Will stem cells transform medicine?

Michael A. E. Ramsay, MD

From Baylor Research Institute, Dallas, Texas.

Corresponding author: Michael A. E. Ramsay, MD, Baylor Research Institute, 3434 Live Oak, Suite 125, Dallas, Texas 75204 (e-mail: docram@baylorhealth.edu).

In 1998, human pluripotent stem cells—self-renewing, unspecialized cells that can develop into all of the specialized cells of the body—were first isolated and grown in cell culture. Harold Vargus, director of the National Institutes of Health, told the US Congress, “Stem cell research has the potential to revolutionize the practice of medicine and improve the quality and length of life. There is almost no realm of medicine that might not be touched.” Illnesses and diseases that cannot be treated effectively by conventional medications and therapies are the driving force for scientists to explore the potential of stem cells to regenerate in place of damaged cells. Can this scientific technology really hold the future of medicine? Will there be therapies for Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, spinal cord injuries, insulin-dependent diabetes, or heart failure by using stem cells to grow new organs or tissues? Can these cells be studied to understand the normal development process and where derangements occur? Do we now have a resource to better screen the effects of new drugs and toxins on the human, as opposed to extrapolating data from animal studies? (BUMC Proceedings 2002;15:135-137)