it is not always just bone marrow that is used. Blood from the umbilical cords of unborn babies work just as well. This, critics say, opens a huge can of worms and that the chances of seriously unethical behaviour are just to great to risk. They say that women will become pregnant purely for the purpose of donating blood from the umbilical cord.

Critics are also accusing researchers of jumping the gun. They say that any practical and useful results from this field of research are still many years away. Critics have accused scientists of deliberately creating expectations in order to secure more research funding. Centres currently offering transplants are gambling with the lives of their patients, critics also say. The procedure is simply too dangerous and the results are most certainly not guaranteed.

The fact remains that the dreams of bone marrow transplant researchers are exciting. If these treatment methods ever become reality, millions of people will benefit. One can only hope that ongoing research produce the results that the entire world is so eagerly anticipating.




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