"The ability to harness a renewable source of replacement cells and tissues holds promise..."
The ability to harness a renewable source of replacement cells and tissues holds promise for the treatment of multiple conditions including spinal cord injury, stroke, burns, heart disease, macular degeneration, osteoarthritis, autoimmune diseases, and neurodegenerative disease.
Stem cell therapies, gene therapies, and new advances in technology have created a whole new field of “regenerative medicine” that focuses on the body’s own ability to repair or cure disease rather than treat it.
Different categories of adult stem cells form different structures and treat different conditions. Adipose-derived stem cells (ASC) are fat stem cells collected through liposuction that can grow new blood vessels to:
- Repair heart muscle damaged by disease or heart attacks
- Supply blood flow for new tissues to repair damage caused by disease or injury
- Correct diabetes-related circulatory damage
Regenerate bone, fat, cartilage, and smooth muscle for the treatment of:
- Disease-related tissue damage
- Injury-related tissue damage
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are found in most tissues and organs of the body and can regenerate or help regenerate:
- Bone
- Muscle (including heart muscle)
- Cartilage
- Tendon
- Neurons
They can also be used to help a patient’s body recover from chemotherapy or radiation therapy.
Hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) are bone marrow stem cells that can be used to treat:
- Cancer
- Inherited blood disorders like sickle cell disease and thalassemia
- Autoimmune disease
- Immune deficiencies
- Inherited metabolic disorders of children
Neural (nerve) stem cells can be used to treat:
- Immune deficiencies
- Inherited metabolic disorders of children
- ALS
- Alzheimer’s Disease
- Parkinson’s Disease
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Rare demyelinating diseases of children
- Huntington’s Disease
- Stroke
- Spinal cord damage/injury
- Brain injury
Umbilical cord or “cord blood” stem cells can be used to treat:
- Childhood and adult blood cancers
- Brain injury
- Cerebral palsy
- Inherited blood disorders like sickle cell disease and thalassemia
- Inherited metabolic disorders of children
- Heart defects in children
