STEM CELL THERAPY

STEM CELL THERAPY


CHANDINI SANTOSH


A few months back, Lisa Ray, top Canadian model of Indian origin, resurfaced on the covers of many news magazines with the stunning revelation about her rare cancer affliction and the cutting edge stem cell regenerative procedures she was undergoing for the same in the US with encouraging results. Having been a fan of Lisa ray’s unusually magnetic looks and personality I sat glued to the reads.

Regenerative procedures using stem cells has quietly taken over all other modern procedures in medical as well as surgical sections. Though the terminology may sound alien, the system itself is simple. As we know all cells are derived from stem cells. In an adult human, these cells lie dormant inside the bone marrow, in the cavities of the eyes, under the epidermis and inside one’s stomach. They can divide and that too very rapidly into cells to regenerate almost any part of our body and brain. I know: This sounds like magic or at the most a miracle. But that is what any advanced technology looks like in the beginning. It is indistinguishable from magic.

When antibiotics emerged to combat bacterial diseases, it had an aura of miracle to it. Penicillin was hailed as a wonder drug. With just one shot of Penicillin doctors could cure sexually transmitted diseases like Gonorrhea and syphilis. The same shot could heal infected wounds, pneumococcal infections, skin lesions and many other diseases which could not have been controlled otherwise. With the discovery of radium the medical fraternity achieved near miracle status as x-rays could ‘see’ through human body. With the advent of MRI scans each and every part human anatomy could be visualized, including even the bones and the marrow lying underneath it.

Stem Cell regenerative procedures are the latest entrant in a long line of modern medical discoveries. If a decade ago, nobody knew much about these nano cells, today we realize that there is almost nothing that cannot be tackled with stem cells. Take cardiomegaly for instance. This is a condition where the heart has enlarged to such an extent that normal pumping of blood to all parts of the body become impossible. One of the symptoms of this cardiac disorder is a rapid pulse rate, almost double than normal. Till now the only option available to a cardiac patient was to get a transplant done. There is renewed hope for such patients. AIIMS began clinical trials using adult stem cells on cardiomyopathic patients with encouraging results. Even in patients with tissue damage following acute heart attacks, where even bypass surgery seemed to do no good, and stem cells have begun to show their magic, though doctors caution that it is not magic yet.

When it comes to liver disorders, stem cell therapy gas attained magical status. Even earlier we know that much could be achieved in the liver as it is one of the most regenerative friendly organ in the human body. With the latest techniques involving cell rejuvenation, even heavily cirrhotic liver could be made ebullient.

There is not a single area of medical process that stem cell therapy cannot be deployed. India is in the forefront of such advancement, primarily due to the Union Government’s proactive measures. If traditionally scientists could only do research work in science but could not translate it into clinical use, much could be achieved. In the coming decade regenerative treatment is said to take off into brilliant possibilities. Fortunately for India stem cell research has not been derailed over ethical issues concerning embryonic stem cells as it had been in the US. Former US President George Bush had stopped all government funding for embryonic stem cell research as conservative religious groups argued that life cannot be destroyed to save other lives. Barrack Obama has overturned this law with the argument that embryonic stem cells hardly constitute lives and also many lives were saved. Embryonic cells are the most powerful cells in the lineup of other stem cells. The cells in an ovum are harvested within less than a week after fertilization takes place. They have the ability to develop into any of the two hundred odd types of cells needed by the body. The promise of possibilities is too large to be posted.

At one point I began wondering as to why this advanced technology has had few detractors. In my view this is so because, ironically enough the terminology of Regenerative Therapy sounds dangerously similar to what pseudo sciences and its practitioners use. It is the ‘follow the heart’ kind of verbiage that strikes a chord in people. Or else people have not sufficiently understood its implications as well as its moral or ethical complications. It is better so.

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