ABSTRACT:
Stem cells are biological cells found in all multicellular organisms, that can divide (through mitosis) and differentiate into diverse specialized cell types and can self-renew to produce more stem cells. Stem cell therapy encompasses new technologies and therapies that aim to replace damaged cells with healthy new ones. In mammals, there are two broad types of stem cells: embryonic stem cells, which are isolated from the inner cell mass of blastocysts, and adult stem cells, which are found in various tissues. There are three accessible sources of autologous adult stem cells in humans: Bone marrow, (typically the femur or iliac crest), Adipose tissue (lipid cells), Blood, which requires extraction through pheresis. Stem cells can also be taken from umbilical cord blood just after birth.Cells may be dysfunctional due to any number of reasons such as genetics, disease, injury or aging. Currently, stem cells offer the potential to treat cancer, Parkinson's disease, spinal cord injuries and diabetes, among other serious diseases. There are several types of techniques for harvesting, altering and using stem cells to treat persons afflicted with conditions or diseases. Some of these techniques are simple chemistry operations that have been done for years and other techniques have controversial processes that demand extension of research and reform. New harvesting techniques are crucial to successful stem cell research because they provide greater opportunities to treat diseases in a more unique case-by-case basis. They also provide ways to overcome challenges with current techniques as well as extending stem cell therapies to diseases that may otherwise have been untreatable by current therapies.