Cancer treatment and Stem Cells

   

More than ten years into the 21st Century, cancer continues to be the No.1 cause of innumerable deaths worldwide. Although therapeutic response rates and time to progression have dramatically improved, long-term survival has not changed for most, if not all. Past decades of cancer research and drug development have largely considered all tumor cells equal in status and potential for harm.

This is no longer the case, as rare sub-populations of tumor cells are being identified as responsible for fueling tumor growth. These cancer stem cells appear more resistant to chemotherapy and radiation than most cells within the tumor, explaining why tumor regression following such therapies is so common. Furthermore, because newer therapies composed of antibodies or small molecules have been developed against bulk tumor cells and not the cancer stem cells population, it is unlikely that cures for cancer will be imminent until the scope of attention is focused on the cancer stem cells population itself.

Normal stem cells serve to support tissue growth and maintenance over the lifetime of an individual. Cancer stem cells, on the other hand, appear to be black sheep of the stem cell family and best resemble a normal tissue-specific stem cell gone awry. Although normal cells are generated, the growth rate and cell organization are highly abnormal because the cancer stem cells parents are generating too many offspring, ultimately resulting in masses of dysfunctional tissues. Because cancer stem cells have been differentiated from the majority of cells within a tumor that can be likened to branches of a tree, novel therapies with better efficacy will likely be aimed at the roots of the tumor (i.e. cancer stem cells). Realistically, the next generation of cancer therapies will target molecules on the cell surface, or within the cell, that cancer stem cells utilize to proliferate or survive as long-lived stem cells. Ideally, these therapeutic targets will not be expressed on normal stem cells such that there will be little damage to normal tissue.

Yet, the identification, isolation, and experimental manipulation of cancer stem cells from solid tumors poses major obstacles. As might be imagined, ripping cells away from their neighbors, upon which they are largely dependent, is no easy task. Developing assays that further allow cancer stem cells manipulation to learn about their biology is even more difficult. People often ask will there ever be a “cure for cancer.” Answer to this is much more than a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’. The term cancer encompasses many diseases and the war will be won in a progression of smaller battles. Work is in progress, the research in cancer stem cells and stem cells at large can be exploited to vastly improve not only treatment, but detection of cancer at earlier stages where therapies may be most beneficial.

Remember ‘Prevention is better than Cure’. So eat healthy, exercise regularly, have a healthy lifestyle and do go for an annual medical check-up without fail.

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What is Stem Cell Therapy

One of the most common questions people have is - What is Stem Cell therapy?

Simply put, stem cell therapy is the introduction of new cells into damaged tissues in order to treat a disease or injury. Many researchers believe that Stem Cell treatments have the potential to change the face of medicine in the decades to come. The ability of stem cells to self-renew and give rise to new cells with variable degrees of differentiation capacities, offers significant potential for generation of tissues that can potentially replace diseased and damaged areas in the body. Stem cell therapy has very low rejection rates and nearly no side effects, as it uses stem cells extracted from one’s own body. Besides healing of damaged tissues, stem cells have the unique ability to modulate the immune system so as to shut off pathological responses while preserving ability to fight off disease.


Few weeks ago, a five year old boy, suffering from e-beta Thalassaemia was cured by mixed stem cell therapy in India. This involved a unique method of treatment that combined stem cells taken from cord blood as well as bone marrow.

Today, Stem cell therapy is used to treat incurable diseases like Cerebral Palsy, Brain Haemorrhage and Stroke, Spinal Cord Injury & Paraplegia, Autism, Parkinson’s, Motor Neuron Disease, Muscular Dystrophy, Liver Diseases, Huntington's Disease , Chronic Kidney Diseases, Optic Neuritis, Multiple Sclerosis, Cerebellar Ataxia and Friedrich Ataxia.


