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Why is stem cell research important?

Why is stem cell research important?

It is no stretch to say over the next few decades, as we are able to learn more about stem cells, we will see them become part of many modern medical treatments; giving hope to many facing currently untreatable and often life- threatening illnesses. 
Key areas of research for future therapies include:

  • stroke and traumatic brain injury
  • blindness
  • deafness
  • baldness
  • spinal cord injury
  • lung and breast cancers
  • chronic lung disease in premature babies
  • acute heart damage
  • motor neurone disease
  • liver cirrhosis
  • diabetes
  • uterine disorders
  • prostate disease
  • muscular dystrophy
  • osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis
  • genetic bone disease
  • multiple sclerosis and other neurological disorders

How does Stem Cell Research work?

How does Stem Cell Research work?

1. Treating illnesses
Stem cells found in bone marrow have been in use for 40 years to replace cells destroyed by high dose chemotherapy in a variety of cancers and blood diseases. As stem cells can create new tissues, they promise new treatments for conditions like spinal cord injury, where they may replace nerve cells destroyed in accidents, restoring the ability to walk and move the arms. Another example is strokes, where brain stem cells are important in restoring function after loss of brain tissue. They are also in advanced clinical trials for degenerative conditions like arthritis, macular degeneration, which causes blindness in an increasing number of people, and diabetes. There is early evidence that scientific knowledge gained from studying stem cells could provide a completely new approach to treating cancers.

2. Working out how important illnesses are caused
Stem cells can be altered to behave like abnormal cells found in illnesses. Cancer is a prime example. Scientists can use actual human cells to study conditions that could previously only be approached using animals. New techniques such as Induced Pluripotent Stem cells (iPSC) enable scientists to study diseases in cells derived from the patient’s own faulty cells.

3. Understanding fundamental functions of living cells
Stem cells kept under the right conditions are immortal - they can be maintained forever. They therefore provide a unique medium for observing in depth the way living cells develop, work and repair themselves. Understanding the basic biology of stem cells is opening the doors to a vast field of new and vital research. This research drives the search for new cures for diseases that up to now have been difficult or impossible to treat effectively.

Clinical Trials

Clinical Trials

To become a safe medical treatment or procedure, clinical trials are undertaken. These often need people with certain disease or medical symptoms. Check the Clinical Trials section for information about how these work, how to find them, and Clinical Trials FAQ.
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Stem Cell Research in Australia

Stem Cell Research in Australia

Australia’s scientists have been at the forefront of stem cell research since stem cells were first identified. Right now, Australian scientists hold senior positions on international scientific committees and conference organisations.

However we have a challenge: our top scientists find it increasingly difficult to secure funding for their projects whether this be through Commonwealth Government funding and the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), State Government sources, or their own institutions.

Together we must work to grow the potential of stem cell research in this country and protect the future success of Australian stem cell research. We can do this by ensuring the best and brightest researchers and the most promising projects have the funds they need to thrive.

All too often, Australian scientists are lured away to other countries because they can’t get the financial support needed to continue their research. Moreover, many potentially ground breaking research projects fail to ever achieve the results researchers know could be possible – due to lack of funding.

We must not let this continue to happen. Join us in funding the next phase of stem cell research in this country and help Australian researchers create the type of future we all know is possible.

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Current Stem Cell Treatments

In these sections you can find out about stem cell treatments and clinical trials. Stem cells and stem cell science hold great promise for assisting in the diagnosis and cure of many currently untreatable diseases. Despite this promise, there are currently relatively few treatments that are safe and have been medically proven in clinical trials. To become a safe medical treatment or procedure, clinical trials are undertaken. These often need people with certain disease or medical symptoms. Check the Clinical Trials section for information about how these work and how to find them

Stem cell therapy using tissue stem cells has been in routine use since the 1970s! The most well-established and widely used stem cell treatment is the transplantation of blood stem cells to treat diseases and conditions of the blood and immune system, or to restore the blood system after treatments for specific cancers, for example, leukaemia. Bone marrow transplants are able to replace a patient’s diseased blood system for life, thanks to the properties of blood stem cells.

The late Professor Donald Metcalf, AC, who transformed cancer treatment and transplantation medicine paved the way for stem cell therapy in the treatment of leukaemia and many other conditions. Don Metcalf’s research on blood cell formation led directly to the development of bone marrow transplantation. This treatment is used worldwide every day, and has saved many thousands of lives. Each year the NSCFA celebrates Professor Metcalf’s achievement with The Annual Metcalf Prize. This prize of $50,000 is awarded to the brightest mid-career female and male Australian stem cell researcher.

