Genetic Correction

There are many different types of stem-cells which can be implanted in patients to regenerate or replace the damaged or abnormal cells caused by not only diseases like Parkinson's but also Alzheimer's and spinal cord injuries (2). A specific example in relation to Parkinson's is the harvesting of embryonic stem cells. These human embryonic stem cells can be transplanted into the brain to replace and create dopamine neurons. The controversy is in how one can obtain these stem cells. During fertilization, in humans, the embryo is hollow and contains cells that eventually develop into a fetus (1). Researchers have discovered, as recently as 1998, that the cells in the embryo contain all

Recently in the scientific world, the field of embryonic stem cell research has become a popular topic and has been the subject for many heated debates. Experts in the field of stem cell research promise that this will be the future of medicine; that stem cells will be the cure to all the debilitating diseases and afflictions of today, such as Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease, cancer and nerve damage. The truth about embryonic stem cell research is that it is not as hopeful and as revolutionary as it seems. Many problems that will negate the use of stem cells will and have already begun to arise, especially in areas concerning health risks to the patient, opportunity costs and human rights (Condic 803). Taking into account all the

. Embryonic stem cells have been identified by scientist as a type of stem cell that can advance regenerative medicine. The potential of regenerative medicine ranges from allowing pancreatic cells to produce insulin for diabetics to reconnecting the nerves in severed spinal cords. However, the greatest potential embryonic stem cells presents are its ability to change into any of the more than 200 different cell types in the body. This ability to change into any cell type can produce cures for Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, or any of the other conditions that stem cell therapy might help therefore improving the lives of those who live with these

The creation of induced pluripotent stem cells by direct reprogramming has allowed for the circumvention of using embryonic stem cells while still leaving the cells with the ability to maintain pluripotency. Instead of ES cells which were originally derived from the epiblast of mouse embryos, IPS cells were generated from mouse embryonic fibroblasts. This eliminated both any ethical concerns for whether those cells were a living being or not and the need to destroy embryos at the blastocyst stage. An advantage of IPS cells is that they are derived from human somatic cells which makes them easy to acquire due to the possibility of using skin or blood cells. They can also be grown and differentiated individually for each person that the sample of somatic cells is taken from which eliminates the possibility of having any immune reaction and rejection to the differentiated cells during transplantation. These characteristics of IPS cells are important because they are what enables us to safely and accurately transform these affected cells from patients cells into neurons and confidently study them.

It is stressful to think about inherited diseases or genetic conditions that run in the family. Just thinking about putting myself in that situation is emotionally draining. I cannot imagine those people who deal with that kind of circumstances in real life. This makes me wonder whether there is an interventions offered by clinical genetics services to minimize the emotional burdensome to patients. I believe that genetic services and counseling would probably be beneficial for this type of situations. Genetic Alliance is a great program that provides support to families affected individuals and families , so they can better understand their available resources, information, and support that will help them access to quality services (Romelczyk

Altering genetic makeup seems like the impossible. However, several scientists globally have spent years trying to perfect just that. Choosing your child's hair colour, eye colour or even IQ seems like something from a fairytale; creating your dream child. Some say this is a simple process; selecting the gene and altering it to perfection. What many don't know is it is the complete opposite. Genes are often multi purposed, they contain multiple sets of crucial genetic information. By modifying a gene to change one thing can easily have a negative effect on another. For example, a person’s height is determined by the genes that affect growth, appetite and muscle mass”, that being said, if that gene were genetically modified to create the “perfect”

Additionally, industries support scientists as they believe that the legalization of the use of stem cells can allow scientists to conduct their research without barrier, in order to discover treatments for Alzheimer’s at a faster rate. By conducting research, scientists could create a more effective treatment with very small risk and side effects based on the existing variety of ways that stem cells are able to replace the damaged areas of an Alzheimer’s brain. Firstly, scientists can retrieve stem cells from skin cells to create neural stem cells that can be transplanted into the brain, which will later create healthy neurons. However, even after creating efficient neural stem cells, scientists still have to overcome some issues in order to create a more effective treatment, such as making sure that the stem cells travel to different areas in the brain where it is damaged. Another issue is that when neural stem cells are being transplanted into the brain, they can be damaged by the build-up of beta-amyloids, causing this treatment to be temporary. Secondly, scientists can use iPS (induced pluripotent stem cells), which is when skin cells are taken from an Alzheimer patient and are reprogrammed to create the iPS cells. From here, the iPS cells can grow nerve cells, which scientists can use for research, to understand

Stem cells are unspecialized cells, which have the potential to develop into several different cell types—muscle cells, brain cells, skin cells, or red blood cells—during early development. Stem cells continuously divide in order to replace other cells. As stem cells divide, they have the potential to develop into a specialized cell or remain a stem cell. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) play an essential role in tissue regeneration, and can circumvent immune system concerns. There are a variety of stem cells, including embryonic stem cells, adult stem cells, and induced pluripotent stem cells. However, the main focus of this paper will be the usage of induced pluripotent stem cells.