To understand better how stem cell therapy works, let’s take an example - Spine injury. A spinal cord injury usually begins with a sudden, traumatic blow to the spine that fractures or dislocates the vertebrae. Damage is immediate, as displaced bone fragments, disc material or ligaments bruise or tear the spinal cord tissue. Spinal cord injuries cause severe damage to nerve roots that carry signals to and from the brain. This results in severe mobility issues for the victim.

Stem cells derived from human umbilical cord or bone marrow, improve mobility even in spinal cord injuries. Patients are treated by injecting the stem cells directly into the damaged area or in the cerebro-spinal fluid which flows within the spinal canal. This procedure is called intrathecal injection or lumbar puncture. After the treatment, improvements were reported by patients with both incomplete and complete injuries. The Stem Cell Spinal cord injury treatment is unique because it focuses on repairing damaged tissue and restoring function, thus improving the patient's quality of life. These instances are the first physical evidence that the therapeutic use of stem cells can help restore motor skills lost from acute spinal cord tissue damage.

Here’s another example - Osteoarthritis, also known as degenerative joint disease, is a group of mechanical abnormalities involving degradation of joints. When the bone surface ages, it is no longer protected by the cartilage, leaving the bone exposed and prone to damage. It has been demonstrated that stem cell therapy induces profound healing activity in various forms of arthritis.
Stem Cell therapies are safe and more importantly effective. Research shows that more and more illnesses are coming under its purview. However, it is imperative to consult your doctors before you consider any treatment.

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What are the Diseases treated by Stem Cells

Most people still aren't sure about the Diseases Stem Cells can treat, here's something which help you understand more. However, it is recommended to check with your doctor before you consider any treatment.


Stem cell transplants have been used since the 1960’s to treat a variety of diseases. In late 1980's cord blood stem cells were used for the first time in blood stem cell transplantation. Umbilical cord blood stem cells have now been used in more than 10,000 transplants worldwide as a valuable alternative to traditional sources of blood stem cells. Utilizing the process of stem cell banking, cord blood stem cells also show great promise for potential future applications including treatment and repair of non-hematopoietic tissues, gene therapies, mini-transplants, among others.

Cord blood stem cell transplants have already changed and saved thousands of lives around the world. They have already been used to treat more than 100 diseases, including numerous types of malignancies,Leukemia's, anemia's, inherited metabolic disorders and deficiencies of the immune system.

List of Diseases treated by Stem Cells

Acute Leukemia:

• Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL)
• Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML)
• Acute Biphenotypic Leukemia
• Acute Undifferentiated Leukemia

Chronic Leukemia:

• Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML)
• Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL)
• Juvenile Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (JCML)
• Juvenile Myelomonocytic Leukemia (JMML)

Myelodysplastic Syndromes:

• Acute Myelofibrosis
• Agnogenic Myeloid Metaplasia (myelofibrosis)
• Polycythemia Vera
• Essential Thrombocythemia

Lymphoproliferative Disorders:

• Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma
• Hodgkin's Disease

Phagocyte Disorders:

• Chediak-Higashi Syndrome
• Chronic Granulomatous Disease
• Neutrophil Actin Deficiency
• Reticular Dysgenesis

Inherited Metabolic Disorders:

• Mucopolysaccharidoses (MPS)
• Hurler's Syndrome (MPS-IH)
• Scheie Syndrome (MPS-IS)
• Hunter's Syndrome (MPS-II)
• Sanfilippo Syndrome (MPS-III)
• Morquio Syndrome (MPS-IV)
• Maroteaux-Lamy Syndrome (MPS-VI)
• Sly Syndrome, Beta-Glucuronidase Deficiency (MPS-VII)
• Adrenoleukodystrophy
• Mucolipidosis II (I-cell Disease)
• Krabbe Disease
• Gaucher's Disease
• Niemann-Pick Disease
• Wolman Disease
• Metachromatic Leukodystrophy

Histiocytic Disorders

• Familial Erythrophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis
• Histiocytosis-X
• Hemophagocytosis

