![]() Stem cell therapies certainly do hold genuine promise for certain disorders. They can be re-programmed, however, to regain that developmental flexibility. Adult stem cells are not naturally pluripotent, which means they tend to be more specialised and so only able to develop into a narrower range of cell types. But some people have raised ethical concerns about the use of embryos in deriving these stem cells – issues that are circumvented by the use of stems cells harvested from adult tissues. Embryonic stem cells, which are extracted from a growing embryo, have the natural advantage of being able to give rise to any other cell in the body, an attribute known as pluripotency. So far, researchers have primarily focused on developing two different types of stem cells: embryonic and adult. A spa where patients bathe in radioactive water.The excitement around stem cell therapy revolves around the ability to grow more of these cells in the laboratory so they can be used to produce new tissue, replace damaged cells, and unravel disease mechanisms. As a result, they have been likened to our own army of microscopic doctors, but that army is relatively small. Stem cells not only replenish our old cells but also spring into action to repair and replace injured tissue. We all have stem cells – these are building-block cells of sorts, with the ability to develop into a wide range of specialised cell types, such as muscle, skin, or brain cells. Shilpa hoped, though, that Jay’s stem cell therapy – a two-hour infusion into his veins – would bring benefits far beyond everything they had tried before. There is no cure for cerebral palsy but physiotherapy, speech therapy and occupational therapy can help some symptoms. In Jay’s case, Shilpa explains, there were complications around the time of his birth that led to the condition. Was she worried about the risks for Jay? “It wasn’t invasive and it couldn’t do any harm really.” To raise the £15,000 ($18,200) treatment bill, they supplemented money they had already fundraised for private physiotherapy and hydrotherapy with a personal loan and a further fundraising push supported by the cord bank where Kairav’s cord blood had been stored.Ĭerebral palsy is a group of lifelong conditions that affect movement and coordination. It did, and this time, children with sibling cord blood could participate. When Kairav was born in 2015, Shilpa and her husband stored their younger son’s umbilical cord blood, which was rich in blood stem cells, hoping another trial would emerge. Scouring the internet late each night, she read about a stem cell trial at Duke University in North Carolina but Jay wasn’t eligible. In his early years, Shilpa was desperate to find anything that might help him. “But he plays with us and tries to copy everything his younger brother Kairav does.” He’s non-verbal and we don’t know how well he can see,” she says. “Jay doesn’t sit up or use his hands much. He is smart and bright, says his mother Shilpa, even if he can’t do all the things his younger brother can.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |