Philippine Daily Inquirer

Stem cells are the foundation of every organ, tissue and cell in the human body that do not yet have a specific physiological function but have the potential to develop into many different cell types.

They are also distinguished from other cells by their ability to self-

renew. Stem cells divide and give rise to more stem cells. When a stem cell divides, each new cell has the potential to either remain as a stem cell or become another type of cell with a more specialized function, such as a muscle cell, red blood cell or brain cell.

According to the National Institutes of Healths Center for Regenerative Medicine, scientists primarily work with two kinds of stem cellsembryonic stem cells and nonembryonic somatic or adult stem cells.

Embryonic stem cells are obtained from the inner cell mass of a blastocyst, the ball of cells formed when the fertilized egg or zygote divides and forms two cells (then again to form four and so on). It can divide almost indefinitely and can give rise to every cell type in the body.

Adult stem cells, on the other hand, are found in differentiated tissues and organs throughout the body and contribute to the maintenance and repair of organs.

Stem cells offer the possibility of replacement cells to treat a wide variety of diseases and disabilities, including diabetes, neurological disease, cardiovascular disease, blood disease and many other conditions.

According to the Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI), embryonic stem cells have not yet been used to treat diseases in humans, but progress has been made in the introduction of the first clinical trial using embryonic stem cells in the area of treating spinal cord injury.

Adult stem cell-based therapies have been used to treat diseases in humans for over 40 years in the form of bone marrow transplants, according to HSCI. These are used to treat leukemia, lymphoma and inherited blood disorders.

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In the Know: Stem cells

ROCHESTER, Minn. - Every year, about 1,000 babies are born in the United States with half a heart - a rare defect that requires a series of risky surgeries and, even then, leaves the infants with a strong likelihood that their hearts will wear out prematurely.

Now, the Mayo Clinic has received federal approval for a first-of-its kind clinical study to see if stem cells from the babies' own umbilical cords can strengthen their underdeveloped hearts and extend their lives.

If it works, the new technique could buy these children time as scientists scramble for a cure for the congenital defect called hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS).

The Mayo study, which will begin as soon as 10 eligible candidates can be enrolled, could also pave the way for additional breakthroughs in stem cell treatments that would help the 19,000 children born each year with other heart defects. But for the time being, the doctors at Mayo are keeping their focus on those babies who need the most help now.

"We are not here to build an academic career out of science and technology," said Dr. Timothy Nelson, director of Mayo's HLHS research program. "We're really here to make a difference in children's lives who are living today with unmet needs."

Christina DeShaw of Clive, Iowa, was pregnant with fraternal twins when she learned during an ultrasound procedure that the left side of her daughter's heart was not developing properly.

"The world just started spinning," DeShaw said. "Our lives were forever changed from that moment on."

DeShaw and her husband, Brad Weitl, sought help from the Mayo Clinic for the baby they named Ava Grace.

They learned that children born with defects on the left side of the heart must undergo a series of three complex surgeries. The first is called the Norwood procedure: Within a few days of birth, surgeons reconstruct the heart so that the fully developed right ventricle can do both its own work of supplying blood to the lungs and the work of the defective left ventricle, which ordinarily would pump oxygenated blood back to the body.

Dr. Harold Burkhart, who is overseeing surgeries in Mayo's new study, said that when the procedure was developed in 1983, only about 30 percent of the patients survived. About 70 percent survive now, he said, and at Mayo, about nine out of 10 make it through.

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Mayo Clinic puts stem cells to the test on infant heart defect