Understanding Adult and Embryonic Stem Cell Research

Stem cell research is a complicated and controversial issue. Before you can be for it or against it, you must fully understand the terminology, the potential, and consequences of stem cell research. There are implicit details which shape the perception of stem cell research. It's been made a:

In mid-May 2005 President Bush said, "I am a strong supporter of stem cell research, but I've made it very clear to Congress that the use of federal taxpayer money to promote science that destroys life in order to save life, I am against this."

What are stem cells (SC)?

SC differ from other kinds of cells in the body. Regardless of their source, they are capable of dividing and renewing themselves for long periods. Although they are unspecialized, they can give rise to specialized types of cells (i.e. muscle, red blood, brain).

What are embryonic stem cells (ESC)?

ESC are derived from embryos that develop from eggs that have been fertilized in vitro, in an in vitro fertilization clinic. They are donated for research purposes with informed consent of the donors. They are not derived from eggs fertilized in a woman's body - a common misconception.

What are adult stem cells (ASC)?

ASC are undifferentiated, found among differentiated cell types in a tissue or organ. ASC can renew themselves, and can differentiate to yield the major specialized cell types of the tissue or organ. Their primary role in a living organism is to maintain and repair the tissue in which they are found.

How are ESC and ASC similar and how are they different?

They differ in the number and type of differentiated cells they can become. ESC can become all types found in the body. ASC are said to be less versatile, generally limited to differentiating into different cell types of their tissue of origin. However, other evidence suggests that an ASC from one adult tissue may be able to generate the differentiated types of cells of another adult tissue.

Continuing research on human embryonic stem cells could identify how undifferentiated stem cells become differentiated. It is known that turning genes on and off is central to the process. Some of the most serious medical conditions are caused by abnormal cell division and differentiation.

Better understanding of how these processes are controlled at the genetic and molecular level may lead to:

Simply put, those who support human embryonic stem cell research believe it could lead to possible cures for many diseases, including:

Human stem cells could also be used to test new drugs. According to the NIH (National Institutes of Health, "to screen drugs effectively, the conditions must be identical when comparing different drugs. Therefore, scientists will have to be able to precisely control the differentiation of stem cells into the specific cell type on which drugs will be tested. Current knowledge of the signals controlling differentiation fall well short of being able to mimic these conditions precisely to consistently have identical differentiated cells for each drug being tested."

The need for transplantable tissues and organs far outweighs the available supply. Stem cells, directed to differentiate into specific cell types, could offer the possibility of a renewable source of replacement cells and tissues to treat many diseases.

One of the main objections to embryonic stem cell research has to do with the belief that using embryos tampers with life. People who stand strong behind this ideology believe that even for the purpose of medical research and the possibility of saving lives, it is wrong. For people who oppose embryonic stem cell research it is a matter of ethics and morals which outweigh the scientific potential.

There is no guarantee that forging ahead with embryonic stem cell research will produce the desired results. That, too, is a problem for some who oppose it. The utilization of embryonic stem cells, is at this point theoretical, unlike adult stem cells which have shown therapeutic results.

Understanding this issue before formulating an opinion is imperative. Stem cell research is a complicated issue, without doubt. Further investigation regarding the scientific and ethical viewpoints can only result in being more informed and knowledgeable, and the assurance that you are standing on the side of the issue which most strongly aligns with your beliefs.

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Understanding Adult and Embryonic Stem Cell Research

Types of Adult Stem Cells Stem Cell Institute StemCell …

Stem cells reside in adult bone marrow and fat, as well as other tissues and organs of the body including the umbilical cord. These cells have a natural ability to repair damaged tissue, however in people with degenerative diseases they are not released quickly enough to fully repair damaged tissue. In the case of fat stem cells they may not be released at all. The process of actively extracting, concentrating and administering these stem cells has been shown in clinical trials to have beneficial effects in degenerative conditions. Few patients have access to clinical trials. We offer patients and their doctors access to these therapies now. Stem cell treatments are not covered by insurance.

Adult stem cells can be extracted from most tissues in the body, including the bone marrow, fat, and peripheral blood. They can also be isolated from human umbilical cords and placental tissue. Once the cells have been harvested, they are sent to the lab where they are purified and assessed for quality before being reintroduced back in the patient. Common types of adult stem cells are mesenchymal and hematopoietic stem cells.

Umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells reside in the *umbilical cords of newborn babies. HUCT-MSC stem cells, like all post-natal cells, are adult stem cells.

The Stem Cell Institute utilizes cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells that are separated from the umbilical cord tissue. For certain indications, these cells are expanded into greater numbers at Medistem laboratory in Panama under very strict, internationally recognized guidelines.

Among many other things, mesenchymal stem cells from the umbilical cord tissue are known to help reduce inflammation, modulate the immune system and secrete factors that may help various tissues throughout the body to regenerate.

The bodys immune system is unable to recognize HUCT mesenchymal stem cells as foreign and therefore they are not rejected. Weve treated hundreds of patients with umbilical cord stem cells and there has never been a single instance rejection (graft vs. host disease). HUCT MSCs also proliferate/differentiate more efficiently than older cells, such as those found in the bone marrow and therefore, they are considered to be more potent.

Through retrospective analysis of our cases, weve identified proteins and genes that allow us to screen several hundred umbilical cord donations to find the ones that we know are most effective. We only use these cells and we call them golden cells.

We go through a very high throughput screening process to find cells that we know have the best anti-inflammatory activity, the best immune modulating capacity, and the best ability to stimulate regeneration.

Human umbilical cord tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) that were isolated and grown in our laboratory in Panama to create master cell banks are currently being used in the United States.

These cells serve as the starting material for cellular products used in MSC clinical trials for two Duchennes muscular dystrophy patients under US FDAs designation of Investigational New Drug (IND) for single patient compassionate use. (IND 16026 DMD Single Patient)

The bone marrow stem cell is the most studied of the stem cells, since it was first discovered to in the 1960s. Originally used in bone marrow transplant for leukemias and hematopoietic diseases, numerous studies have now expanded experimental use of these cells for conditions such as peripheral vascular disease, diabetes, heart failure, and other degenerative disorders.

At Stem Cell Institute, we use purified autologous (patients own) mesenchymal stem cells from bone marrow in our spinal cord injury protocol along with umbilical cord tissue mesenchymal stem cells.

Fat stem cells are essentially sequestered and are not available to the rest of the body for repair or immune modulation. Fat derived stem cells have been used for successful treatment of companion animals and horses with bone and joint injuries for the last 10 years with positive results.

Experimental studies suggest fat derived stem cells not only can develop into new tissues but also suppress pathological immune responses as seen in autoimmune diseases. In addition to orthopedic conditions, Stem Cell Institute pioneered treating patients with osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and other autoimmune diseases using fat derived stem cells. However, we no longer use a patients own stem cells from fat because weve found that mesenchymal stem cells from umbilical cord tissue are superior.

Dr. Riordan published the first scientific article on treating humans (3 multiple sclerosis patients) with adipose-derived stem cells. We have treated many patients with adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells in Panama but we no longer do so because we have found that umbilical cord-derived MSCs modulate the immune system and control inflammation better. HUCT MSCs also proliferate much more efficiently.

Articles Authored by our Doctors and Scientists about Fat Derived Stem Cells:

*All donated cords are the by-products of normal, healthy births. Each cord is carefully screened for sterility and infectious diseases under International Blood Bank standards.

Visit link: Types of Adult Stem Cells Stem Cell Institute

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Types of Adult Stem Cells Stem Cell Institute StemCell ...

Difference between Adult and Embryonic Stem Cells

Key Difference: The adult stem cells are derived from adult tissue, and have the ability to regenerate into all the cell types of the organ from which they originate. Embryonic Stem Cells, on the other hand, are stem cells that are derived from the inner cell mass of a blastocyst. Blastocyst is an early-stage of the embryo that it reaches approximately 4-5 days after fertilization.

A stem cell is a reserve cell that each creature has in its body. The stem cell has the ability to grow into any cell that is required by the body and to multiply, so that it can replace any and all dead or damaged adult cells.

Many systems in our body have a supply of stem cells that helps it to heal and replace any dead or damage parts. Some of these parts include the skin system, liver system, etc., which is why it is easier for the body to heal these parts, as it can just replace the damaged parts. However, there are other systems in our body, such as the heart, spinal cord, brain and pancreas, which so not have a supply of stem cells. Researchers are currently working to develop stem cells that may help us to heal and/or replace these parts.

