Stem Cells in Regenerative Medicine: Prospects and Pitfalls

Abstract

Stem cells are the cells that have the ability to regenerate themselves and are able to differentiate into one or more specialized cell types. This unique property makes them a valuable source for in vitro disease modeling, drug designing, regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. As no specie can fully mimic the human microenvironment, human cell models derived from patients cells provide a fascinating avenue for enhancing our current understanding of the early molecular stages of various diseases followed by validating therapeutics. In this paper, we reviewed the role of stem cells in regenerative medicine that includes use of cord blood derived stem cells in medicine and patient specific induced pluripotent stem cells for future transplant purposes and the hurdles and obstacles that we need to address before we can safely use these cells for patient cure.

An Overview of the Journey of Stem Cell Based Interventions from Bench to Bedside and the Growing Challenge of Unproven Interventions

“…The potentials for stem cells are being explored currently but to date, the few safe and efficacious options for clinical applications are mainly limited to haematopoietic stem cell transplantation for some malignant and some non-malignant hematologic conditions (Zehravi et al, 2017). The journey from bench to the bedside is long, arduous and regulated for the sake of science, its researchers and the patients alike.…”

“…Many clinical trials at different phases are underway for SCI and can be found listed at online registry sites like the United States' National Library of Medicine's clinicaltrials.gov, European Union's EU Clinical Trials Register (EU-CTR), United Kingdoms' ISRCTN registry, Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR), etc. (Health 2012; Zehravi et al, 2017).…”