Mentor/s
Dr. Thomas Terleph
Abstract
Much of the current research using stem cells focuses on their possible roles in regenerating tissues, more specifically organ formation. By studying their regenerative properties, it has been discovered that stem cells may play an important role in regenerating other parts of the body such as cartilage and bone as well. Since cartilage does not easily regenerate or repair itself and bone takes a long period of time to fully heal, using stem cells on the infected areas could greatly improve a person’s recovery from these conditions as well as their daily functioning, especially because these conditions are some of the leading causes of disability and many disorders involving cartilage damage are only treatable using very invasive methods such as surgery. These stem cells, specifically adult stem cells, taken from the bone marrow have been evaluated for their reparative properties in animal models with positive results. Although research has not yet had a fully restored functional joint using stem cells in a human model, these studies show the potential for the use of these cells in certain degenerative diseases such as arthritis or even bone fractures.
College and Major available
Biology, Psychology
Location
Panel C: UC 107
Start Day/Time
4-21-2017 2:00 PM
End Day/Time
4-21-2017 3:15 PM
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.
The Use of Stem Cells and their Regenerative Properties in the Treatment of Cartilage and Bone Disorders
Panel C: UC 107
Much of the current research using stem cells focuses on their possible roles in regenerating tissues, more specifically organ formation. By studying their regenerative properties, it has been discovered that stem cells may play an important role in regenerating other parts of the body such as cartilage and bone as well. Since cartilage does not easily regenerate or repair itself and bone takes a long period of time to fully heal, using stem cells on the infected areas could greatly improve a person’s recovery from these conditions as well as their daily functioning, especially because these conditions are some of the leading causes of disability and many disorders involving cartilage damage are only treatable using very invasive methods such as surgery. These stem cells, specifically adult stem cells, taken from the bone marrow have been evaluated for their reparative properties in animal models with positive results. Although research has not yet had a fully restored functional joint using stem cells in a human model, these studies show the potential for the use of these cells in certain degenerative diseases such as arthritis or even bone fractures.