Stem Cells are greatly beneficial as they have the ability to divide or self-renew indefinitely. There are four main types of stem cells as categorized by the researchers working with them. These are adult stem cells, fetal stem cells, embryonic stem cells, and more recently, induced stem cells.

Adult Stem Cells are undifferentiated cells, which means that they have not become specialized stem cells with a particular function. These cells have the ability to divide or self-renew indefinitely. They also have to ability to generate all the cell types of the organ from which they originate.

The adult stem cells are derived from adult tissue, and depending on the tissues they are derived from, they have the ability to regenerate into all the cell types of the organ from which they originate.

Embryonic Stem Cells, on the other hand, are stem cells that are derived from the inner cell mass of a blastocyst. Blastocyst is an early-stage of the embryo that it reaches approximately 4-5 days after fertilization. At this stage, the embryo has consist of 50150 cells. Here the embryos are generated by IVF (in vitro fertility) clinics, so that the researchers can study the stem cells and their implications.

The Embryonic Stem Cells are also known as pluripotent stem cells as they have the ability to differentiate into any cell type, which means that they have a possibility of infinite applications within the human body. Like the adult stem cells, they also have the ability to regenerate indefinitely, as practically, they entire human body grows from single embryo.

However, embryonic stem cell research has been subject to much controversy, due to the fact the stem cells are taken from an embryo. Many claim that this is inhumane, and that embryos are life and should have the same rights. Many people also look down upon and criticize the fact that these embryos are generated by IVF, which some consider to be against nature.

Comparison between Adult and Embryonic Stem Cells:

Adult Stem Cells

Embryonic Stem Cells

Description

Adult stem cells are undifferentiated cells, found throughout the body after development, that multiply by cell division to replenish dying cells and regenerate damaged tissues.

Embryonic stem cells (ES cells) are stem cells that are derived from the inner cell mass of a blastocyst, an early-stage preimplantation embryo.

Also known as

Somatic stem cells, Multipotent stem cells

Pluripotent stem cells

Derived from

Adult Tissue

5 day old embryo

Features

Benefits

They have the potential to increase healing and for potentially regenerating an entire organ from a few cells.

Diseases that could potentially be treated by pluripotent stem cells include a number of blood and immune-system related genetic diseases, cancers, and disorders; juvenile diabetes; Parkinson's; blindness and spinal cord injuries.

Controversy

The use of human adult stem cells in research and therapy is not considered to be controversial.

The use of human embryonic stem cells in research and therapy is controversial as they are derived from human 5 day old embryos generated by IVF (in vitro fertility) clinics designated for scientific research.

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Difference between Adult and Embryonic Stem Cells

Stem Cells, Characteristics, Properties, Different …

Classification of stem cells

The Stem Cells Transplant Institute uses adult autologous mesenchymal stem cells derived from adipose tissue.

Stem cells come from two main sources; embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells. Adult stem cells do not require the destruction of an embryo and their collection and use in research is not controversial. Adult stem cells are undifferentiated totipotent or multipotent cells, found throughout the body after embryonic development.

Stem cells are also classified based on where they are collected from;allogenicstem cells are collected from the same species,xenogeneicstem cells are collected from a different species, andautologousstem cells are collected from the intended recipient.

Stem cellscan be classified by the extent to which they can differentiate into differentcelltypes. These four mainclassificationsare totipotent, pluripotent, multipotent, or unipotent. Mesenchymal stem cells, or MSCs, are multipotent stromal cellsthat can differentiate into a variety ofcelltypes, including: osteoblasts (bonecells), chondrocytes (cartilage cells), myocytes (musclecells) and adipocytes (fatcells).

The Stem Cells Transplant Institute uses adipose derived stem cells removed from either the patients abdomen or thigh and placed in a centrifuge machine that spins them very quickly, concentrating the stem cells and growth factors.

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Adult Stem Cell Research Leaving Embryos Behind – CBS News

A few months ago, Dr. Thomas Einhorn was treating a patient with a broken ankle that wouldn't heal, even with multiple surgeries. So he sought help from the man's own body.

Einhorn drew bone marrow from the man's pelvic bone with a needle, condensed it to about four teaspoons of rich red liquid, and injected that into his ankle.

