There are over 200 types of cells in a human body and each of them is employed to carry out a specialized function. Out of these, stem cells are some of the most prominent cell types, which are essential for humans to create more cells in the process of wear & tear of tissues. These ‘magic cells’ have the power to replicate into healthy cells in order to speed up the regeneration process necessary to treat various disorders, including neurological conditions.
The two main types of stem cells, which have been known to help therapeutically, are the adult stem cells and the umbilical stem cells. Umbilical stem cells are derived from the umbilical cord and placenta at the time of birth of the child, while the adult stem cells or the somatic cells are easily extracted from the bone marrow and some other body tissues. Adult stem cells have the scope of stimulating normal functioning of glial cells, to trigger growth factors that can boost the restoration of damaged or weakened neurons, thus, promoting improvement in the impaired functions of the patients. As adult stem cells are natural healing elements, stem cell therapy does not pose any threat to patients with neurodegenerative or muscular disorders and metabolic syndromes, etc. It has been observed that no patients have reported any side effects or indications of disease progression after undergoing stem cell treatment.
For stem cell transplantation, adult cells are mined from usually the bone marrow, purified, and later infused into the distressed areas to replace the tissues damaged by disease or injury. Thus, stem cell therapy could be used to replace the neurons damaged by cerebral palsy, spinal cord injury, stroke or other neurological disorders.
The time required for a patient to recover or improve from their current condition, with stem cell therapy depends upon the age of the patients, the severity of the disorder or ailment, the time period of the disease, etc. Scientists have correlated a link between the above-mentioned factors for favourable treatment outcomes.
- Age: Where the adult stem cells are concerned, bone marrow derived cells become sparse per unit volume after the age 60.
- Medication: It is important to observe the case history and the prescribed medications of the patients before referring a stem cell therapy. Certain medicines, when consumed during the treatment, can cause grievous outcomes.
- Unfavourable situation: Factors like acidity, poor blood supply, biomechanical pressure, etc. can hamper stem cell growth and reduce their functional attributes.
- Physical fitness: Patients who are physically active have better secretion growth factors to support the expansion of stem cells.
- The level and severity of the disorder: Higher the level of severity, the slower is the recovery.
Stem cell therapy holds tremendous promise to people with neurological disorders, a range of muscle degenerative diseases, injuries and health-related conditions.
