Stem Cells Cure Diseases - Research Paper Example

It has been shown by the research conducted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in mice that Type I Diabetes can be cured by the use of embryonic stem cells, which produce sufficient quantities of pancreatic endocrine hormones and insulin. Such cells are also expected to provide a cure for diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s (Erwin, 2004, p. 211). In the usual course, diabetes cannot be cured by any medicine. Therefore, stem cell research has proved to be advantageous to diabetic patients, as well.

Disorders of the blood and heart can be improved by the introduction of stem cells. A damaged heart can be rectified by injecting stem cells into its muscles. It is now feasible to isolate muscle cells without much difficulty. Thereafter, these cells can be grown in cultures and injected into the cardiac muscles. Moreover, Leukemia, thalassemia, and sickle cell disease respond positively to treatment with blood stem cells. These cells are extracted from the umbilical cord at birth or from the blood marrow of the afflicted individual.

These cells can also be procured from the umbilical cord of a sibling (Ritz, 2012, p. 6). As such, embryonic stem cell research is not immoral because it saves the life of many people from deadly diseases like heart complaints, leukemia, thalassemia and sickle cell disease. Furthermore, the loss of glial cells and neurons has been demonstrated to result in a number of common neurological disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease, stroke and multiple sclerosis. Patients with these disorders can be helped immensely, as glial cells and neurons can be generated from stem cells in culture.

Several projects are now underway to develop transplantation therapies based on stem cells. In addition, stem cells. Thus, patients with Alzheimer’s disease have benefitted due to basal forebrain grafts of the fibroblasts that cause nerve growth factor. This opposes cholinergic neuronal death, stimulates cell function, and enhances memory (Lindvall & Kokaia, 2006, p. 1095). This is a miraculous innovation in the medical field. Thus, Alzheimer’s disease which has defied treatment stands to be cured by stem.