Today, the topic of stem cells is a highly discussed, controversial one. It seems as though there is always something being said about new findings in stem cell research and what will be done with the newly-found information. One of the most conversed aspects of stem cell research is how stem cells can be used to treat potentially life-threatening conditions. Leukemia is one of the conditions being researched along with how stem cell therapy could help benefit the patients with it. In order to fully understand what is going on in the world of stem cell and leukemia research, one must first know what stem cells are and what leukemia is.
Leukemia is a cancer of the white blood cells, and leukemia cells form in the bone marrow like other normal blood cells. The exact causes of leukemia are unknown, but there are some known risk factors that may lead to leukemia. These include being exposed to radiation, smoking, undergoing chemotherapy, having a genetic disorder, having a number of blood disorders, and a family history of leukemia. There are two different categories of leukemia: chronic and acute. Chronic leukemia gets worse slowly, whereas acute leukemia gets worse quickly. Depending on the type of leukemia, the symptoms may not even be apparent. In chronic leukemia, it is not uncommon for patients to be totally unaware of their disease until a routine check-up. However, symptoms may be experienced right away in patients with acute leukemia. Some symptoms of leukemia include fever, night sweats, headaches, change of appetite, unexpected weight loss, bruising easily, bleeding easily, fatigue, swollen lymph nodes, recurrent infections, and pain in the bones or joints. Conversely, these symptoms may not even be due to leukemia at all....
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...e going on today for leukemia, there is still no 100% guarantee for patients with the cancer. There is some controversy with conducting the research, especially with stem cells from the embryos and blastocysts. Some think that this is murder and shouldn’t be funded. Others think everything is all for the greater good. Now that you know the facts, where do you stand?
Works Cited
Genetic Science Learning Center. "Stem Cells." http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/tech/stemcells/
Web MD. “Leukemia.”
http://www.webmd.com/cancer/tc/leukemia-topic-overview
Medical News Today. “What Are Stem Cells?”
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/info/stem_cell/whatarestemcells.php
Medicine Net. “Leukemia.”
http://www.medicinenet.com/leukemia/article.htm
How Stuff Works. “How Stem Cells Work.”
http://science.howstuffworks.com/cellular-microscopic-biology/stem-cell.htm
This report does a fairly comprehensive job on educating the public to the definition of stem cells, describing them as “a diverse group of remarkable multipotent cells that are relatively undifferentiated and unspecialized cells of the body.” Stem cells have the capacity for unlimited self-renewal and the possibility to produce differentiated descendant cell types. The main in...
Stem cells can help cure diseases, repair damaged organs, and replace the need for organ donors. Stem cells may play a major role in cancer research, treatment, and maybe even a cure. Using stem cells in better treatments for diseases can give economic gains for society. According to the Mayo Clinic, over 100 million suffer from diseases that eventually may be treated more effectively or even cured with embryonic stem cell research (“Stem Cell Transplant”). This may be the greatest opportunity to alleviate the suffering of humans. Stem cell research has a lot of potential; there is a long list of diseases and other conditions that stem cells may be able to treat and possibly one day
For decades, biologists have been using stem cells to figure out possible cures for different diseases and even prevent them. Stem cells are cells that can become useable in certain tissues in the body (according to an infant), or tissue cells that are already found in blood, bones, the brain, and skin (in adults or children). Stem cells are being used for patients with lymphoma (begins in the immune system), leukemia (cancer of white blood cells), and other types of blood disorders.
What is Leukemia? Leukemia is a cancer in blood forming cells that are in early stages of development. Most of the time the white blood cells, but some types of leukemia start in other types of blood cells. Blood cells are form in bone marrow. Any of these cells can turn into a leukemia cell, once this happens the cell does not mature like it should. The cell may start to produce rapidly and the mutated cells probably won’t go through apoptosis like they should. These cells build up in the bone marrow and crowd out the healthy cells. Typically, leukemia cells get into the blood stream rather quickly. From the blood stream they can spread to places like lymph nodes, spleen, liver, central nervous system or other organs where the leukemia cells can cause those other cells to function irregularly.
The emphasis on health and fitness has become paramount in our society today in an effort to prevent and combat diseases such as Cancers. Cancers are a group of over 100 diseases that affects every aspect of the human system from skin, to bones, to muscles, to blood. One of the most common blood disorders is Leukemia. As defined by the U.S. National Library of Medicine, Leukemia is a type of blood cancer that begins in the bone marrow. The bone marrow is the soft tissue in the center of the bone that is responsible for the production of blood cells. The term leukemia means white blood. The term leukocytes refer to white blood cells, which are body’s defense against infections and other foreign substances. When Leukemia occurs there is an uncontrolled increase in the number of white blood cells. When this occurs, these cancerous cells inhibit the production of healthy red blood cells, platelets, and mature white blood cells. Over time the cancerous cells can spread to the bloodstream and lymph nodes. They can also travel to the Central Nervous System and the rest of the body.
