It is a known fact that stem cells aid in generating functional cells in the human body. Hence, they are called Master cells, which generate the daughter cells. Further, the daughter cells can form new stem cells or can be specialised cells. The specialised cells are the bone cells, brain cells, heart muscle cells, blood cells and body muscle cells. The sources of stem cells are embryonic stem cells, adult stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells. These kinds of stem cells are used to treat varied ailments and injuries successfully. The stem cell therapy is stated to be helpful in yielding fast results, effective, long-lasting and quite safe.
Presently, modern medical science has proven that stem cells to help injuries of the spine are a great breakthrough. The injury can happen at any part of the spinal cord or the end of the spinal canal. The injury is sure to affect the life of the patient as the spinal cord send motor commands from the brain to all part of the body.
Spinal cord:
- The spinal cord is the delicate tissue that is enclosed in the hard vertebrae of the spinal column. The spinal cord along with the brain makes the human body’s central nervous system. The millions of nerve cells present in the spinal cord are responsible for the coordination of all the functions in the human body. Every action performed by a man relates to the cells. Hence, a spinal cord injury mean some part of the body getting affected and unable to function smoothly. The spinal cord injury is differentiated in accordance to the spine injured or relates to the extent of connection lost between the brain and the spinal cord.
- Spinal Cord injury, SCI as it is commonly known is too complicated to be treated at a faster phase. There are many elements that contribute to its successful treatment. The neurological condition can affect the functioning of the sensory as well as motor functions of the patient. Stem cells treatment for SCI patients has brought immense hope to recover from the symptoms and lead a normal life again.
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- Spinal cord and stem cell therapy:
- The injury breaks the circuitry connection between the brain, spinal cord and the different body parts. Thus, there is a need to replace the cells to let the flow of signals from the brain to every organ of the body returns to normal.
- The stem cells extracted from adult cells or fetal tissues are place to improve the circuitry.
- The studies have reported that stem cells can regenerate the damaged cells of the spinal cord. It can be done through various clinical methods like neuroprotection, immunomodulation, myelin regeneration and more.
- The most commonly used stem cells to treat SCI are the mesenchymal stem cells derived from bone marrow.
- The cell therapeutics believe that the smooth process of treatment even depends upon the cell originated place, its purity and its strength.
However, there are chances of stem treatment failure if it hasn’t been properly conducted under the supervision of expert neurologists. Otherwise, there are high chances of infection and falling prey to side effects of the treatment.
The success of the treatment primarily depends upon whether the cord has been cut or some of the axons are damaged to disconnect the continuity of the central nervous system functions.
Neurologists and cell therapeutics take utmost care to conduct safe treatment that stabilises the functions of the spinal cord and the patient isn’t affected by any adverse effects of the stem cell treatment. The treatment enhances the regeneration of cells present in the spinal cord and improves the neurological function of the patient’s body.