Four months later the ankle was healed. Einhorn, chairman of orthopedic surgery at Boston University Medical Center, credits "adult" stem cells in the marrow injection. He tried it because of published research from France.

Einhorn's experience isn't a rigorous study. But it's an example of many innovative therapies doctors are studying with adult stem cells. Those are stem cells typically taken from bone marrow and blood - not embryos.

For all the emotional debate that began about a decade ago on allowing the use of embryonic stem cells, it's adult stem cells that are in human testing today. An extensive review of stem cell projects and interviews with two dozen experts reveal a wide range of potential treatments.

Morley Safer reported for "60 Minutes" this summer on the rapidly increasing trend of "regenerative medicine," where cells in the human body are manipulated into regrowing damaged tissues.

Researchers have created beating hearts, ears and bladders using stem cells. Biotech companies and the Pentagon have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in research that could profoundly change millions of lives.

"60 Minutes": Growing Body Parts

Adult stem cells are being studied in people who suffer from multiple sclerosis, heart attacks and diabetes. Some early results suggest stem cells can help some patients avoid leg amputation. Recently, researchers reported that they restored vision to patients whose eyes were damaged by chemicals.

Apart from these efforts, transplants of adult stem cells have become a standard lifesaving therapy for perhaps hundreds of thousands of people with leukemia, lymphoma and other blood diseases.

"That's really one of the great success stories of stem cell biology that gives us all hope," says Dr. David Scadden of Harvard, who notes stem cells are also used to grow skin grafts.

"If we can recreate that success in other tissues, what can we possibly imagine for other people?"

That sort of promise has long been held out for embryonic stem cells, which were first isolated and grown in a lab dish in 1998. Controversy over their use surrounded the 2001 decision by former President George W. Bush to allow only restricted federal funding for studying them.

Proponents over the past decade have included former first lady Nancy Reagan and actors Michael J. Fox and the late Christopher Reeve. Opponents object that human embryos have to be destroyed to harvest the cells.

Embryonic cells may indeed be used someday to grow replacement tissue or therapeutic material for diseases like Parkinson's or diabetes. Just on Friday, a biotech company said it was going ahead with an initial safety study in spinal cord injury patients. Another is planning an initial study in eye disease patients later this year.

But in the near term, embryonic stem cells are more likely to pay off as lab tools, for learning about the roots of disease and screening potential drugs.

Observers say they're not surprised at the pace of progress.

As medical research goes, the roughly 10 years since the embryonic cells were discovered "is actually a very short amount of time," said Amy Rick, immediate past president of the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research. The group has pushed for embryonic stem cell research for about that long.

Hank Greely, a Stanford University law professor who works in bioethics and has followed stem cells since the 1990s, said: "Give it another five years and I'll be surprised if we don't have some substantial progress" beyond initial safety studies.

The Pro-Life Secretariat of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops continues to oppose embryonic work. Deirdre McQuade, an official there, said that compared to adult stem cell research, work on embryonic cells is proving "fruitless."

Adult cells have been transplanted routinely for decades, first in bone marrow transplants and then in procedures that transfer just the cells. Doctors recover the cells from the marrow or bloodstream of a patient or a donor, and infuse them as part of the treatment for leukemia, lymphoma and other blood diseases. Tens of thousands of people are saved each year by such procedures, experts say.

Advice on Finding Legitimate Stem Cell Clinics

But it is harnessing these cells for other diseases that has encouraged many scientists lately.

In June, for example, researchers reported they had restored vision to people whose eyes were damaged from caustic chemicals. Stem cells from each patient's healthy eye were grown and multiplied in the lab and transplanted into the damaged eye, where they grew into healthy corneal tissue.

A couple of months earlier, the Vatican announced it was funding adult stem cell research on the intestine at the University of Maryland. And on Friday, Italian doctors said they'd transplanted two windpipes injected with the recipients' own stem cells.

But these developments only hint at what's being explored in experiments across the United States.

Much of the work is early, and even as experts speak of its promise, they ask for patience and warn against clinics that aggressively market stem-cell cures without scientific backing.

