An explanation of stem cells and their potential to treat HD
Which are more useful - pluripotent stem cells or adult stem cells?
Based on what scientists currently know, it is unclear whether pluripotent or adult stem cells will be more useful for the development of therapies. As far as scientists can tell at this point, neither one is probably better than the other.
Both pluripotent and adult stem cells have their advantages and disadvantages (see chart below). For example, the main advantage of pluripotent stem cells is their ability to produce any specialized cell in the human body. However, because they are derived from human embryos or fetuses, they are also very controversial.
Adult stem cells, on the other hand, are unlikely to be rejected by a patient’s immune system because they can be isolated from a patient, coaxed to divide and specialize, and then transplanted back into the patient. Because stem cells are isolated from an adult, they are also unlikely to cause ethical concerns. However, adult stem cells have not been isolated for all tissues of the body, which limits the types of tissues they can be used for.
Recently, there has been research on adult stem cell plasticity, the ability of an adult stem cell from one tissue to generate specialized cells of another tissue. Thus far, there have been contradicting results. Time will tell whether or not adult stem cells can actually demonstrate plasticity. For more information on cell plasticity, click here.
Many scientists agree that pluripotent and adult stem cells might be better suited for different treatments
Last Modified: 1-25-04
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