Research into and the potential uses of stem cells
The discovery of stem cells was a significant scientific breakthrough. They were first discovered in mice in 1981 and then in humans 17 years later in 1998. Stem cells have the potential to revolutionise modern medicine. They have the potential to offer cures for diseases, treating injuries that can’t be helped currently and dramatically change how drugs are developed. These possibilities have huge impactions to New Zealand as we have thousands of individuals suffering from incurable diseases. There is much debate over the use of stem cells for various reason, thus making it a socio-scientific issue. There are three types of stem cells Embryonic, Adult and Induced Pluripotent. I will be focusing …show more content…
Oligodendrocyte cells wrap around the spinal cord and form the myelin. This insulates the spinal cord and helps the pules to flow quickly and efficiently down the axons. Spinal cord injuries affect both the myelin and the neurons.
Spinal cord injuries are very serious as they are debilitating to the individual. As the nervous system is such an important system the impacts are physical, psychological, social and economical to both the patients and those around them.
Spinal cord injuries can be divided into two types complete and incomplete injuries. Complete injuries occur when the cord is damaged across the whole width and results in a complete disruption of the spinal cord with no function below the injury. These injuries often occur as a result of acceleration-deceleration events like crashes. If the injury occurs in the cervical region the result is no movement below the neck (tetraplegia) and if the injury occurs in the thoracic region the result in no movement below the arms (paraplegia). Incomplete injuries are when the injury is not across the whole spinal and at least some of the cord remains attached. In this case the spinal cord is usually torn or stretched. As these injuries are so varied the impact ranges but there is some movement below the level of injury. Patients offer suffer from loss of feeling, sexual function, bowel control and patricidal
The discovery of stem cells was a significant scientific breakthrough. They were first discovered in mice in 1981 and then in humans 17 years later in 1998. Stem cells have the potential to revolutionise modern medicine. They have the potential to offer cures for diseases, treating injuries that can’t be helped currently and dramatically change how drugs are developed. These possibilities have huge impactions to New Zealand as we have thousands of individuals suffering from incurable diseases. There is much debate over the use of stem cells for various reason, thus making it a socio-scientific issue. There are three types of stem cells Embryonic, Adult and Induced Pluripotent. I will be focusing …show more content…
Oligodendrocyte cells wrap around the spinal cord and form the myelin. This insulates the spinal cord and helps the pules to flow quickly and efficiently down the axons. Spinal cord injuries affect both the myelin and the neurons.
Spinal cord injuries are very serious as they are debilitating to the individual. As the nervous system is such an important system the impacts are physical, psychological, social and economical to both the patients and those around them.
Spinal cord injuries can be divided into two types complete and incomplete injuries. Complete injuries occur when the cord is damaged across the whole width and results in a complete disruption of the spinal cord with no function below the injury. These injuries often occur as a result of acceleration-deceleration events like crashes. If the injury occurs in the cervical region the result is no movement below the neck (tetraplegia) and if the injury occurs in the thoracic region the result in no movement below the arms (paraplegia). Incomplete injuries are when the injury is not across the whole spinal and at least some of the cord remains attached. In this case the spinal cord is usually torn or stretched. As these injuries are so varied the impact ranges but there is some movement below the level of injury. Patients offer suffer from loss of feeling, sexual function, bowel control and patricidal