Inherited Erythrocyte Abnormalities

• Beta Thalassemia Major
• Sickle Cell Disease

Inherited Immune System Disorders

• Ataxia-Telangiectasia
• Kostmann Syndrome
• Leukocyte Adhesion Deficiency
• DiGeorge Syndrome
• Bare Lymphocyte Syndrome
• Omenn's Syndrome
• Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID)
• SCID with Adenosine Deaminase Deficiency
• Absence of T & B Cells SCID
• Absence of T Cells, Normal B Cell SCID
• Common Variable Immunodeficiency
• Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome
• X-Linked Lymphoproliferative Disorder

Other Inherited Disorders

• Lesch-Nyhan Syndrome
• Cartilage-Hair Hypoplasia
• Glanzmann Thrombasthenia
• Osteopetrosis

Inherited Platelet Abnormalities

• Amegakaryocytosis / Congenital Thrombocytopenia

Plasma Cell Disorders

• Multiple Myeloma
• Plasma Cell Leukemia
• Waldenstrom's Macroglobulinemia

Other Malignancies

• Breast Cancer
• Wing Sarcoma
• Neuroblastoma
• Renal Cell Carcinoma

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What is Stem Cell and its brief history

With the spurt in many complex diseases over the last few decades, finding the right cure for them  is fast becoming an imperative.. Recent life saving breakthroughs  have come in the form of stem cells research and innovation, which has led to several cures and therapies. However, many of us hardly understand the world of Stem 'cells , maybe because it's perceived to be way too complicated!So here' something that  will help you understand more about Stem Cells.

What are Stem Cells?

Stem Cells are very early stage cells that have the ability to turn into other specialized types of cells. For example, a stem cell can turn into liver cells, skin cells, nerve cells etc.  Which help to form the respective organs, in short, stem cells act as a repair system for the body.

There are generally 3 types of stem cells:

·                     Embryonic stem cells

·                     Adult stem cells

·                     Umbilical cord stem cells

These stem cells are significant for a number of reasons. They hold the key tocures diabetes, brain diseases like Parkinson, cancer or Multiple sclerosis (MS). Stem cell research may also be useful for improvement of livestock and other animals.

Stem cells can now be artificially grown and transformed into specialized cell types with characteristics consistent with cells of various tissues such as muscles or nerves through cell culture. Highly plastic adult stem cells are routinely used in medical therapies. Stem cells can be taken from a variety of sources, including umbilical cord blood and bone marrow.

Embryonic stem cells are harvested or collected from the very early stages of a fertilised egg called a blastocyst. Adult stem cells are collected from a limited number of cell types in the body. Typically these are bone marrow cells.Umbilical cord stem cells are collected from the cells of the umbilical cord of a new born baby. Some of these cells are slightly undeveloped and so can turn into other types of cells.

Research on stem cells grew after the findings of Ernest A. McCulloch and James E. Till were published in the 1960’s.The current hype surrounding stem cells began only in 1998, when several research groups almost simultaneously claimed that they had succeeded in converting human embryonic stem cells cultured from abortion material and supernumerary embryos from IVF (in vitro fertilization) clinics. The first successful cord blood transplant was performed in 1988 in France, on a young boy suffering from Anemia (a blood disorder). Since then, ongoing research has led to the development of stem cell treatments, that are today being used for almost 70 life-threatening diseases.

Another exciting scientific finding came in 1999, when scientists first manipulated mouse cells to give rise to specialized cells—a process known as differentiation. The year 2001 saw an embryonic stem cell turn into a blood cell. In 2005 the United States Congress passed the "Stem Cell Research and Therapeutic Act of 2005 (H.R. 2520)", national legislation that created new public banking and research facilities. It also encouraged medical practitioners to increase awareness of cord blood donations amongpregnant women. Nowadays, approximately 500 cord blood transplants are performed every year. Science is continually on the verge of new and exciting discoveries concerning stem cells and cord blood.

To read more about Stem Cells , Click here

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