(A) and (B) are patient neurofibroma-derived fibroblasts and iPS cells before and after reprogramming. The generated iPS cells maintain classic clonal growth in both feeder-dependent (data not shown) and feeder-free (B) culture system. (C) is the illustration of the genotype of the fibroblasts and iPS cells. These cells only carry a heterozygous splicing mutation (c.204+1G>A) in the NF1 genome and with the other allele remaining wildtype (Nf1+/-). (D-I) are functional assays for Nf1+/- iPS cell pluripotency using a panel of makers for human embryonic stem cells.

The advances that have been made over the last two decades in stem cell research have changed the field of neuroscience. The field has gained a better understanding of the influence of transcription factors on regulating cell fate as well as other genetic, epigenetic, and environment factors. It has also advanced our understanding of embryonic neurogenesis as well as resolved some of the controversy in adult neurogenesis.

Stated in ‘Should Human Stem Cells Be Used to Make Partly Human Chimeras’, “The goal of the research is to create chimeras that lead to new treatments for human diseases”. Scientists take different diseases and inject them into animals to then try and test for possible cures or treatments. They are essentially using the human-animal chimeras as models for discovering and testing drugs. One of the main focuses is to use them to learn more about brain diseases since those kinds of diseases are difficult to study in

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iSPCs) are a type of pluripotent cell, that are generated directly from a multipotent adult stem cell (Wikipedia, 2016). Since iSPCs can be derived from adult tissues, it not only surpasses the need for embryonic stem cells, eliminating the dispute about the ethics of pluripotent stem cells, but these iSPCs could also be made to match the patient, meaning that unlimited supplies could be used to generate transplants without the risk of immune rejection (Yamanaka, 2006). Even with the innovation of the iSPCs, there are still problems with the methods of inducing stem cells, with complications such as awakening viruses, and even causing cancer with some methods, meaning procuring stem cells from embryos is still most commonly used, but with refinement of methods, induced pluripotent stem cells will soon replace embryonic stem

Human embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are pluripotent cells isolated from blastocysts, and are highly useful in studying human development (Itzkovitz-Eldor et al., 2000 p. 88). Although the National Institute of Health states that “it is not known if iPSCs and embryonic stem cells differ in clinically significant ways”, iPSCs are already being used to achieve the same results as ESCs in some applications without the use of embryos, removing the ethical concern associated with ESCs (National Institutes of Health, 2009). ESCs are capable of differentiating into all cell types, and can be used as a source of differentiated cells. In the report by Itskovitz-Eldor et al., they discuss the induced differentiation of ESCs in suspension into embryoid bodies, including the three embryonic germ layers. The authors state that “the ability to induce formation of human embryoid bodies that contain cells of neuronal, hematopoietic and cardiac origins will be useful in studying early human embryonic development” (Itzkovitz-Eldor et al., 2000 p. 88).

The BACE1 gene is directly involved the production beta-amyloid plaques. Beta amyloid is a small part of a larger protein called APP (amyloid precursor protein). An enzyme cuts the APP in two places. The first enzyme to act is the BACE1 that generates the production of beta-amyloid. When BACE2 is activated it is responsible for destroying beta-amyloid by cutting it into pieces. Other enzymes assist BACE2, but it has been found to be the most efficient due to its ability to perform this function by two distinct mechanisms [3]. The genetically engineered induced pluripotent stem cells would first be differentiated into neural lineages prior to injecting them into patients. Direct injection of iPS cells in vivo can cause the formation of a teratoma. The transfusion would be conducted in two phases. Each phase will consist of a series of 8 injections of stem cells that have differentiated into a neural lineage from their own somatic cells. They would then be directly injected into various areas of the brain that are important for memory and cognition. These areas include: frontal lobe, parietal lobe, temporal lobe, and occipital lobe. This entire procedure would first be conducted on mice. After phase II of the experiment, the results would be analyzed to determine if cognition in mice did in fact improve. If cognition were found to improve after the injection of the cells, the next step would be to preform a human clinical trial. If approved, the same procedure

In this vision, the use of human stem cells of various origin in animal models of neurodegenerative pathology seems to be mandatory. Consequently in many instances the animal model of the human pathology need to be treated with immunosuppressive treatment in order to avoid the rejection of the transplanted cells; this will imply that a new variable is introduced in the experiment and that the analysis will be much more complicated. Conversely, some kind of cells such as MSC are able to exert immunomodulatory effects and could be transplanted without