Stem cell therapy has been increasingly used in medicine for several years and is also becoming more important within research. It is primarily used to treat certain diseases, such as cancer. Thus, stem cell therapy is playing an increasingly important role in medicine.
What is stem cell therapy?
Stem cell therapy involves the use of stem cells. It has been used for many years in the treatment of various cancers, such as leukemias. Click to enlarge. Stem cell therapy is when stem cells are used in the treatment of certain diseases. These stem cells are cells that are not yet specialized for certain tasks and functions in the body. They can develop into different types of cells. This property of stem cells is deliberately exploited in stem cell therapy. In this process, stem cells are taken from the tissue in order to transform and reproduce them by adding certain substances so that they can subsequently take over the desired function in the body. Currently, stem cell therapy is still being researched. For some diseases, stem cell therapy is already established. However, researchers still see great potential in stem cell research, which will be further developed with the help of biomedicine.
Function, effect, application, and goals
Stem cell therapy may soon expand to more and more application areas, as medical research in this field is currently very active. In stem cells, we first distinguish embryonic stem cells from adult stem cells. Embryonic stem cells can develop into all cell types, whereas adult stem cells can only differentiate to a limited extent and do not divide as quickly as embryonic stem cells. Thus, embryonic stem cells offer more possibilities for stem cell therapy. However, the higher division rate also increases the risk of undesirable effects, such as the development of tumorous cells. Moreover, within society, embryonic stem cell research or stem cell therapy is not entirely uncontroversial. In Germany, the majority of society is ethically opposed to the destruction of human embryos in order to obtain embryonic stem cells. For this reason, the legislator has imposed strict conditions on stem cell therapy. At present, only research is being carried out in the field of embryonic stem cells; stem cell therapy is mainly carried out with adult stem cells. Stem cell therapy is used, among other things, in cancer therapy. Here it has been successfully used in the past decades, especially in the treatment of leukemia and lymphoma. Here, stem cell therapy is carried out by stem cell transplantation from the bone marrow. For this purpose, stem cells are obtained from the bone marrow of a donor and administered to the patient. Beforehand, the tumor cells have already been largely destroyed by radiation or chemotherapy. The injected stem cells have a hematopoietic function and produce new white and red blood cells. Thus, the remaining diseased cells are replaced by healthy ones and a cure of the leukemia is possible. Other possible applications of stem cell therapy include Parkinson’s disease and spinal injuries. Especially in the case of paralysis, stem cell therapy has already been successfully used in some studies. Stem cell therapy is also to be used for heart attacks and multiple sclerosis in order to support regeneration by renewing the cells. Further research is still being conducted in this area, but the medical community hopes that stem cell therapy will provide new treatment approaches here.
Risks, side effects, and dangers
As with most therapies and medications, there are risks and side effects associated with stem cell therapy. Because stem cell therapy is a relatively new procedure and is still being researched, there are not yet long-term studies on all forms of treatment. It is true that a large number of studies and trials on stem cell therapy have been conducted in recent years, and these have proven to be quite promising. Nevertheless, with new treatment methods within stem cell therapy, the benefits and risks should always be weighed against each other together with the treating physician in order to avoid possible side effects with stem cell therapy.Above all, stem cell therapy, which is carried out in states with less stringent regulations for experimental medicine and promises a quick cure for severe diseases, is strongly discouraged. The risk of serious side effects and long-term consequences of such stem cell therapy is significantly increased here.
