subject: Ability of Stem cells to cure diseases [print this page] Stem cells are well-known as the repair system of the body, present in multi-cellular organisms. These cells can change into any other cell that is essential to the body, during an illness or if a disease takes place. They continue to work till the time the organism is alive.
Being in a blank state when they are formed, they can easily transform into any other tissue or cell at need.
They produce and multiply new cells by the process of mitosis, while each new cell produced has the choice of remaining in the similar form, that is that of a stem cell, or shifting itself into a more specialized form, for example that of a muscle or a brain cell.
What makes these cells different from the rest, is its capability of transforming into any other cell that is needed by the body, during the time a disease hits it.
Stem cells have been recognized as having the ability to cure a number of diseases that either affects one's speech, movement, activities, and balance, among others. These conditions include degenerative genetic disorders such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and multiple sclerosis, and other illnesses such as diabetes and heart diseases.
Its basic function of treating a great number of diseases is carried out by the fact that it transforms into another tissue and can be transplanted to another individual. For instance, these stem cells may become new and healthy brain cells in the brain of an individual who has Alzheimer's disease, thus improving his or her condition greatly.
Another condition for which stem cells seem to play an important role for improvement is that of spinal cord injuries. A type of stem cells called embryotic stem cells, which are considered to be the most effective when it comes to treating and curing such conditions. However, as they are made out of a human embryo, and involve its destruction, it is also considered to be greatly unethical and against moral value for people.
