Cord Blood Stem Cells - What Are They?

Stem cells are showing great promise in the field of biological medicine. Both adult stem cells and embryonic stem cells have great potential and promise of breakthroughs in cell based therapies. Known as regenerative medicine, these cells are used as a treatment and are triggered to become specific cells that are needed in specific medical conditions to help restore, replace and renew cells in the body that have been lost or damaged due to sickness, disease or age.
Embryonic stem cells, also known as cord blood stem cells, are vital in current biological research. These cells are what are considered undifferentiated cells, meaning they do not have the structure or manufactured proteins that are specific to certain other blood cells. The significance of this is that these stem cells can be induced to become specialized blood cells according to the bodies needs, especially during treatments for many diseases, such as leukemia.
As scientists study stem cells, they hope to be able to treat diseases such as Parkinson's - a common neurological disorder that affects nearly 2% of the population over the age of years of age. Heart disease and diabetes are two other common diseases that scientists are hopeful in being able to treat with stem cells in the near future.
However, embryonic stem cells have not been studied for long. Originally, these primitive cells were once used for in vitro fertilization. Once the donor no longer needed their banked supply, with consent, they were donated to research. Now, scientists are trying to discover what triggers these specials cells to become specified cells within the body, and how they can remain unspecialized, yet self-renewing for many years. They hope that by unlocking that information, they can gain invaluable knowledge on producing specific cells, for specific diseases and cures. The possibilities are endless, but much research is required.
The main difference between the two types of stem cells is based upon their ability to become matured cells. Embryonic cells hold tremendous potential, due to their pluripotent potential (the ability to give rise to several major blood cells: white, red and plasma), whereas adult stem cells seem to be able to mature to the cells from which they are derived, such as tissue or muscle cells.
Both cells hold much promise in the world of biology and medicine. With much research, questions such as why cord blood stem cells seem to be able to proliferate (divide and renew themselves) when other cells, such as nerve and muscles cells, cannot. This may also help to answer the questions surrounding the abnormal cell division in cancers, such as Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL), and other childhood blood disorders.
With such questions answered, the world of medicine along with the treatments and prevention of multiple diseases, may someday bring cures once thought impossible.