How many cells are in the human body? More than 30 trillion.
Some examples include muscle cells, brain cells, blood cells, and bone cells. As it is, they're all specialized to carry out a specific function.
Stem cells, however, are a little different. They're capable of giving rise to specialized cell types. Put it simply, they can become any type of cell in the body.
Given that, it's not surprising to know that they've become the target of scientific research.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of stem cell research?
Want to know? If so, be sure to keep reading-because that's what we'll be talking about below!
What Are Stem Cells?
Stem cells are undifferentiated cells. Not only do they have the ability to turn into other cells but they can also proliferate indefinitely.
In contrast, normal cells can only replicate themselves a few times before breaking down.
Where can you find stem cells? In most body tissues such as the bone marrow, skeletal muscles, and brain.
The Advantages and Disadvantages of Stem Cell Research
Stem cell research holds tremendous promise for medical treatments, however, there are downsides. Here are some of its pros and cons.
Advantages
Stem cell research offers countless medical possibilities. After all, the cells are undifferentiated; this means that they can be used to treat various conditions.
For example, researchers may be able to treat diabetes by turning stem cells into insulin-producing cells. Other conditions that may benefit from such therapies include spinal injuries, stroke, Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's disease.
Another benefit is that it can help progress cancer research. How? Embryonic stem cells are similar to cancer cells in that they can reproduce themselves indefinitely.
By studying them, researchers may be able to develop treatments that are more effective against cancer cells.
Disadvantages
The main disadvantage of stem cell research has to do with the way that they're acquired-that is, it involves the destruction of human embryos. This makes it immoral for those who believe that life begins at contraception.
Another drawback is that we currently do not have a complete understanding of how embryonic stem cells work. For example, there might be long-term health effects that we're not yet aware of.
Last but not least, transplanted stem cells can have high rejection rates. After all, they're derived from foreign embryos. In other words, therapy may not always be successful.
The Stem Cell Therapy Market
The stem cell therapy market is booming. Nowadays, more and more clinics are offering these types of treatments.
One way for them to find patients is through lead generation services. For example, they might use these strategies.
Understanding Stem Cell Research
Hopefully, that gives you a better idea of the advantages and disadvantages of stem cell research. As you can see, there are both pros and cons to these types of therapies.
Looking for more health-related posts? If so, be sure to check out the rest of our blog!
