RJA #9b: Argument

Research Question: How has stem cell research impacted the treatment of serious disease and injury in the field of medicine?

Answer/thesis/claim: Stem cell research and its applications are important for many areas in the field of medicine, including treatments for serious illnesses and injuries, prevention of some genetic disorders, and development of more efficient drugs.

Reason 1: There is pressing need for treatments of neurodegenerative diseases.

Warrant: Stem cells have been found to be particularly effective in regenerating nerve cells of the brain.

Evidence 1: Stem cell replacement therapy has shown symptomatic improvement by regenerating dopamine-producing nerve cells in patients with Parkinson’s.

Warrant: cell replacement therapy replaces the loss in electrical signaling cause by neural degeneration.

Evidence 2: Stem cells seem to be able to restore the white matter of the brain, which is destroyed in such diseases as multiple sclerosis.

Warrant: Stem cells show success in human trials with virtually no side effects.

Evidence 3: Alzheimer’s is characterized the destruction of neuronal circuitry from a build up of plaques and tangles that form.

Warrant: Stem cell therapy offers the possibility of reversing such plaques and tangles and regeneration neuronal connections.

Reason 2: Research is important to determine which stem cells are best suited for which treatment.

Evidence 4: Umbilical cord blood stem cells have been effective in the treatment of certain cancers, such as Leukemia and Aplastic Anemia.

Warrant: New research is finding that cord stem cells do not need to be as perfectly matched to the patient.

Evidence 5: Transplantation using human embryonic stem cells now offers new and promising treatments for spinal cord injury.

Warrant: These stem cell treatments have the potential to improve injuries previously considered irreversible.

Evidence 6: Adult stem cells administered by way of intravenous infusions are being tested on their ability to restore damaged heart tissue in patients after a heart attack.

Warrant: This therapy is a formulation of adult stem cells derived from the bone marrow of healthy adult donors.

Reason 3: Stem cells could provide a new way of testing drugs for positive results and for dangerous side effects.

Evidence 7: Stem cell testing has the potential of decreasing the time it takes to get new and safer drugs to market.

Warrant: Testing stem cells could decrease cost.

Evidence 8: Testing the safety of drugs in lab animals is notoriously unreliable.

Warrant: Animal drug testing would be eliminated.

Evidence 9: Stem cell drug testing amounts to human drug trials conducted in a dish.

Warrant: Stem cells that are sick can be tested with new drug therapies.

Reason 4: Stem cell research is important for understanding genetic disease processes and development of better therapies.

Evidence 10: Cerebral palsy patients show mild to large significant improvement after being treated with umbilical cord stem cells.

Warrant: Stem Cell treatment can aid in correcting genetic disorders.

Evidence11: Cord meseschymal stem cells can be beneficial in regenerating the pancreas and restoring normal insulin release in diabetes patients.

Warrant: Stem cells travel to parts of the body that are damaged

Evidence 12: Cord stem cells could be used to rebuild the lungs of those who suffer with cystic fibrosis.

Warrant: A potential role for stem cell therapy and lung repair

Objection 1: With regards to stem cell research, arguments often arise that researchers and doctors should not play God, and should not mess with human life.

Refutation 1: Stem cell research can potentially help treat a range of medical problems. It could lead humanity closer to better treatments and possibly cure a number of diseases.

Objection 2: Ethical issues of scientific work on aborted fetuses did not justify the possible benefits.

Refutation 2: Since 2007, scientists have moved on to use more ethical methods for stem cell research. The use and development of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) has eliminated research being done using aborted fetuses and have lead to new solutions making those on both sides of the debate happier.

Objection 3: The side effects of embryonic stem cell therapy are quite severe: it tends to produce tumors and malignant carcinomas, cause transplant rejection, and form the wrong kinds of cells.

Refutation 3: Adult stem cells, which are more widely used in stem cell treatments, and which are transplanted immediately after their removal and concentration for therapeutic purposes, do not increase the risk of tumors unless the patient already has cancer.

Objection 4: Performing research on embryonic stem cells is effectively destroying life, and it should therefore be avoided.

Refutation 4: Using frozen human embryos that would otherwise be discarded is ethically acceptable given the potential that stem cells hold.

Objection 5: Many argue that stem cell research in the future will inevitably lead scientists to the knowledge and practice of cloning human beings.

Refutation 5: Therapeutic cloning is the procedure that scientists are most interested in as they can manipulate the chemical environment of cells that are taken directly from the patient and then used to grow tissues that are a perfect genetic match for the patient.

Qualifiers: Stem cell research and the proper application of the stem cells available to study is important in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, genetic disorders, and in the testing of improved pharmaceutical treatments in most cases.

RJA #9a: Thesis Statement

Research Question

How has stem cell research impacted the treatment of serious disease and injury in field of medicine?

Precise Claim

There are many areas in the field of medicine where stem cell research could have a significant impact.

Reasons/blueprint

Stem cells can be used in research and in clinical studies to offer the possibility of a renewable source of replacement cells and tissues.

Stem cells can be used to treat many serious conditions such as diabetes, stroke, Alzheimers, heart disease, spinal cord injury, burns, Parkinson’s disease, ALS, MS, and arthritis.

Stem cells could also be used to gain a better understanding of how genetics work and can help scientists understand why some cells develop abnormally.

Stem cells may be useful in the testing and development of drugs.

Complete Thesis Statement

Stem cell research and application is important for many areas in the field of medicine, including treatments for serious illness and injuries, treatment and possible prevention of some genetic disorders, and the development of more efficient drugs.

