The problem is that patients suffering from Parkinsons disease will not be able to move and control certain parts of their body as this disease affects the brain ability to control movement by prohibiting or damaging parts of the brain. Most people that suffers from Parkinson's disease generally inherits traits that can cause Parkinson's from their parents or a rarer case is that a recent study has found that it may be caused by a specific genetic mutation or certain gene variation that can appear and could cause Parkinson's. Parkinson's disease can also be caused by outside causes such as harmful toxins that could later cause the disease to take place, however this cause is rare. This disease can impact how a person will live it's life, not being able to control movement might mean a use of wheelchairs or other machines to support themselves, and not being able to control speech might cause communication issues. This disease, although not widespread can affect any people in the world at any age. Statistics show that currently 6.3 million people have Parkinson's worldwide and most affected are at age of 60 and above, with more men than women affected.
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| Figure 1: Dopamine-producing nerve cells grown in the lab using embryonic stem cells. Source: http://www.eurostemcell.org/factsheet/parkinson%25E2%2580%2599s-disease-how-could-stem-cells-help |
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| Figure 2: A diagram of what an embryonic stem cell is capable of doing. Source: http://liveaction.org/blog/stem-cell-research-the-basics-types-of-research-medical-status-and-ethical-drawbacks/ |
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| Figure 3: The process where Researchers use Embryonic stem cells to transplant dopamine-producing neurons to a monkey with Parkinson's disease Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/02/23/japanese-researchers-find-stem-cells-reduce-monkeys-parkinsons-symptoms.html |
Another benefit of using embryonic stem cells is that it has the potential to reverse diseases by providing a renewable source of replacement cells for those suffering diseases such as Parkinson disease. This is real helpful for Parkinson's as it allows scientist to be able to produce a renewable source of dopamine-producing nerve cells which eliminates the need of constantly implementing new nerve cells on a routine-basis into patients with Parkinson's. Without a renewable source, patient's may need to take a daily routine of drugs and possibly implementation of new dopamine-producing nerve cells routinely, but that is not the case.
A limitation of this however is that a pluripotent embryonic stem cells often cause teratomas which are basically tumor-like, cancerous mass that often resembles a self fertilized cell which is differentiated but not fertilized. This may cause problems as if a embryonic stem cell is to gone rogue and cause teratomas in a patient with Parkinson's, it would mean that not only the dopamine-producing nerve cells will be damaged and non functional but areas around the neurons may develop teratomas which could cause a lot of unnecessary damage, worsening the situation. This is why Scientist are researching on improving their method of reliably preventing teratomas to develop in the first place.
Another limitation is the fact that embryonic stem cells can result in minor miscalculations, which could cause some growth of strange objects such as teeth, bones, hair and other objects where they're not intended to be, which often is resembling a tumor. The fact that once embryonic stem cells are injected, that they stay permanent means that patients that develop these physical strange growth will continue to grow until the remainder of the patient's life. This is an unfortunate problem as many studies involving the same research come up to the same answer. This means more research has to go towards embryonic stem cells to further improve this system, to decrease or eliminate the chance of these side effects of taking place before they could make stem cell treatment commercially available for use.
There are ethical issues that would affect the success of this potentially new treatment for many diseases out there. Over the years there has been ethical dilemma and controversy over embryonic stem cell use. People who are against embryonic stem cell research are to believe that the embryo constitutes life and has the potential to develop into a human being, it is then immoral and unethical to kill one's life to save another. Some say that we could already use adult stem cells that are currently being used in therapies, and thus there is not a need for continuing embryonic stem cell research. Some people that do support the claim believe that the embryo is not equivalent to a human life as it is still in the womb, and the supporters also contend that our world is full of diseases, and ethical concerns in regards to embryonic stem cell usage are not sufficient to discontinue promising therapy to save millions of lives.
These ethical controversy between a large group of people is the reason why we're not advancing in embryonic stem cell research as fast and as much as we could've done. If ethical dilemma are set aside, we could possibly be having treatment for Parkinson's and other types of diseases by today, but that is not the case. Ethical issues like an stating that an embryo already constitutes life and have the potential to develop to a human being is something that is debatable, but the solution has not been solved. Some say the solution is to use adult stem cells instead, which causes less tension between groups, but the potential of adult stem cells are limited as they're multipotent than their embryonic counterpart which is pluripotent, meaning it has more potential of curing a wider variety of diseases than adult stem cells could even manage to achieve. The video below shows how people view embryonic stem cells differently in a visual and metaphorical manner to further understand the ethics behind embryonic stem cell usage.
Figure 4: Embryonic Stem Cell Usage Controversy over many points of view.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ry00bKl_77w
My last thought of the matter is that, embryonic stem cells has the potential to revolutionize the world we live in today by providing the practicality and potential of using embryonic stem cells closer than ever to cure Parkinson's Disease. The main points I had talked about was the problem that this scientific application is trying to solve, How does this solve Parkinson's disease, What are the scientific concepts behind embryonic stem cells, what are the two benefits and limitations of embryonic stem cells and Finally the ethics behind the succession of this application. We should all understand the concept and idea of Embryonic stem cell and be optimistic of the great potential that will all result from the research being conducted, to once it for all, treat Parkinson's and other various types of diseases, saving millions of lives in return.
Bibliography:
"Risks and Disadvantages." STEM CELL RESEARCH. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2014. <http://chem445stemcell.webs.com/risksanddisadvantages.htm>.
"Parkinson's Disease." Causes. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2014. <http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/parkinsons-disease/basics/causes/con-20028488>.
"Future Treatments." Parkinson's UK -. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2014. <http://www.parkinsons.org.uk/content/future-treatments>."Stem Cell Controversy." Stem Cell Controversy. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2014. <http://www.explorestemcells.co.uk/stemcellcontroversy.html>.
"Parkinson's Disease: How Could Stem Cells Help?" EuroStemCell. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Oct. 2014. <http://www.eurostemcell.org/factsheet/parkinson%25E2%2580%2599s-disease-how-could-stem-cells-help>.
Stem Cells and the Future of Regenerative Medicine. Washington, D.C.: National Academy, 2002. Print.
Holland, Suzanne, Karen Lebacqz, and Laurie Zoloth. The Human Embryonic Stem Cell Debate: Science, Ethics, and Public Policy. Cambridge, MA: MIT, 2001. Print.