Some of the new approaches, like the long-proven treatments, are based on the idea that stem cells can turn into other cells. Einhorn said the ankle-repair technique, for example, apparently works because of cells that turn into bone and blood vessels. But for other uses, scientists say they're harnessing the apparent abilities of adult stem cells to stimulate tissue repair, or to suppress the immune system.

"That gives adult stem cells really a very interesting and potent quality that embryonic stem cells don't have," says Rocky Tuan of the University of Pittsburgh.

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Adult Stem Cell Research Leaving Embryos Behind - CBS News

Adult Stem Cell Therapy 101, MSCTC

The initial concept of regenerative medicine dates all the way back to 330 BC, when Aristotle observed that a lizard could grow back the lost tip of its tail. Slowly over time, humans have grown to understand regenerative medicine, and how it may change the way we treat diseases. It's been only relatively recently that adult (non-embryonic) stem cell therapy, a type of regenerative medicine, has gathered fast momentum. The below video illustrates key (not all) highlights in how stem cell therapy research has progressed over the last several decades.

Adult (non-embryonic) stem cells are unspecialized or undifferentiated cells,which means they have yet to develop into a specific cell type. Found in most adult tissues, adult stem cells have two primary properties:

Simply put, adult stem cells have the potential to grow into any of the body's more than 200 cell types.

Adult stem cells have been found in most parts of the body, including brain, bone marrow, blood vessels, skin, teeth and heart. There are typically a small number of stem cells in each tissue. Due to their small number and rate of division (growth), it is difficult to grow adult stem cells in large numbers. Scientists at the Midwest Stem Cell Therapy Center are working to understand how to grow large amounts of adult stem cells in cell culture. These scientists are also working with more "primitive" stem cells, isolated from the umbilical cord after normal births.

These stem cells are in much higher abundance than in adult tissues, can be differentiated into several different cell types, and their capacity to divide is much faster, making them good candidates for applications in treating injury or disease. An example of this is the use of these cells in treating Graft vs. Host Disease (GvHD), a condition which affects approximately 40-50% of patients receiving allogeneic transplants (i.e., transplant from another person) for blood cancers by taking advantage of a key immunosuppressive characteristic the cells possess.

The practice of stem cell therapy is nothing new: One of the oldest forms of it is the bone marrow transplant, which has been actively practiced since the late 1960s. Since then, scientists haven't slowed downwith the advancement of adult stem cell therapy. Every day, scientists worldwide are researching new ways we can harness stem cells to develop effective new treatments for a host of diseases. In the case of a patient suffering with a blood cancer such as leukemia, a bone marrow transplant will replace their unhealthy blood cells with healthy ones. This same concept - inserting healthy cells so they may multiply and form new tissue or repair diseased tissue - can be applied to other forms of stem cell therapy.

Stem cell research continues to advance as scientists learn how an organism develops from a single cell and how healthy cells replace damaged cells. For example, the Midwest Stem Cell Therapy Center is collaborating to investigate the potential of a select group of umbilical cord stem cells in the treatment of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gerhig's disease). Developing a stem cell treatment that has been shown to be both safe and efficacious is not as simple as removing stem cells from one part of the body and putting it in another.

Working with appropriate regulatory agencies, the Midwest Stem Cell therapy Center is conducting R&D activities that will permit the Center to conduct human clinical trials on a variety of diseases over the next several years. This process - similar to the development of a new drug - will, when completed, assure patients in both clinical trials and eventually patients using the approved product, that the product is safe for use in humans and the stem cells being administered are effective in treating the injury or disease they are being used for.

When considering a cell therapy treatment, it is important to understand how your treatment will be administered and ensure that the provider is well-qualified. Stem cell clinics have popped up around the world, touting 100% success, however, in many cases these experimental treatments have yet to be evaluated by the FDA (Food & Drug Administration) or other regulatory agencies in their countries of origin. Reputable centers, including the MSCTC, are working with the FDA to develop regulations that protect the health of the patient and hold providers to high standards of treatment. Without these regulations in place, unqualified providers may endanger patients' health. For example, as in organ transplants, patients that receive stem cell therapy are at risk of their immune system rejecting the transplant. To avoid this, immune system-suppressing drugs must be taken. Further, if stem cells are not manipulated correctly, the receiving patient can be exposed to bacteria, fungi or viruses which have been picked up during the manipulations of the stem cells, or, in some cases, receive cells that are not appropriate for use in treating a specific injury or disease.

