Stem cells form the important foundation which is required by every organ, tissue and cell in the body. Stem cells are unspecialized cells that have two defining properties in them which make them unique and different from all other kinds of cells. It is these very two special but interesting properties which have gone towards making stem cell and stem cell therapy a very interesting topic of study. These two mentioned properties are their ability to differentiate into other cells and their ability to self-regenerate.

Stem Cell Therapy for Peripheral Artery Disease

Stem cells have in them the inherent property of dividing and renewing themselves for long periods of time. Unlike the case of other types of cells like muscle cells, blood cells, or nerve cells which do not normally replicate themselves, it is seen that stem cells may replicate many times. This property of stem cells replicating several times allows for their use in stem cell therapy applications. Stem cells can give rise to specialized cells. This important property forms the basis of all stem cell therapy uses. While differentiating, the cell usually goes through several stages, becoming more specialized at each step.

Within the class of stem cells too there are present different types of stem cells. These include embryonic stem cells that exist only at the earliest stages of embryonic development; as embryonic stem cells can form all cell types of the body as a result of which they are referred to as pluripotent stem cells. There are various types of adult or tissue-specific stem cells that exist in a number of different fetal and adult tissues in the body. These stem cells are restrictive to the kind of cells they can further generate and generally can only form a limited number of cell types corresponding with their tissues of origin; they are called multipotent stem cells.

Human stem cell therapy has found several uses over a period of time and is today a major tool in the hand of medical researchers. Studies of human embryonic stem cells have gone forward and yielded enough information about the complex events that occur during human development. Today, towards the use of donated organs and tissues is put to use to replace ailing or destroyed tissue. Stem cells, which owing to their property can be used stem cell therapy, can now offer the possibility of a renewable source of replacement cells and tissues to treat diseases including Alzheimers diseases, spinal cord injury, stroke, burns, osteoarthritis, heart disease,
diabetes, and rheumatoid arthritis.

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