Stem cell research is an area of great
political debate in this country right now. Most Americans
however do not understand what it is, or what the debate is about.
There is great hope that stem cell research could someday yield a
cure for many diseases including Lupus. This page will help
you understand the basics of stem cells and give you resources to
learn more about them so that you can make informed decisions.
Stem cells are primal cells that all
multi-cellular organisms have. They have the unique
ability to renew themselves through cell division. Stem
cells are undifferentiated cells meaning that they can become a
wide variety of specialized (differentiated) cells such as red
blood cells, insulin secreting pancreas cells, lung cells, brain
cells, etc.
Scientists hope to be able to direct
these cells into becoming specific specialized cells in order to
understand, treat and cure a wide variety of diseases and
conditions including Lupus, Parkinson's Disease, spinal cord
injuries, Alzheimer's Disease, stroke, burns, heart disease,
Diabetes, Osteo-Arthritis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, some Cancers,
Muscular Dystrophy, and more.
There are two different kinds of stem
cells, embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells.
Embryonic stem cells are cells derived from embryos that were
fertilized in an in-vitro fertilization clinic and then donated
for research once they were no longer needed. Adult stem
cells are undifferentiated cells that are found among
differentiated cells in a tissue or organ of an adult.
Embryonic stem cells are the ones that
have generated the ethical questions that are at the center of
the debate. Extracting the stem cells from an embryo
destroys the embryo. It is the opinion of some people that
this is taking a human life. It is important to note
however that these embryos would be destroyed if not donated to
research.
Scientists
have had a lot of success with stem cell research and Lupus but it
is still in the experimental stage and it needs a lot more support
and funding! Currently, you must have severe, life threatening
Lupus that has not responded to any other treatments to be
considered for this procedure. Basically, doctors "wipe out"
the patient's immune system using high doses of very powerful
chemotherapeutic drugs. Next, they administer adult stem
cells into the person's body intravenously. This hopefully
retrains the immune system not to attack the body.
News article about the procedure.
Stem Cells Fight Lupus Video
Click Here to View
If you would like to learn more about stem
cell research, below are some links to some very informative web
pages dealing with this topic.
Mayo
Clinic - Stem Cells: Sorting through the hype and the hope
National Institute of Health - Stem Cell Information
After you have become educated
about this issue, please consider
writing to your legislators
asking them to support and fund stem cell research, if you feel more
comfortable you can stipulate only adult stem cell research. You can also
vote for politicians who
will support and fund this life saving research. This is the
most promising research in decades for not only Lupus but all the
diseases mentioned above as well as others, hundreds of millions of
lives could be saved and improved!
Stem Cell
Research News