Last modified: Mar 21, 2016

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Adult Stem Cell Therapy 101, MSCTC

5 Benefits to Using Adult Stem Cells in Cancer Research

While much of the popular media attention over the last 10 years has focused on embryonic stem cells, in fact, the adult stem cell has been shown to be a viable and valuable source in the long fight to better understand cancer's origins and treatment possibilities. Adult stem cells, in brief, are also known as progenitor cells or somatic stem cells. They are found in minute quantities in nearly every human body organ and tissue. Their key function is maintenance and repair of their specific tissues.

1. Adult stem cells carry no ethical concerns.

We've all followed the loud controversy over the use of embryonic stem cell lines for research, and the ethical questions that surround their harvesting from a days-old human embryo. Adult stem cells avoid this ethical dilemma entirely. They can be isolated from a variety of tissue sources, including adult bone marrow, bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMMCs), peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), umbilical cord blood, fresh tissue, and tumor-derived tissue cells.

2. Adult stem cells are unspecialized.

The adult stem cell is an unspecialized cell that is capable of long-term renewal, via cell division over long time periods. These stem cells can also give rise to different cell types, making their utility high for researchers studying the many types of human cancers.

3. Adult stem cells can regenerate malignant cells.

Important cancer research often focuses on the stem cells that can be isolated from a malignant cancerous tumor. Cancer researchers are pursuing the idea that the reason for the failure of current cancer treatments may be due to the fact that such treatments don't destroy the cancer stem cells. While cancer stem cells total just one to three percent of all tumor cells, these cells are the only ones that can cause regeneration of malignant cells, thus inducing cancer cells to grow.

Researchers at the University of Michigan are actively pursuing this theory for developing better treatments for breast cancer. One key finding utilizing adult stem cells, say UM scientists, is the fact that, "mutations in genes called HER2 and PTEN triggered rapid cell division and self-renewal in breast cancer stem cells. This caused the stem cells to develop abnormally and invade surrounding breast tissue. When the scientists treated the cells with drugs known to inhibit activity of these genes, the number of cancer stem cells dropped dramatically."

4. Lower rejection rates.

Researchers have long observed that adult stem cells used in noted that adult stem cells dont present with the same level of immunological rejection challenges as do embryonic stem cells because they are harvested from the same patient, leading to a lower rejection rate. For example, adult stem cells have been used for many years to treat certain cancers via a bone marrow transplant.

5. Comparing adult and pediatric cancers.

Wilms' Tumor is a common pediatric renal cancer. Cancer researchers in this study set out to compare and contrast the differences in tumor biology that are known to exist between adult and pediatric cancers. They found that there are cancer stem cells in pediatric WTs and believe that these could help in developing targeted cancer therapies for pediatric solid tumors.

May we source high-quality adult stem cells for your cancer research program?

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5 Benefits to Using Adult Stem Cells in Cancer Research

Sources of Adult Stem Cells – Stem Cell Institute

*Unlike bone marrow and cord blood, Human umbilical cord tissue is a rich source of mesenchymal stem cells. Umbilical cord tissue-derived cells are best suited for tissue regeneration due to the tissue repairing function of the mesenchymal stem cells. They are also well-suited for immune system modulation and reducing inflammation.

Bone marrow is a good source of CD34+ stem cells (but a poor source of mesenchymal stem cells) bone marrow-derived stem cells provide support for tissue regeneration via revascularization properties and their ability to support mesenchymal stem cells in the body.

Because we have three major adult stem cells sources at our disposal, including the ability to expand cells into larger numbers when indicated, we can select optimal stem cell combinations for each disease and, if necessary, each individual we treat.

Like bone marrow, cord blood is source of CD34+ stem cells (but a poor source of mesenchymal stem cells). These stem cells provide support for tissue regeneration via revascularization properties and their ability to support mesenchymal stem cells in the body.

Most protocols using cord blood require Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) typing to match the recipient and donor.

We do not use cord blood-derived stem cells at Stem Cell Institute.

Adipose tissue is a rich source of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and T-regulatory cells which modulate the immune system. Adipose-derived cells can be used for treating systemic autoimmune and inflammatory conditions. They also play a role in regenerating injured tissue.

