Stem Cells in Health and Disease

Dr. Rahul Naithani

Stem Cells are basic naive  cells present in all humans
and have the ability to become any type of cell to form
skin, bones, organs or other body parts. We all get
injuries in our growth years and otherwise. It seems
surprising how our wounds heal and new skin comes up.This
is largely because of a pool of cells in our body called stem cells.

Different organs of body have their own stem cell pool.
There are different types of stem cells. Theoretically, some of them can regenerate any kind of body tissue. Stem cells have been responsible for our recovery from different traumas that body organs face. There is great interest in the ability of stem cells to treat neurological states like multiple sclerosis. There are situations  where a person's own stem cells may be used. In genetic  conditions, a different healthy person is required to donate stem cells  which help regenerate blood forming cells in a patient.

Clinically, stem cells are used in the treatment of severe of hematological diseases like blood cancer, thalassemia, aplastic anemia, etc. intense research is on to find if stem cells can be used to regenerate all tissues of body.As of now, the only clinical usage is in bone marrow transplants. Stem cell therapy has also been useful in autoimmune diseases. A good source of stem cells is cord blood stem cells which can be stored at birth. These cells are generally helpful for other people and not the same person whose cells are stored. Since these cells are naive, there may be a future role of stem cells as therapeutic  drug delivery molecules. At the same time there are lot of myths and misconceptions about the immediate use of stem cells. These should be clarified with an expert.

Thanks,

The author is Consultant-in-charge, Bone Marrow Transplantation & Hematology, Max Cancer Center, Max super Specialty Hospital, Patparganj.