Saturday, January 5, 2013

Important Facts About Stem Cell Therapy Indiana Patients Should Know

By Maryellen Lamb


There are a number of things regarding stem cell therapy Indiana residents should know as they consider undergoing this modality of treatment. In this technique, adult progenitor cells that have not differentiated are used to replace those that have been damaged by disease or injury. The cells used to achieve this are described as being pleuripotential. This means that they can differentiate into almost any type of specialised tissue.

Most of the cells found in the body are fully specialised to perform particular functions. Cardiac cells, for example, are designed to contract and conduct impulses. Those of the gut are specialised to secrete digestive enzymes and those found in the brain (oligodendrocytes and neurons) have features that help them transmit neural impulses. Cells that have already specialised to perform a given function cannot perform other functions effectively.

Under normal circumstances, cells and tissues that have been damaged are usually repaired through the intrinsic reparative mechanisms of the body. These processes do not usually effectively achieve repair and there is need to enhance them. The therapy helps to restore the functions of cells and tissues by replacing the damaged components.

The use of stem cell treatment is still the subject of research. There has been huge success in a number of areas the most important of which is the bone marrow transplantation. The normal bone marrow contains different cellular components that are at various stages of maturation. The cells in the marrow are precursors of the cells found in whole blood. When any of the cellular components in the blood reduces below the acceptable limits, the precursors are used to replenish them.

The use bone marrow precursors treatment is especially useful for patients that are undergoing cancer therapy. It is common practice for doctors to combine surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy in dealing with various types of cancer. Unfortunately, one of the side effects of these treatments is that they often damage normal tissues. Blood is commonly affected with many of the cellular component destroyed and lost. The bone marrow precursors are used to replenish these components.

Apart from bone marrow cells, the therapy is also achieved using foetal stem cells. These are undifferentiated cells that have been obtained from a human foetus. The cells are usually injected directly into the affected tissue or organ where they start to divide and differentiate. Factors known as cytokines are added to help speed up the process.

The diseases that have benefited from stem cell therapy include cancer, cardiac disease, diabetes mellitus, stroke, Parkinson disease, muscle damage and Celiac disease among others. The heart and the brain are arguably the most important organs in the body yet the most susceptible to injury. This is because the two are made of cells that have differentiated permanently but have no mechanism for replacement. The therapy has, for this reason, been a great step as regards the treatment of stroke and myocardial infarcts.

The therapy started in Europe a couple of decades ago but is now known all over the world. It carries with it numerous advantages to the patient. Something important about stem cell therapy Indiana residents should have in mind is that patients are not the same for all patients. Some will respond very well while others will not. The factors that determine the success of the procedure include patient age, timing of treatment and the presence of other conditions among others.




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