RJA #8b: Evaluation Check

http://playersyrita.blogspot.com/2010/03/rja-7a-evaluation-of-sources.html#comments-form

http://jaronhuff.blogspot.com/2010/03/rja-7a-evaluation-of-sources.html#comment-form

RJA #8a: Quotation, Paraphrase, and Summary

Stem cells are distinguished from other cell types by two important characteristics. First, they are unspecialized cells capable of renewing themselves through cell division, sometimes after long periods of inactivity. Second, under certain physiologic or experimental conditions, they can be induced to become tissue- or organ-specific cells with special functions. In some organs, such as the gut and bone marrow, stem cells regularly divide to repair and replace worn out or damaged tissues. In other organs, however, such as the pancreas and the heart, stem cells only divide under special conditions.

http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/basics/basics1.asp

In Stem Cell Information from the National Institutes of Health (2009), two important characteristics are given that distinguish stem cells from other types of cells. The first characteristic of stem cells was that they are, “unspecialized cells capable of renewing themselves through cell division, . . . [and] second, under [particular] conditions, they can be induced to become tissue- or organ- specific cells with special functions.” When tissue becomes worn out or damaged, especially in the human gut or in the bone marrow, stem cells, if administered for repair of these problems, regularly divide. However, they only divide under special conditions, if used for the repair of the pancreas or the heart.

There are two major differences which set stem cells apart from other types of cells. First of all they are able to reconstruct themselves by going through a process of mitosis, and secondly they are, under particular conditions, able to reconstruct themselves to replace specific tissue and organs in the body. In some areas of the body the stem cells can repair and replace old or injured organs such as in the bone marrow or the human gut. Whereas, in other organs of the body, such as the heart or the pancreas, they can multiply only under specific circumstances.

Two main differences that set stem cells apart from other cells are first, being able to restore themselves through cell division and secondly, under particular conditions they are able to become organ specific cells that can perform organ specific functions. For example, cells transplanted for use in the human gut or bone marrow can help rebuild worn out or injured tissue. When used for the heart or pancreas, they are capable of dividing only under particular circumstances.

RJA #7b: Field Research Suggestions

http://melindaatmetro.blogspot.com/2010/02/rja-6c-field-research-options.html#comment-form

http://csando1020.blogspot.com/2010/03/rj6c-field-research-options.html#comments

RJA #7a: Evaluation of Sources

Periodical

Nature Reviews Neuroscience

Neural Stem Cell Therapy for Neurological Disease: Dreams and Reality

Ferdinando Rossi & Elena Cattaneo

Volume 3

Pages 401-401

May 2002

http://0-www.nature.com.skyline.cudenver.edu/nrn/journal/v3/n5/fig_tab/nrn809_F1.html

This article is a well-written review about how difficult stem cell replacement therapy is, especially when dealing with neural transplantation. It examines just what is required from stem cells to be able to produce beneficial effects when treating diseases such as Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease. Much of the information focuses on the fact that what may divide in a laboratory may not, once transplanted, actually be incorporated into the recipient tissue. This article goes into detail with images and explanations regarding just how the cells need to be able to cope with specific pathological conditions that are presented by different neurodegenerative diseases. This article gives the reader a good scientific understanding of stem cell application and why it is such a important issue for medical research today.

Website

Stem Cell Therapies

http://www.stemcelltherapies.org/index.htm

This website is a very good source for information concerning stem cell research and therapy. The website is a part of the Steenblock Research Institute. The founder of the Institute, Dr. David Steenblock, is a pioneer in safe, natural and effective treatments, including the use of stem cells from a person’s own bone marrow as well as from umbilical cord blood. It reviews areas concerning what stem cells are, stem cell safety, therapy benefits, treatable conditions, and stem cell research. Links are offered for more detailed information on each of these topics, as well as good basic information and images.

Book

Stem Cell and Gene-Based Therapy, Frontiers in Regenerative Medicine

Alexander Battler, MD, FACC, FESC and Jonathan Leor, MD, FACC, FESC

Springer Books, 2006

http://0-www.springerlink.com.skyline.cudenver.edu/content/u18625/

I am really excited to use this book as part of my research on stem cell therapy. In it a variety of researchers discuss the aspects of cell- and gene-based therapy. There are four major topics covered in this book. The first is, new types of cell therapies and stem cell based therapy for angiogenesis, and cardiac repair. The second is the cell-therapy approaches in neurological areas such as Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and stroke. The third area that is explored involves research done on the development of cell-based systems for cartilage and bone repair, bladder repair, and kidney regeneration. The fourth area involves important work in the eye, specifically, optic nerve regeneration, retinal repair, and ocular surface regeneration. There is additional research examined dealing with cord blood transplantation for various blood disorders and also important areas of research involving skin regeneration and wound healing.

Reference Article

Digital Universe, Stem Cell Overview

Bernard Haisch, August 2008

http://www.digitaluniverse.net/stemcell/articles/view/132838/

The Digital Universe reference article of Bernard Haisch is a good basic overview of stem cells. It begins with a description of what stem cells are, the different types of stem cells and how they can work as a repair system for the body by replenishing specialized cells with characteristics consistent with cells of various tissues. The article contents deal with the different types of stem cells being tested today, mainly, embryonic and adult stem cells. It also addresses the belief that stem cell therapy has the potential to dramatically change the treatment of human disease. It also touches on the controversy surrounding embryonic stem cell research. This reference guide has several links and additional information that will aid me in my research and it is a good basic beginning to answering my research questions.

Zakta Research Guide

http://zakta.com/zakta/view_1_1063_2958_Stem_Cell_Therapy_2