Stem Cells
Revolutionizing Medicine
Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are classified and named after their origin, a embryo. Through studying mice, scientists have been able to study how blastocysts, a structure within the early stages of embryos, develop into adults and the factors that determine the cell type the cell will differentiate into.
Embryonic Stem Cells
Applications:
Drug Testing
ESCs can be utilized as material for drug testing to ensure the safety and effectiveness of drugs. If ESCs can be manipulated to grow into certain cell types, they can be used to grow into samples of human tissue, in which drugs can be tested on. Normally, scientists would have to rely on animal models. Due to species-specific difference, the results gained by animal testing aren’t always accurate. However, ESCs potential application in drug testing would result in more accurate results by providing physiological models for any human cell type.
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Parkinson's Disease
Currently, many barriers stand in the way of the successful clinical utilization of ESCs, and today, there are no approved embryonic-stem cell based therapies. However, their ability to proliferate without a limit shows a great potential for treating diseases, and many clinical trials have already begun. For example, they demonstrate promising potential to treat Parkinson’s disease, a progressive movement disorder. Parkinson’s disease occurs when neurons start dying and malfunctioning, causing dopamine levels to decrease, which makes it difficult for the person to control their movement. In tests involving mice and monkeys, ESCs have been used to make dopamine-producing neuron and show the potential of repairing damaged regions of the brain. Additionally, ESCs may also release cytokine, a chemical that can induce the differentiation of other stem cells into dopamine-producing neurons. However, in order for ESCs to be applied clinically, scientists must first determine the causes of Parkinson’s disease, since it still remains poorly understood. In addition, all potential applications of ESCs are still not ready or properly accepted for human treatment, and progress is often stalled by the ethical concerns of ESC research.
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Heart Disease
In the future, ESCs may also be used for treating heart disease.Cardiomyocytes are the muscle cells that allow hearts to beat, and as a result, the loss of cardiomyocytes will cause congestive heart failure. 400,000 new cases of congestive heart failure surface every year. ESCs can potentially serve as a source of cardiomyocytes for transplants and in recent animal studies, they have been associated with the improvement of systolic functions. However, ESCs used in transplants would allogeneic, meaning they are not derived from the patient’s body. Consequently, patients have the risk of experiencing graft rejection and immunosuppression would be required.
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