Indeed, as discoveries seems to outmaneuver controversy, Stem Cells and their enormous potential for use in clinical therapy, are the focus of much interest and debate. However, the medical jargon and the dissemination of scientific information to the general public can be quite confusing and rather overwhelming for the uninitiated.
If you have had the need to seek out stem cell therapy options, then the chances are that you may already have familiarised yourself with certain terminologies in the field. What follows is a synopsis of pertinent concepts, procedures and terminologies that should simplify matters, inform you further, and empower your effective decision-making.
What is a Stem Cell?
Stem cells are undifferentiated cells. Pluri– or totipotent stem cells have the potential, given the required microenvironment, to develop from a progenitor or parent cell into each cell type of the human body. When stem cells are referred to as being multipotent then their developmental capacity is a bit more limited and they have an ability to differentiate into many, but not all, cell types (thus multi lineages). Stem cells are capable of dividing and renewing themselves infinitely, acting as a regeneration and maintenance system.
The potency of stem cells makes them key to developing new regenerative and transplant cures.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
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