Dear Michael,
I have heard that you had a spinal cord injury, and the doctors are recommending stem cell therapy for your treatment. I understand that maybe you have heard some negative reports of information about stem cells, and you may be skeptical about the treatment. I am just writing to explain the concept of stem cell therapy to help you understand the process before deciding upon the treatment.
Stem Cells and their Difference between Normal Cells
The human body comprises of various cell types that are specialized to perform different functions. For example, the red blood cells are specialized to transport oxygen through the different regions in the body. However, sometimes, these cells are damaged as a result of accidents or disease, and they need to be replaced for the body to continue functioning properly ( Kalra & Tomar, 2014) . Doctors often use stem cells to replace damaged cells or tissues. Stem cells are cells found to have the unique ability to grown into specialized types of cells within the body ( Kang et al., 2005) . Stem cells have two distinct properties that give them the ability to perform this function. First, they can divide numerous times to produce new cells for the body. They can also divide and transform into other different types of cells that make up the different parts of the body.
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Figure 1. An illustration showing a stem cell giving rise to more stem cells and specialized cells (Source: Genome Research Limited).
Stem cells are useful in cell replacement because they differ significantly from other types of cells found in the body. All stem cells, no matter their source are unspecialized, they can divide and renew themselves over a long time, and they can produce specialized types of cells (Kang et al., 2005). Unlike nerve cells, blood cells, or muscle cells, which do not typically replicate themselves, stem cells can reproduce or replicate numerous times. For example, a single stem cell created in the lab can give rise to millions of other cells, which can differentiate into other different types of specialized cells. Unlike other cells, if stem cells remain unspecialized, they are said to have the ability to self-renew over long periods ( Kalra & Tomar, 2014) .
Types of Stem Cells
Different types of stem cells exist within the medical field. Generally, three types of stem cells have been discovered by medical scientists: embryonic stem cells, adult stem cells, and induced pluripotent stem cells.
Embryonic Stem Cells (ESC)
The embryonic stem cells typically supply new cells for embryos as they develop into babies. They are said to be capable of changing into any cell in the body, meaning that they are pluripotent. These cells have both advantages and disadvantages. The benefits are that they can be maintained and grow for over one year in culture. They can have an established protocol for maintenance, and they can work to generate almost all other types of cells within the body (Kim et al., 2007 ) . ESC can also be studying to understand the process of human development better. However, they have several disadvantages because the processes for generating ESC lines are relatively inefficient. There is also a high possibility of ESCs to be rejected by other cells in the body when they are used in cell transplant. Similarly, ECS therapies are relatively new, and so there is a need for more research and testing to ensure efficacy and safety. Lastly, if ESCs are directly used from undifferentiated cultures for cell transplants, they are highly likely to cause cancer or tumors.
Adult Stem Cells (ASC)
ASC are new cells that develop as organisms grow, and they replace older cells that may get damaged. Unlike ESCs, ASCs are only capable of changing into some cells in the body, but not all types of cells. For this reason, they are said to be multipotent. For example, ASCs can only be used to replace the various blood cells but cannot change into tissue cells (Kim et al., 2007 ). ASCs have both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that these cells can be trans-differentiated and reprogrammed for proper functioning in the body. Also, they have a low chance of being rejected during cell transplants, and their success in organ transplants has been scientifically proven ( Kalra & Tomar, 2014) . However, the disadvantage is quite evident. They are multipotent or omnipotent, which means that they cannot differentiate into multiple specialized cells in the body (Kim et al., 2007 ). Also, ASCs have tiny numbers in a single tissue, which makes it hard for them to be found and purified.
Stem Cells in Treating Spinal Cord Injuries
Stem Cells are beneficial because they can be used to generate and replace new organs for transplant. Although damaged organs can be replaced using stem cells, there are chances that the recipient's body can reject these cells as being foreign bodies ( Kang et al., 2005) . Studies have been conducted to support the treatment of spinal cord injuries using stem cells. Stem cells can be retrieved from the human umbilical cord or the bone marrow and replicated to replace damaged cells in the spinal cord ( Kim 2007) . Injuries to the spinal cord often damage major neurons and cells that insulate the spinal neurons, which may ultimately cause the neurons to die ( Kalra & Tomar, 2014) . Stem cells can be used to regenerate neurons and their supporting cells. These developed stem cells can then be used to replace the damaged cells to improve a patient’s chance to recover basic functions such as sitting and walking.
My Opinion
After reading through researches about stem cells in treating damaged cells, and most of the evidence shows that the therapy is effective for treatment. I think that it would be a great idea to try out the therapy because it has been proven to be effective and safe. In case there are any complications, I believe that you have an excellent team of doctors to mitigate any adverse effects. I wish you a quick recovery.
References
Kalra, K., & Tomar, P. (2014). Stem cell: basics, classification, and applications. American Journal of Phytomedicine and Clinical Therapeutics , 2 (7), 919-930.
Kang, K., Kim, S. W., Oh, Y. H., Yu, J. W., Kim, K. Y., Park, H. K., ... & Han, H. (2005). A 37-year-old spinal cord-injured female patient, transplanted of multipotent stem cells from human UC blood, with improved sensory perception and mobility, both functionally and morphologically: a case study. Cytotherapy , 7 (4), 368-373.
Kim, B. G., Hwang, D. H., Lee, S. I., Kim, E. J., & Kim, S. U. (2007). Stem cell-based cell therapy for spinal cord injury. Cell Transplantation , 16 (4), 355-364.
