Stem Cells

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Basics

• Summary
• Start Here

Learn More

• Related Issues
• Specifics

See, Play and Learn

• Videos and Tutorials

Research

• Statistics and Research
• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Find an Expert

For You

• Children
• Teenagers
• Patient Handouts

Summary

Stem cells are cells with the potential to develop into many different types of cells in the body. They serve as a repair system for the body. There are two main types of stem cells: embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells.

Stem cells are different from other cells in the body in three ways:

• They can divide and renew themselves over a long time
• They are unspecialized, so they cannot do specific functions in the body
• They have the potential to become specialized cells, such as muscle cells, blood cells, and brain cells

Doctors and scientists are excited about stem cells because they could help in many different areas of health and medical research. Studying stem cells may help explain how serious conditions such as birth defects and cancer come about. Stem cells may one day be used to make cells and tissues for therapy of many diseases. Examples include Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, spinal cord injury, heart disease, diabetes, and arthritis.

NIH: National Institutes of Health

Start Here

• Introduction to Stem Cells (National Institutes of Health)
• Learn About Stem Cells (International Society for Stem Cell Research)
• Stem Cell Transplant (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
• Stem Cells: What They Are and What They Do (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Related Issues

• Cord Blood Testing and Banking (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Donating Peripheral Blood Stem Cells (National Marrow Donor Program)
• Donating Stem Cells and Bone Marrow (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish
• FDA Warns About Stem Cell Therapies (Food and Drug Administration) Also in Spanish
• Life after Transplant (National Marrow Donor Program)
• Planning for a Transplant -- Blood Stem Cell (Health Resources and Services Administration)
• Stem Cell Transplant Patients and Fungal Infections (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Stem Cell Treatments: What to Ask (International Society for Stem Cell Research)
• Treatment before Transplant (National Marrow Donor Program)

Specifics

• About Transplantation -- Blood Stem Cell (Health Resources and Services Administration)
• Blood-Forming Stem Cell Transplants (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
• Cord Blood FAQs (National Marrow Donor Program)
• Getting a Stem Cell or Bone Marrow Transplant (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish
• Nine Things to Know About Stem Cell Treatments (International Society for Stem Cell Research)
• Stem Cell or Bone Marrow Transplant Side Effects (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish
• Types of Stem Cells (International Society for Stem Cell Research) Also in Spanish

Videos and Tutorials

• Becoming a Blood Stem Cell Donor (National Cancer Institute)

Statistics and Research

• Donation and Transplantation Statistics (Health Resources and Services Administration)
• Focus on Stem Cell Research (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Hematopoietic Stem Cells (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Stem Cell Transplantation (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Stem Cells (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Klotho enhances bone regenerative function of hPDLSCs via modulating immunoregulatory function...
• Article: Promotive Effect of FBXO32 on the Odontoblastic Differentiation of Human Dental...
• Article: Massively parallel base editing to map variant effects in human hematopoiesis.
• Stem Cells -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Also in Spanish

Children

• Stem Cell Transplants (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Teenagers

• Stem Cell Transplants (For Teens) (Nemours Foundation)

Patient Handouts

• Bone marrow (stem cell) donation (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Organ or Stem Cell Transplant and Your Mouth (National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research) - PDF