Stem Cells and Medicine Flashcards
Why do stem cells have a huge potential use in medicine
Because stem cells can develop into different specialised cell types
What do scientist think they could do with stem cells?
They think they could be used to repair damaged tissues (like the heart) and treat neurological disorders (like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s)
What happens if heart tissue become damaged?
if heart tissues become damaged, the body is unable to sufficiently replace the damaged cells
What are researchers trying to by using stem cells? (heart)
They are currently trying to develop ways of using stem cells to make replacement heart cells to repair the damaged tissues
What happens with Alzheimer’s
The nerve cells in the brain die in increasing numbers. This results in severe memory loss
What are researching doing to help people with Alzheimer’s?
Researchers are hoping to use stem cells to regrow healthy nerve cells in people with Alzheimer’s
What happens with parkinson’s
Patient with Parkinson’s suffer from tremors that they can’t control. The disease causes the loss of a particular type of nerve cell found in the brain. These cells release a chemical called dopamine, which is needed to control movement.
What would help Parkinson’s
transplanted stem cells may help to regenerate the dopamine - producing cells
Why else are stem cells used by scientist?
They are used by scientist researching developmental biology, i.e how organism grow and develop
Why is studying stem cells helpful?
they can help us understand more about things like developmental disorders and cancer