Stem cells are seen as a key tool in the future of medicine, for their abilities to regenerate damaged tissue, replace missing tissue and repair the effects of disease or injury. Experimental stem cell therapy is being developed for many common diseases, including blindness, stroke, arthritis, multiple sclerosis and heart attacks.

Important research is being undertaken by reputable hospital, biotechnology and university groups in Australia and around the world. However, it is still early days, and some private non-academic organisations and individual practitioners are offering stem cell treatments that have not been shown to be effective and have not been proven to be safe. If you’d like to help Australian researchers progress stem cell treatments, donate to the NSCFA because that’s exactly the work we support.

Currently, the range of diseases for which there are proven treatments using stem cells is quite small and the only established stem cell therapies are those of the blood system involving transplants of blood stem cells (usually from bone marrow but with cord blood also being developed as an alternative).

We recognize that patients and families who are facing severe illness or injury may consider trying untested treatments, especially when there seem to be few other options. People in this situation may be at risk of harm, through lack of information or misinformation provided by less reputable practitioners who are not recognised specialists or experts in the diseases they are proposing to treat.

We recommend that you are very cautious before you agree to try an untested treatment, particularly if it costs a lot of money. Your regular hospital doctors, specialists, and your general practitioner, should be able to offer accurate advice on which treatments have been proven to work, and which are unproven, unlikely to help, and may even cause harm. If it sounds to be too good to be true, it is probably unlikely to help you. The best protection for patients and families in this situation is to be fully informed.

Fortunately several highly respected resources are available via the internet to help you.

Several booklets can be downloaded to be read later or printed. If you cannot download a document or do not have access to a printer please send us an email: [email protected] . Please note we do not provide advice on stem cell treatments, clinics, or any medical advice whatsoever.

  • The National Stem Cell Foundation of Australia and Stem Cells Australia have produced a brochure to help you: The Australian Stem Cell Handbook. The Handbook aims to help patients critically analyse stem cell treatments before considering taking part in them. As with all medical treatments, there are risks involved. This Handbook does not seek to advise or evaluate the treatments, or an individual’s reasons for travelling for treatment. Instead it aims to provide the patient with as much information as possible prior to considering any therapy. This Handbook summarises the pros and cons of medical travel, potential risks and benefits, and helps patients evaluate their options when considering travelling overseas for unproven treatments.
  • The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) has prepared a Patient Handbook on Stem Cell Therapies that addresses frequently asked questions about clinical therapies using stem cells.
  • Access this international website on stem cells, research, and how stem cells become medicine. The website is aimed at the non-medical general public: http://www.closerlookatstemcells.org
  • Check the section on the ISSCR website for their checklist of “What to Ask” when talking to someone promoting a stem cell treatment of any type.

Australia is home to many leading stem cell scientists and research institutes. These frequently hold seminars to discuss recent stem cell discoveries, research in Australia, and the promotion of non-medically proven stem cells treatments via the internet and social media. Below is a list of resources from Australia and international sources.

Current Research

Stem cells are seen as a key tool in the future of medicine.  You can read about some current highlights below. Don't forget to subscribe to hear more.

Want to get technical?

Snapshot of Australian Stem Cell Research

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The Snapshot briefly describes stem cell research groups, laboratories, projects and initiatives working around Australia as at March 2017. If you're interested in a particular disease or clinical area, perhaps for collaboration or to find particular researchers, then you'll find this a great resource.

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Zebrafish: the champions of regeneration
Zebrafish are small, tropical fish that are known as “master-regenerators” because they have the capacity to regenerate many tissues or organs following injury, and being see-through scientists can literally watch the regeneration within the living fish. The Currie Group use zebrafish embryos to learn about muscle cell types. In particular, they are interested in how specific muscle cell types are determined within the developing embryo, how they grow and how they regenerate after injury. Read more about the Currie Group at ARMI
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Researchers use stem cells to fight silent epidemic
A new potential treatment using stem cells could reduce the need for surgery for women with pelvic organ prolapse. Described as a silent epidemic, the condition affects an estimated one in four women, with up to 19 per cent of Australian women requiring surgery for prolapse over their lifetime.
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Alcohol may affect your stem cells!
How does alcohol affect our stem cells? And how if this connected to seven different types of cancer? A recent study funded by the Wellcome Trust, Medical Research Council and Cancer Research UK, has provided new insight on how alcohol affects our stem cells, and its connection between seven different types of cancer. A recent UK study provides insights.
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Think of the human genome as a library
Professor Jose Polo encourages us to think of the human genome as a library. As an epigeneticist, expert in the way changes occur in our genes beyond the basic structure of DNA, Jose believes who we are is dependent on how the smallest, most fundamental pieces of our biology are able to open and close the great books of our genetic library.
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