Urban lifestyle can be a bane as much as a boon. The diseases and health disorders that one becomes prone to in cities appear to become more widespread due to the rapid industrialisation of the country. Human health is a result of the contact of genetic, nutritional, socio-cultural, economic factors and physical infrastructure. All these factors are influenced by the environment they are embedded in and by changes in this environment.
Around the country, lifestyle disorders like diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular diseases are already affecting the health and well-being of thousands of people everyday. Stem cell therapies carry an immense potential in treating the incurable and irreversible lifestyle diseases like diabetes, heart disease, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, bringing this therapy at the centre stage of medical evolution. However, there are certain other lifestyle disorders that are taking a toll on the human health like hair fall, ageing, blindness and infertility (vitiligo is also quite prominent these days). Here again, Stem Cell Therapy acts as a regenerative medicine to promote the reparative reaction of dysfunctional or injured tissue. Let’s scan through the battle between stem cells and the following lifestyle disorders and problems:
Hair Loss
Hair loss is a frustrating and embarrassing experience for every man and woman with increasing age. Voluminous hair is associated with vitality and youth. No wonder, people are always on the lookout for some solution that truly works and doesn’t simply belt out false promises that numerous advertisements offer. Finally, there is good news for them! The key to bringing back those lost strands lies in stem cells wherein they are turned into hair follicle cells and transplanted onto denuded parts of the scalp or body. Compared to the invasive method of hair replacement surgery, researchers have genetically modified adult human skin cells to form an epithelial stemcell. This cell is one of the building blocks for functioning hair follicles and produces structurally recognisable hair shafts.
Fertility Treatment
Infertility problems have been a major source of concern for Indian couples lately due to changes in lifestyle, stress and the recent trend of late marriages contributing to this occurrence. While poor sperm count plays a major role in male infertility, female infertility is an outcome of health disorders like polycystic ovarian disorder or PCOD. Stem cells are being considered as potential new therapeutic agents for the treatment of infertility by the doctors wherein the cells could be stimulated in vitro to develop various numbers of specialised cells including male and female gametes, given their potential use in reproductive medicine. Primordial germ cells (PGCs) are some of the first cells to be developed when an egg cell is fertilised by a sperm. While some cells remain inside eventually developing into the fetus, other cells on the outside become the placenta. Most of the inner cells become stem cells, capable of turning into any kind of specialised cell, and a small number of them become PGCs, carrying the genetic information that will one day be passed down as sperm or egg. Researchers have been able to create these PGCs. However, they are yet to determine whether a PGC can be turned into a sperm or egg cell.
Anti-Aging Treatment
As people grow old, a large number of cells in their bodies get replaced and with age, their body’s ability to reproduce new cells decreases immensely. Body fat is the richest source of adult stem cells in the human body. They carry the incredible capacity to not only divide to form more stem cells, but also to differentiate into specialised cells to regenerate dying or damaged tissues. Stem cell treatments help in reloading the supply of stem cells, allowing the body to repair and rejuvenate with younger looking skin. By inserting these stem cells combined with some fat tissue into the areas of the face with wrinkles, the face is softly altered without letting it lose its distinctiveness.
Blindness
For people who are blind, the thought of retaining their eyesight seems like an impossible dream. The tables have finally turned, made possible by a few scientists. Macular degeneration is a leading cause of vision loss in older adults and when it strikes, it affects the area of the eye that is important to see fine details. Through stem cell therapy, stem cells are injected into the rear of the eye in order to replace the damaged photoreceptors, which are small but crucial cells found in the retina. These photoreceptors are sensitive to light and are vital to a person’s ability to see things.
Lifestyle disorders are witnessing a steady increase day by day and they can have debilitating effects on the human body, its functions and appearance. However, the advent of clinical researches on stem cell therapies with one’s own stem cells has raised a ray of hope in the constant effort to reverse the effects of these disorders. This is good news as it can open the gateway to treating life-threatening disorders in the long run.
