Ahsan Arsalan

Stem Cells Present in almost all multi-cellular organisms No specialized functionality Can renew themselves Can differentiate into many cell types

Types of Stem Cells Adult Stem Cells Present in tissues or organs Can differentiate into cells of the tissue or organ they are present in Manipulation into other cell types is the key

Types of Stem Cells (Cont.) Embryonic Stem Cells Pluripotent cells Obtained from the blastocyst Mostly obtained through In Vitro Fertilization Another potential method is Nuclear Transfer

Stem Cell Research Brief History At the start of the 20 th Century it was discovered that all blood cells came from a “stem cell” Presence of stem cells was shown in 1963 In 1968, the first bone marrow transplant was performed Stem cells were discovered in human cord blood in 1978 In 1998 James Thompson developed the first embryonic stem cell lines Today countless research studies are going on. Adult stem cells are being used in treatments.

Stem Cell Research Clinical Treatments Research on Embryonic stem cells is yet to yield any clinical treatment Adult stem cells have been used in used in treating over a hundred conditions

Stem Cell Research Clinical Treatments Repairing Heart Muscles In June 2009 Doctors at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute for the first time used a patient’s tissue to grow stem cells and then inject them back in an attempt to once again grow a healthy muscle which was damaged in a heart attack.

Stem Cell Research Clinical Treatments Windpipe Transplant In March 2010 a ten year old boy in Britain underwent a windpipe transplant with the windpipe created from his own stem cells.

Stem Cell Research Clinical Treatments Reversing Multiple Sclerosis Recently scientists been able to find a way reverse the impairments caused by multiple sclerosis using stem cells.

Stem Cell Research Ethical Issues Main controversy and debate surrounds Embryonic stem cells Destroying an embryo also means taking away the possibility of life that existed in it Should a compromise be made on the possibility of life in order for the improvement and help of already existent life? Does an embryo have a moral status of a human being?

Stem Cell Research in Pakistan Treatments of Heart Diseases using adult stem cells have been carried out Liver associated diseases caused by Hepatitis B or Hepatitis C have been treated Recently in interior Sindh, two doctors were able to treat a patient with lower leg mobility impairment through universal regenerative therapy More support of the Pakistani Government is required

Role of Bio-Informatics Identification of stem cells and their nature Growth of stem cells in laboratories Matching whether a cell being created is a copy of the original Databases for storing vast information about stem cells Helps in knowing the resulting outcome of changes made to a cell

Role of Bio-Informatics (cont.) An example is the creation of a software by an engineer at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) that can not only predict the types of specialized cells a stem cell will produce, but also foresee the outcome before the stem cell even divides.

Future of Stem Cell Research More treatments for diseases and impairments like Cancer, Diabetes and Brain Damage just to name a few are expected Ways for eliminating the controversy regarding Embryonic stem cells are being researched for Amniotic stem cells could become a source for embryonic stem cells Stem cells could also become the main way of drug testing in the future

Questions?