Because we have found that the immune modulatory and anti-inflammatory properties of umbilical cord tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (HUCT-MSCs) are superior to those harvested from fat, we no longer employ fat-derived MSCs in our treatment protocols.

*All donated cords are the by-products of normal, healthy births. Each cord is carefully screened for sterility and infectious diseases under International Blood Bank standards.

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Sources of Adult Stem Cells - Stem Cell Institute

What are Adult Stem Cells? | Adult Stem Cell Treatment

The primary role of adult stem cells in humans is to maintain and repair the tissue in which they are found. While we call them adult stem cells, they are more accurately called somatic (from the Greek word soma = body) because they come virtually any body tissue, not only in adults but children and babies as well.

Stem cells are very flexible cells, sometimes considered immature, that have not developed to a final specialized cell type (like skin, liver, heart, etc.) Since they have not yet specialized, stem cells can respond to different signals and needs in the body by becoming any of the various cell types needed, e.g., after an injury to repair an organ. In that sense they are a bit like a maintenance crew that keeps repairing and replacing damaged or worn out cells in the body.

A stem cell is essentially a blank cell, capable of becoming another more differentiated cell type in the body, such as a skin cell, a muscle cell, or a nerve cell. Microscopic in size, stem cells are big news in medical and science circles because they can be used to replace or even heal damaged tissues and cells in the body. They can serve as a built-in repair system for the human body, replenishing other cells as long as a person is still alive.

Adult stem cells are a natural solution. They naturally exist in our bodies, and they provide a natural repair mechanism for many tissues of our bodies. They belong in the microenvironment of an adult body, while embryonic stem cells belong in the microenvironment of the early embryo, not in an adult body, where they tend to cause tumors and immune system reactions.

Most importantly,adult stem cells have already been successfully used in human therapies for many years.As of this moment,no therapies in humans have ever been successfully carried out using embryonic stem cells.New therapies using adult type stem cells, on the other hand, are being developed all the time.

Stem Cells are being used today to help people suffering from dozens of diseases and conditions. This list reveals the wide range of applications that adult stem cells are having right now:

Cancers:

Auto-Immune Diseases

Cardiovascular

Ocular

Neural Degenerative Diseases and Injuries

Anemias and Other Blood Conditions

Wounds and Injuries

Other Metabolic Disorders

Liver Disease

The primary reason would be the ethics, since getting embryonic stem cells requires destruction of a young human embryo. The other, practical reasons are that people feel money spent on embryonic stem cell research could be better spent on other stem cell research.

The biggest misconception people have about stem cell research is that it is only embryonic that are useful. In fact, other stem cell types are proving to be much more useful. The best stem cells for patients are Adult Stem Cells; these are taken from the body (e.g., bone marrow, muscle, even fat tissue) or umbilical cord blood and can be used to treat dozens of diseases and conditions. Over 1 million people have already been treated with adult stem cells. (versus no proven success with embryonic stem cells.)https://lozierinstitute.org/fact-sheet-adult-stem-cell-research-transplants/Yet most people dont know about adult stem cells and their practical success.

Another type of stem cell that is proving very useful is induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells.) These can be made from any cell, such as skin, and from any person. They act like embryonic stem cells, but are made from ordinary cells and so dont require embryo destruction, making them an ethical source for that type of cell. They have already been used to create lab models of different diseases.

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What are Adult Stem Cells? | Adult Stem Cell Treatment

Your Stem Cell Questions Answered – webmd.com

There's a lot of fiction surrounding stem-cell facts. To separate one from the other, WebMD has consulted experts including Mahendra Rao, MD, PhD, director of the Center for Regenerative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health; Todd McDevitt, PhD, director of the Stem Cell Engineering Center at Georgia Tech; Mary Laughlin, MD, past president of the International Society for Cellular Therapy; and Joshua Hare, MD, director of the Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute at the University of Miami.

Here are the questions they answered:

A: The term "stem cells" includes many different kinds of cells.

What they have in common is that they have the ability to make other types of cells. No other cell in the body can do that.

Some stem cells can renew themselves and become virtually any cell in the body. Those are called pluripotent stem cells. They include embryonic stem cells.

Other stem cells don't have as much potential for self-renewal and can't make as many types of cells.

The most basic kind of stem cells are the cells that make up an embryo soon after an egg is fertilized. These stem cells divide over and over, eventually making almost all the different cells in the body.

Adult stem cells, in contrast, are "fully differentiated." That means they are what they are and do what they do. They can't choose another career.

In many organs, however, adult stem cells linger throughout life. They are part of the body's internal repair system. Researchers are still working to discover what adult stem cells from various parts of the body can and can't do. Normally, these relatively rare cells act only on the organ or tissue type in which they are found.

Recently, researchers have learned to reprogram adult cells to become pluripotent cells. These cells, called induced pluripotent cells or iPSCs, have many of the same properties as embryonic stem cells. It's not yet clear whether these cells might carry subtle DNA damage that limits their usefulness.

A: Early in development, a fertilized egg becomes an embryo. The embryo is made up of stem cells that divide over and over again, until these stem cells develop into the cells and tissues that become a fetus.

During in-vitro fertilization, eggs taken from a woman's body are fertilized with sperm cells. If not implanted in a woman's womb, these embryos are discarded.

Researchers have learned to take embryonic stem cells from unused in-vitro fertilizations and, in laboratory culture, to get them to make more embryonic stem cells. Embryonic stem cells are not taken from fertilized eggs or embryos that have been in a woman's womb.

While embryonic stem cells can become any kind of cell in the body, it's unlikely they would be used directly as treatments. Because they have the ability to divide over and over again, they can become rapidly growing tumors. And because they are in such an early stage of development, they take a long time to become functional adult cells.

However, researchers are learning to coax embryonic stem cells to become more mature stem cells. One clinical trial, for example, matures embryonic stem cells into nerve stem cells. These nerve stem cells are being explored as a treatment for Lou Gehrig's disease.

A: Adult stem cells have some advantages. When they come from your own body, your immune system will probably not try to reject them. And adult stem cells aren't controversial.

But there are several main disadvantages to using adult stem cells:

A: A relatively small number of stem cells taken from the body can be grown in the laboratory until they have created millions and millions of new stem cells. This makes it possible for researchers to explore cell-based therapies.

Cell-based therapies, collectively known as regenerative medicine, hold the promise of repairing or even replacing damaged or diseased organs.

Depending on which tissues they come from, stem cells have very different properties. Those from umbilical cord blood are quite different from those from fat, for example.

A: Yes. Stem cells from bone marrow have long been used to treat certain types of leukemia.

The bone marrow is a rich source of blood stem cells. These cells replace the white blood cells crucial to the immune system.

When used for leukemia, the goal is to to wipe out all of a person's white blood cells with radiation and/or chemotherapy -- and then to replace them with a bone marrow transplant from a matched donor. Stem cells from the donor marrow replace the diseased blood cells with healthy blood cells.

A stem cell product designed to avoid the need for a matched donor recently received limited approval in Canada. The product, Prochymal, appears to rescue bone marrow transplant patients who are rejecting their transplant.

In the U.S., the FDA has approved a product called Hemacord, which contains blood stem cells derived from cord blood. The product is approved for patients with diseases that affect their ability to make new blood cells, such as certain blood cancers and immune disorders.

A: That remains to be seen. Potential dangers include:

There is also risk in some of the procedures used to get stem cells out of the body (such as from liposuction or spinal tap) or to deliver stem cells to the body (such as implanting them in the heart, brain, spinal cord, or other organs). That's not so much about the stem cells, but because of the procedures themselves.

Researchers are studying all of that. Without carefully controlled clinical trials, there's no way to know what might happen in the long term, or even in the short term. That's why the FDA discourages the use of stem cells except in clinical trials or approved therapies.

If you are thinking about pursuing stem cell therapy, talk to your doctor first. In the U.S. and abroad, many clinics offer unproven stem cell treatments that have never been tested for safety or effectiveness.

SOURCES:

Mahendra Rao, MD, PhD, director, Center for Regenerative Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md.

Todd McDevitt, PhD, director, Stem Cell Engineering Center, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta.

Mary Laughlin, MD, past president of the International Society for Cellular Therapy.

Joshua Hare, MD, director, Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute, University of Miami.

National Institutes of Health web site.

FDA web site.

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Your Stem Cell Questions Answered - webmd.com