Stem cells have regenerative potential to restore or replace damaged tissue with the new ones. These cells are the perfect choice to treat many different medical conditions or diseases. Stem cells are a rapidly growing sector because researchers are doing several clinical trials to make it more effective. But, as you know every research comes with misconceptions and myths. Let explore various common myths and misconceptions about stem cells and find whether that is true or not.
Some Misconceptions and Myths Wandering Around the World About Stem Cells
Stem cells hold great promise for medical science, but many misconceptions and myths surround them. Here are various common misunderstandings:
Myth 1: How can one approach effectively treat a variety of diseases?
Stem cell treatment can help with many different diseases because stem cells can promote repair and regrowth of tissues by using the special ability of stem cells. Stem cells can help create new cells and can also change into different types of cells. This makes them a useful tool that can replace damaged or dead cells anywhere in the body. Stem cells can help control the immune system. This means they might be able to treat diseases where the immune system attacks the body, like multiple sclerosis or type 1 diabetes.
Stem cells have more potential rather than regenerative capability which make an innovative approach to treat several diseases or disorders.
Different diseases develop in similar ways in the body. This involves basic actions of cells, the immune system, and metabolism, all influenced by certain substances in the body. Let’s take an example, low oxygen levels, called hypoxia, can cause problems in different parts of the body. It’s not just about heart and lung issues, but also affects conditions like rheumatoid arthritis (which harms joints), Parkinson’s disease (which causes degeneration), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, which damages nerves).
- Angiogenesis
- Inflammation
- Apoptosis
- To develop different diseases, some other systemic pathological processes are involved
Mesenchymal stem cells have various biochemical and physiological mechanisms of actions. Here are some main ones which are involve are as follows:
- MSCs (mesenchymal stem cells) work to reduce inflammation and boost the immune system by influencing immune cells and other processes that control inflammatory reactions.
- Angiogenesis is when the body releases special substances that help grow new blood vessels. These vessels bring more blood to tissues, giving them more oxygen and making them healthier.
- Production of Antioxidant Factors.
- Apoptosis Suppression.
Many clinical trials support the idea that using MSCs for treatment can help with various diseases. These tests follow all the rules of good clinical practice. Some patients get real treatment, while others get a fake treatment or nothing at all. Various scientific journal wrote about the results of stem cell therapy and some clinical trials outcomes are for:
- Osteoarthritis
- Heart failure
- Systemic lupus
- Ischemic stroke
- Covid-19
Stem cell treatment is usually linked to big health issues like strokes and Alzheimer’s. But it could help with lots of other medical problems too. Scientists are looking at using stem cells to help heal injuries, burns, and even baldness. As we learn more about stem cells, we might find new ways they can help people get healthier.
Myth 2: The body’s defense system might not accept stem cells
During a bone marrow transplant, the body’s defense system might reject the stem cells given to it. This can happen especially in cases of leukemia and other blood cancers. HSCs usually have a lot of human leukocyte antigens (HLA) on their surface. When someone gets a transplant, their immune system might see the new cells as invaders and try to attack them. This might cause the body to reject the stem cells. To prevent this, the donor’s cells need to match the recipient’s, and the recipient might need immunosuppression during the treatment.
We take help of mesenchymal stem cells at our clinic to treat various medical conditions. They have a low level of something called HLA, and their body even reduces this level more by itself. This means that MSCs could be used safely for various medical treatments without having to match donors with recipients.
Stem cells have a special quality that makes it less likely for the recipient’s body to reject them. They can hide from the immune system and not get attacked by it. Stem cells don’t have many of the proteins that usually make our bodies react against external things. This means that the recipient’s immune system doesn’t see them as foreign and doesn’t fight against them.
Stem cells can also change how the body’s defense system works, and they’ve been proven to calm down this system. This makes the immune system weaker at fighting off unfamiliar cells. This can really help with diseases like multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. Those diseases get worse because of swelling, and this can help stop that.
Stem cells from places like the umbilical cord can control the immune system even better than other types of stem cells.
Myth 3: Cancer is caused by stem cell therapy.
For a long time, scientists and patients worried that there might be a chance of getting cancer. MSCs make many growth factors and can multiply quickly. Some people worry this might increase the chance of getting cancer. But, many tests at hospitals found that no cancers grew. Because of how MSCs work, using this method seems risky and should be done carefully.
Tumors often grow more with embryonic stem cells, which come from embryos or materials used for in vitro fertilization. Using these cells in medicine is not common because people worry it’s not right.
Using stem cells for treatment is a complicated medical process. It needs skilled and experienced doctors to do it right. Patients should talk to their doctors at every step to make sure they get the right treatment for their own health problems.
Myth 4: Only embryos contain stem cells, which are extracted from abortions.
Some people think that stem cells only come from embryos, but that’s not true. Scientists have discovered stem cells not only in embryos but also in many other parts of the body. Scientists can get embryonic stem cells from aborted babies, but they’re not used for treatments because rules in many places make it hard to do. Regenerative therapy uses special cells called mesenchymal stem cells. These cells come from adult tissues. This is because grown-up stem cells are not as argued about, there are more of them, and they’re less likely to cause problems or be rejected.
Things that can be include with adult stem cells:
Some people worry that using the stem cells from a baby’s umbilical cord or the placenta might be like ending a life. Usually, after a baby is born healthy, the placenta and umbilical cord are thrown away. But, they can be used without hurting anyone.
- Bone marrow.
- Adipose tissue.
- Dental pulp, etc.
Myth 5: Stem cell treatment is an experimental, high-risk process.
The FDA says there is a risk of reactions where the treatment is given. Stem cells might move from where they are supposed to go and turn into the wrong types of cells or grow too much. They might not work like they are supposed to, and they could cause tumors to grow. These opinions are about situations where bad things happened because of medical procedures like intraocular injection or spine. Most of the problems happened because the wrong kinds of cells were used and rules were broken during the process.
Even with all these safety measures, some clinics and doctors began offering stem cell treatments that aren’t proven to work and could be dangerous. These bad treatments are not what most people in the industry do, but they have given the whole practice a bad name. That’s why it’s important for patients to do their homework and find trustworthy, licensed stem cell clinics to make sure they get safe and effective treatments.
Getting FDA approval is hard because of a few reasons: it’s tough to standardize the study procedures, it’s necessary to run multicenter randomized trials simultaneously in many countries, and transporting MSCs requires very strict temperature control. Recently, some trial plans, like this one, have already been approved by the FDA.
Stem cells can be taken from a patient’s own body or from a donor. This helps avoid problems like the immune system rejecting the cells or diseases being passed on, which can happen with other types of transplants.
Stem cell treatments are usually not very invasive and can be done without staying in the hospital. This lowers the risk of problems and lets patients go back to their normal activities quickly.
The Bottom Line
Scientists have studied and improved the use of stem cells in medicine a lot over the past few decades. Many clinical trials have shown that stem cell therapy can effectively treat various conditions, including heart disease and spinal cord injuries.
However, some wrong ideas about stem cell therapy have caused many people to miss out on treatments that could change their lives because of fear and incorrect information. Lots of people don’t trust stem cell treatment. They think it’s not regulated well and might not be safe.
Scientists and government groups all over the world keep showing that stem cell treatment works and is safe, despite what some people might say. Using cells can change medicine a lot and help many people live better lives.
