Stem cells are special human cells that have the potential to develop into many different cell types, ranging from muscle cells to brain cells. They are unspecialized, meaning they cannot perform specific functions in the body, but they can divide and renew themselves over a long time. Stem cells serve as a repair system for the body, and researchers believe that stem cell-based therapies may one day be used to treat serious illnesses such as paralysis, Alzheimers disease, and cancer.
Stem cells can be guided into becoming specific cells that can be used in people to regenerate and repair tissues that have been damaged or affected by disease. For example, stem cells may be used to generate healthy cells to replace cells affected by disease (regenerative medicine) . Stem cells may also have the potential to be grown to become new tissue for use in transplant and regenerative medicine. The only stem cells currently used to treat disease are hematopoietic stem cells, which are blood cell-forming adult stem cells found in bone marrow. These cells are used in procedures such as bone marrow transplants to help people with cancer make new blood cells after their own hematopoietic stem cells have been killed by radiation therapy and chemotherapy.
