24/06/2019
What Is Stem Cell Therapy?
Stem cell treatments are complex, and in the case of many conditions, still theoretical. However, scientists do have a firm understanding of what stem cells are and how they work. In a nutshell, these “master cells” are undifferentiated, having the ability to turn into a wide variety of more specialized cells. Hematopoietic stem cells, for instance, give rise to every kind of blood stem cell in our body – which is dozens. Mesenchymal stem cells are another stem cell type. This type of stem cell has an exceptional capacity to reduce inflammation, reduce fibrosis (scarring), and positively impact the immune system. Other stem cells control other bodily tissues. These master cells are found in the heart, teeth, liver, skin, fat, and many other tissue types. With cutting-edge scientific techniques, researchers can now force those stem cells to revert to an even less differentiated state, forming what is called induced pluripotent stem cells. These unique cells can become any tissue in the human body. If physicians could inject them into affected areas, they could (theoretically) rebuild our tissues from the ground up by repairing damaged body parts. Stem cell therapy for autism, therefore, proposes to “rewrite” the bodily systems causing autism.
