Stem cells are the cells of the body found in every multicellular organism. They are present in every cell of the body. They are the undifferentiated cells of the body which differentiate into different kinds of cells when the body develops from an embryo to a complete human being. They are also able to repair the body internally if any harm occurs in the tissues. If the skin is cut by a knife or something else, they immediately start repairing the broken skin part. But unfortunately stem cells are not able to repair the whole organ or part of the body. If a person loses his arm or leg in any accident, the stem cells will not be able to repair them.
In recent years, as science of biology has made progress so rapidly, scientists are now able to use stem cells for the cure of heart disease. It is a great achievement because the patients who are suffering from heart disease, they can get the stem cell therapy and their heart will start functioning normally.
Bone Marrow stem Cells:-
Scientists have recently announced that if the heart of the patients is treated with stem cells, the damaged tissues of the heart can start functioning normally. The stem cells were taken from the bone marrow of the patient. Though it is a useful method but a lot of research has still to be done to efficiently use this therapy in the treatments.
When a person suffers from heart attack, his arteries block and do not let the blood passes through them that is why blood does not reach to the heart tissues. This disability of the blood causes myocardial infarction which is caused due to the insufficiency of the oxygen into the heart tissue. Scientists are still trying to figure out that which types of the cells will be used to repair the damaged heart tissues.
Scientists collected the data of 811 patients and applied stem cell therapy on them. They saw moderate improvements in the functioning of the hearts of these patients. Bu they are still not sure that whether the stem cells taken from bone marrow will help efficiently to reduce the heart damage because only three patients showed good results and their heart remained efficient for six months. Scientists believe that the stem cells of bone marrow have the ability to develop extra blood vessels and they are also able to release such chemicals which can be helpful in the production of healthy heart muscle. Scientists are hopeful that if the BMSC therapy works in a better way then a lot of heart patients can be protected against the heart disease.
Stem Cells From Vein Leftovers:-
In another research held Bristle Heart Institute and funded by the British Heart Foundation, scientists have successfully extracted tem cells from the vein section which doctors cut from the heart during a surgery process. The stem cells from the vein are able to produce new blood vessels in the heart which can be useful in healthy and normal functioning of the heart by repairing the damaged tissues.
During the heart surgery, the surgeons remove a vein from the leg of the patient and usually they take longer than required. So scientists have successfully extracted stem cells from the left over vein and they donated these stem cells by the will of patients. The research was held on mice and the inserted stem cells produces new blood vessels in the injured leg. Scientists are hopeful that these cells ca also repair the heart after the attack by developing new blood vessels which will enable the easy flow of blood to the heart. This research has now enabled the surgeons that they can use person's own stem cells during the heart bypass. These cells can also be cultured in the laboratory to make millions of cells similar to the original stem cells and can be used for many other heart patients.
Scientists believe that it brings hope for the heart patients as they will have their own stem cells in their heart. There will be also be no danger of immune system rejecting these cells.
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