The human body is made up of trillions of cells, and each of these cells in the body has its own job. Each and every one works towards you, and plays a key role in maintaining your overall health.
Of course, as time goes on, how efficiently our cells replicate and repair decreases. That’s why stem cells and its research have been of such interest – and will continue to dictate the future of medicine as a whole.
To understand why stem cells are causing such a buzz in the medical community, you need to first understand the answer to the question, just why are stem cells different from other cells? What makes them so special?
Why Are Stem Cells Different From Other Cells?
Most of the cells in our body are specialized in some way. This means the cell itself has a very specific function. Nerve cells, muscle cells, tendon cells, tissue cells – all of these are specialized cells with their own unique job.
Now, these specialized cells were developed through a process known as differentiation. This means that they became specialized, and then lost their ability to become other types of cells.
What did they differentiate from? Stem cells.
If you’re asking for a quick answer to the question what are stem cells, then a good way to look at it is to see stem cells as the blueprint or master cell. Stem cells can become other cells, while the specialized cells (like nerve cells) cannot revert back – at least, not without scientific intervention.
Why Stem Cells are So Important
Since specialized cells cannot revert back, if a cell is diseased or damaged they cannot regenerate on their own, or if they do, it’s incorrect. Stem cells work to replace those damaged tissues with new cells.
This ability to develop into many different cell types is just one of the reasons why stem cells are so important. The second is that stem cells themselves can divide and produce copies of themselves without issue. With a steady stream of stem cells in the body, your system will have greater access to new cells if and when needed.
Then, finally, one stem cell has the chance to become more than one type of cell. This ability for one stem cell to develop into many different cell types is why stem cell treatments are so effective. After all, if you can take one type of stem cell, and trust that cell can help with multiple different aspects of a disease or chronic condition, that’s one less step needed to symptom management.
The Main Types of Stem Cells
Stem cells can be split up into a few different categories:
Embryonic Stem Cells
Embryonic stem cells are the true master of human stem cells. They are found in human embryos, and contain in them the ability to become absolutely any cell in the human body. These stem cells aren’t used because you need to destroy an embryo to get them, which poses many ethical dilemmas.
Adult Stem Cells
What are stem cell injections made from? Adult cells. This is because they can be sourced from donated tissue without a problem. Human stem cells can easily be extracted from blood cells, fatty tissue, and even Wharton’s Jelly. These stem cells are more limited in what they can become than embryonic cells, yes, which means stem cells sourced from different tissue are used to treat a variety of conditions, rather than a one-size-fits-all all:
- Blood: stem cells from bone marrow or blood can become red blood cells, white blood cells, or platelet. This option is used frequently to treat blood cancers.
- Tissue: stem cells sourced from fatty tissue can go on to become bone, cartilage, or tendons.
- Umbilical Cord: cells sourced from either umbilical cord blood or Wharton’s Jelly (which is what we use at all of the locations we cover). Stem cells from Wharton’s Jelly in particular, can become bone, cartilage, or tendons, with the added benefit that its free of the proteins your immune system would notice as a foreign entity. This means human stem cells from the umbilical cord are more likely to be accepted and put to work by your body.
Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs)
The final type of stem cell is technically manmade. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are cells that we have genetically reprogrammed back into their embryonic state. However, this is a very new technology, so it’s not widespread. If it does become more accessible, then this technology will likely be the way going forward, since it lets scientists take adult stem cells and revert them to their embryonic state without harming any embryos.
Now, iPSCs are not the only way we’ve attempted to recreate embryonic cells. We have also tried to grow stem cells by essentially tricking cells into this state. To avoid the embryo actually being viable, this is all done with the cells from just one person. This means the embryo that’s made through this extra process is non-viable.
Of course, with iPSCs on the horizon, it’s unlikely this other option will become the preferred choice, due to its cost.
What You Need to Know About Elective Stem Cell Therapies
Here at Bioxcellerator we offer elective therapies. This means that our treatments are available if you fit the bill and want them, but they cannot be prescribed. The reason they can’t be prescribed is because they are not currently FDA-approved due to lack of studies, particularly showcasing the long-term results.
Since its elective, it does mean that you will need to cover the stem cell therapy cost on your own. You can set up a payment plan if this isn’t doable out of pocket. To help, we always conduct a thorough consultation and only offer treatment if we believe there is solid evidence that the treatment will work for you and your condition.
So, if you have a chronic condition and are interested in how stem cell therapy can help you with symptom management, or even how they may help you heal from your injury better than ever, get in touch with our team.
