¿What are Stem cells?
The human body contains hundreds of different types of cells that are important for our daily health. These cells are responsible for keeping our bodies running every day, for making our hearts beat, for our brain to think, for our kidneys to cleanse the blood, to replace the cells in our skin as it renews, and so on. The special function of stem cells is to form all these other types of cells. Stem cells are the providers of new cells. When stem cells divide they can make more of themselves or more of other cell types. For example, skin stem cells can form more skin stem cells or can form differentiated skin cells that have specific jobs such as producing the melanin pigment.
¿Why are stem cells important for your health?
When injured or sick, your cells become damaged or die. When this happens, the stem cells are activated. Stem cells have the task of repairing damaged tissues and replacing cells that die routinely. In this way the stem cells keep us healthy and prevent premature aging. Stem cells are like our own army of microscopic doctors.
¿What kinds of stem cells can we find?
Stem cells come in many different forms. Scientists believe that every organ of our body has its own specific type of stem cells. For example, our blood comes from blood stem cells (also known as hematopoietic cells). Stem cells are also present during the early stages of human development, and when scientists grow them, they are called "embryonic stem cells." The reason why scientists are enthusiastic about embryonic stem cells is that the natural work of these cells is to build all the organs and tissues in the body during human development. What this means is that embryonic stem cells, unlike adult stem cells, can potentially be directed to the formation of almost any other type of the hundreds that exist of human cells. For example, while the blood mother cell can only form blood, an embryonic stem cell can form blood, bone, skin, brain, and so on. In addition, embryonic stem cells are programmed by nature to form tissues and even organs, while adult stem cells are not. This means that embryonic stem cells have a greater natural capacity to repair diseased organs. Embryonic stem cells are produced from embryos a few days old, left over from in vitro fertilization treatments, material that, if not used, is discarded.
¿What are the iPS or induced pluripotent stem cells?
Scientists and doctors are excited about this new type of stem cells called "iPS" cells. The reason for our enthusiasm is that iPS cells have almost the same properties as embryonic stem cells, but they do not come from an embryo. Therefore, there are no ethical considerations with respect to iPS cells. In addition, iPS cells are produced from somatic cells (which are not stem cells) of the patient himself, which means that iPS cells could be returned to the patient without risk of immunological rejection, which is a major problem with any transplant. mother cells.
¿What does the future hold for us and how could medical attention change if stem cells are incorporated into everyday therapy?
Because stem cells by nature have the task of replacing old or diseased cells, scientists have conceived the idea of using stem cells as therapy for a wide variety of medical conditions. The idea is that by giving a sick patient stem cells or cells differentiated from stem cells, we can make use of the natural ability of these cells to heal the patient. For example, if a patient has a heart attack, the goal would be to transplant stem cells into the injured tissue to repair the damage to the heart. The natural populations of stem cells that we all possess have a limited capacity to repair injuries in our body. Returning to the example of the heart, the stem cells of the heart itself are not able to repair all the damage that occurs after a heart attack. In contrast, a transplant of millions of stem cells would be much more powerful. Therefore, stem cell transplant surpasses the body's natural ability to heal, due to the limited number of stem cells. Some obstacles remain to be resolved before stem cell therapy becomes more accessible, including unwanted effects, such as the formation of tumors that these cells can potentially generate, and immune rejection. Even so, stem cells can transform medicine and perhaps in just one or two decades most of us will know someone, maybe even ourselves, who has had a stem cell transplant. Stem cells can be used to treat the most pressing diseases we face today, including cancer, heart disease, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, stroke, Huntington's disease, spinal cord injuries, and many more.
¿What treatments with stem cells are available today and why most doctors have not adopted this therapy or only recommend it with extreme caution and as a last resort?
Currently, there are few available stem cell transplant treatments that have been scientifically proven to be safe and effective. The best example is bone marrow transplantation. However, many treatments with stem cells that have not been validated are being announced and offered throughout the world. Many times these treatments attract a lot of attention from the media, especially when celebrities, like sports stars, receive them. Generally, scientists and doctors in the field of stem cell research warn against the use of these treatments because it is not clear if they really work and if they are safe. Patients have died from these treatments. While it is reasonable to consider all options when faced with a potentially incurable disease or condition, it is recommended that only these treatments be considered as a last resort and only after talking to your personal physician.