You may have seen advertisements for skin-care products claiming that they use stem cell research or can somehow stimulate stem cells to fight wrinkles. What is absurd about this claim is that while stem cell research for any human benefit is only in its infancy, in the area of wrinkles or skin care it is nonexistent. These ads are a classic example of how a cosmetics company can take serious science and manipulate it to sell products. Scientific literature makes it clear that stem cells are indeed the basis for every organ, tissue, and cell produced in the human body, and it is possible that stem cells may be able to repair or replace damaged tissue, thereby reversing diseases and injuries such as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and blood diseases, to name a few (Source: Experimental Gerontology, November 2008, pages 986-987). But notice the wording: “may be.” We just don’t know, and neither does any cosmetics company.
Research on adult stem cells, as well as on embryonic stem cells (though the latter is far more controversial) holds great potential. In fact, adult blood-forming stem cells from bone marrow have been used in bone-marrow transplants for over 30 years. Certain kinds of adult stem cells seem to have the ability to differentiate into a number of different cell types, given the right conditions. If this differentiation of adult stem cells can be controlled in the laboratory, these cells may become the basis for therapies for many serious common diseases. Scientists are experimenting with different research strategies to generate tissues that will not be rejected, an unfortunate problem with some surgical procedures and transplants.
Many complicated questions remain to be answered about stem cells. The following are just a few posed by the National Institutes of Health (www. nih. gov). “How many kinds of adult stem cells exist, and in which tissues do they exist? What are the sources of adult stem cells in the body? Are they ‘leftover’ embryonic stem cells, or do they arise in some other way? Why do they remain in an undifferentiated state when all the cells around them have differentiated? Do adult stem cells normally exhibit plasticity, or do they only transdifferentiate when scientists manipulate them experimentally? What are the signals that regulate the proliferation and differentiation of stem cells that demonstrate plasticity? Is it possible to manipulate adult stem cells to enhance their proliferation so that sufficient tissue for transplants can be produced? Does a single type of stem cell exist—possibly in the bone marrow or circulating in the blood—that can generate the cells of any organ or tissue? What are the factors that stimulate stem cells to relocate to sites of injury or damage?” As you can see, there are far more questions than answers, and the answers certainly aren’t found in any skin-care product any where in the world.