One can only marvel at the way that medical science has progressed over the last few decades. Diseases that used to mow down millions of people no longer pose a threat. Organs are routinely transplanted and serious disabilities can be corrected. The list goes on and on. Scientific efforts are also ongoing and progress is made in many different fields. Stem cell research facilities believe that they are working in a field that will prove to forever change the way diseases are treated.
Patients have been receiving bone marrow transplants for a number of years. Up to now, however, only patients suffering from leukemia and certain other blood related diseases are considered to be eligible and then only as a very last resort. The blood cells of these patients are destroyed by chemo therapy and surgeons hope to encourage the growth of new and healthy cells through bone marrow transplants.
At present, bone marrow transplants can at best add a few years to the life expectancy of patients. It is not a cure for cancer. But scientists hope that new studies and ongoing efforts will eventually result in an actual cure for many different types of cancer. The complex nature of these studies necessitates a very slow pace, however. Scientists admit that a cure for cancer is still some years away.
It is not just cancer that is targeted by researchers in this field. The brain itself is also the focus of many studies. Scientists believe that it would be possible to grow healthy new cells inside the brain with the aim of replacing damaged or destroyed cells. If this can be achieved, then the damage caused by degenerative diseases such as dementia could be reversed. That would indeed be a major breakthrough.
It is believed that bone marrow transplants will even be able to stimulate the growth of new cells within the heart itself. These new cells will repair the damage caused by various types of heart disease. Millions of people die due to heart conditions every year and significant progress in this area will offer uncountable benefits to patients and will change the way in which medicine is practiced.
Scientists in this field are under constant attack from their critics. They say that these transplants are, in fact, extremely dangerous and that the prognosis of the patient is very poor. There is no clinical evidence that bone marrow transplants actually make a difference. The transplanted cells are often harvested from unborn babies and this says the critics, opens the doors to serious abuse and an unthinkable ethical dilemma.
Many critics also lambast their colleagues studying bone marrow transplants for creating a false impression about the progress they are making. No positive results will be available for many years to come and researchers simply raise the hopes of numerous desperate patients. They accuse researchers of creating high expectations simply in order to attract even more funding for their projects and studies.
Nobody knows what marvels the future holds. However, if bone marrow transplants can one day be used to create healthy living cells to replace damaged and destroyed cells, it would be a true medical miracle indeed. Unfortunately, one will have to wait and see.
Patients have been receiving bone marrow transplants for a number of years. Up to now, however, only patients suffering from leukemia and certain other blood related diseases are considered to be eligible and then only as a very last resort. The blood cells of these patients are destroyed by chemo therapy and surgeons hope to encourage the growth of new and healthy cells through bone marrow transplants.
At present, bone marrow transplants can at best add a few years to the life expectancy of patients. It is not a cure for cancer. But scientists hope that new studies and ongoing efforts will eventually result in an actual cure for many different types of cancer. The complex nature of these studies necessitates a very slow pace, however. Scientists admit that a cure for cancer is still some years away.
It is not just cancer that is targeted by researchers in this field. The brain itself is also the focus of many studies. Scientists believe that it would be possible to grow healthy new cells inside the brain with the aim of replacing damaged or destroyed cells. If this can be achieved, then the damage caused by degenerative diseases such as dementia could be reversed. That would indeed be a major breakthrough.
It is believed that bone marrow transplants will even be able to stimulate the growth of new cells within the heart itself. These new cells will repair the damage caused by various types of heart disease. Millions of people die due to heart conditions every year and significant progress in this area will offer uncountable benefits to patients and will change the way in which medicine is practiced.
Scientists in this field are under constant attack from their critics. They say that these transplants are, in fact, extremely dangerous and that the prognosis of the patient is very poor. There is no clinical evidence that bone marrow transplants actually make a difference. The transplanted cells are often harvested from unborn babies and this says the critics, opens the doors to serious abuse and an unthinkable ethical dilemma.
Many critics also lambast their colleagues studying bone marrow transplants for creating a false impression about the progress they are making. No positive results will be available for many years to come and researchers simply raise the hopes of numerous desperate patients. They accuse researchers of creating high expectations simply in order to attract even more funding for their projects and studies.
Nobody knows what marvels the future holds. However, if bone marrow transplants can one day be used to create healthy living cells to replace damaged and destroyed cells, it would be a true medical miracle indeed. Unfortunately, one will have to wait and see.
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