Stem Cells in medicine date back to the early 19th century. Many physicians have conducted studies on stem cells and the use of stem cells in treating diseases. From the start of its discovery until today, stem cell research has progressed a lot. In fact, the use of stem cells to treat patients has already begun in hospitals like The Boston Children’s Hospital. You’re probably wondering what I’m talking about. In this article, I’ll help you understand: what are stem cells? Why are they important? What kinds of diseases can they treat? And Finally, I’ll reference you to a few websites that can help you better understand stem cells.
Stem cells offer great promise for success in future medical treatments. However, there still remains to be biased opinions on whether or not the use of stem cell for research is the most appropriate and effective tool for medical research. This topic is especially important for people who are suffering from disease that is capable of being treated through stem cell use. For these people, the treatment has the potential to change their outlook on life to a positive one. The advancements are diverse and have the potential to help cure numerous diseases and illnesses. Scientists are striving to find even more ways than they have already to repair damaged tissue in the human body and cure these diseases entirely through the usage of stem cells, and scientists believe that this will lead to further medical advancements for researchers.
Stem cells are amazing cells that all humans possess throughout their bodies. In today’s world of science, stem cells have become important factors in scientific research. Research with stem cells has been increasing exponentially over the last decade. Around the world, stem cells have been studied to help treat various health problems. The extent to what stem cell research can do is very wide reaching. The existence of stem cells was theorized by Alexander Maximow in the late 1800s. He believed that cells originated from a one type of cell. He was not far off with this theory.
Leukemia symptoms often vary depending on the type and severity. The most common signs and symptoms of leukemia include persistent fatigue, weakness, fever or chills, and night sweats. Another indication that Leukemia might be present in the blood is easily bruising or bleeding, as well as recurrent nosebleeds. You should never be dismissive of any symptoms, for sometimes only one of the many symptoms actually shows itself.
According to the World Health Organization diagnostic criteria, ALL is diagnosed when “lymphoblasts account for more than 20% to 25% of cells”(Epocrates, 2014). Symptoms of ALL can depend on which areas of the body the cancerous cells had spread to. However generalized symptoms include fever, weight loss, fatigue, night sweats and loss of appetite. Recurring infections, bruising easily and bleeding are common indicator of shortages of normal blood cells associated with ALL. Patients could also have swelling in the abdomen if the abnormal cells build up in the liver and spleen. Joint pain could occur if the leukemia cells increase inside the joint or near the bone. If the cells build up to the brain or spinal cord, it could cause weakness, seizures, vomiting, facial numbness or blurred vision (American Cancer Society,
“Stem Cells: The Future of Medicine.” Medschool.umaryland.edu. University of Maryland School of Medicine Web 14 Nov 2013
In today’s world it may seem like there are millions of new and old diseases, but with advancing medical technology and brilliant research done by scientists involving stem cells, there are more miraculous cures, however, they are not without, great controversy. Recently, scientists have been looking into stem cells, and trying to learn what they are all about. Some of the new information people have found is incredible, and even life saving, but, there are also several problems. This is, without a doubt, a very intriguing topic, but, also very controversial.
Leukemia has many symptoms that affects the body. When it affects you, you will definitely know. Some of the symptoms include, pain in the bones or joints, fatigue and weakness that don't go away with rest. ( Verneda Lights ), and losing weight without trying( mayo clinic). If you are feeling any of these symptoms you are probably diagnosed with leukemia cancer. At any point you feel those symptoms you should contact your doctor.
Second I will be talking about some of the signs, symptoms, and what to do if you think you may have Leukemia. Many times there aren’t very many signs of Leukemia. When the cancer develops in your blood cells that’s when the signs can start to show, some signs could be fever, chills, night sweats, and much more but it all depends on what type of cancer and how big it is. (Cancer Center) (Seattle Cancer Care
Stem cells are unspecialized tissues that have two most important features that make them different from other cells in the human body. First, they can increase their numbers for too long periods by means of cell division. Second, every time a stem mobile phone divides to hundreds of originate cell , each and every new originate can separate during early on life of them, and become specialized cells like red blood flow cell , muscle mass cell, human brain cell , or nerve mobile. In this century, scientists started out research concerning how to use originate cells to treat incurable illnesses. As well as they extracting embryonic stem adult and cells originate cells to increase the number in scientific labs.. Scientists found ways to derive embryonic originate cells from early mouse embryos almost 31 years ago, in 1981. The comprehensive study in the biology of mouse stem cells generated the discovery. At a later time , in 1998, of a strategy to derive stem cells from human embryos and expand the cells in the lab. ...