What illnesses can be cured using stem cell transplants? Embryonic stem cell uses?

Stem cell injections are now being used to treat painful joints (shoulders, hips, etc), Alzheimers, ALS, Lyme, Cerebral Palsy, etc. Still there are not great published studies proving its benefit in many of these conditions. 

We have been using limbal stem cell transplants in eye surgery for years with excellent results. There are many published studies showing the benefit of limbal stem cell transplant for eye issues and amniotic membrane for eye issues: which contains non-controversial stem cells from the placenta of a newborn baby. 

The main lethal disease treated with stem cell transplants are hematologic malignancies such as leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma. Bone marrow failure (aplastic anemia) is also treated with stem cell transplants. Some life-threatening genetic disease can also be treated with a transplant.


Use of adult mesenchymal stem-stromal cells (mscs) are currently in clinical trial in us/internationally. Trend is toward use of fat derived mscs, havested by liposuction, isolated and concentrated in tissue culture. Early reports suggest significant improvement in neurological, autoimmune and organ functions. Many more mscs in fat than bone marrow making ad-msc the center of most research now.



https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/16/science/stem-cell-progress-begins-to-catch-up-to-promise.html

Embryonic stem cell uses?

In 2009, National Institute of Health director Dr. Bernadine Healy said embryonic stem cells “obsolete.” He said “scientists have learned to coax” adult stem cells “to mature into many cell types, like brain and heart cells, in the laboratory,” that “most of the stem cell triumphs that the public hears about involve the infusion of adult stem cells,” and that DNA from adult skin can be reprogrammed into functional equivalents of embryonic stem cells. This has a significantly lower cost, ease of production, and we know the genetic identity with the patient, which makes it potentially safer. 

Embryonic stem cell pioneer James Thomson has also stated research is moving away from embryonic stem cell research and using instead adult stem cells in which pluripotency (the ability to become other cell types) has been induced “do all the things embryonic stem cells do."