Stem-cell therapy

Stem-cell therapy uses stem cells to replace or repair damaged cells, tissues, or blood-forming systems. Established treatments include blood-forming stem-cell transplants, while many proposed tissue-repair treatments remain experimental.

Hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation: A treatment that replaces or restores blood-forming stem cells, usually after intensive chemotherapy or radiation. This is the best-established form of stem-cell therapy, used for blood cancers and some blood disorders.
Stem cell: An undifferentiated cell capable of self-renewal and of producing one or more specialized cell types. Therapy depends on stem cells' capacity to renew themselves or generate needed cell types.
Autologous stem-cell transplantation: A transplant using stem cells collected from the same person who later receives them. It avoids donor mismatch but differs from transplantation using another person's cells.
Clinical trial: A research study in human participants designed to evaluate a medical intervention's safety or effects. Trials establish whether experimental cell treatments benefit patients and what risks they carry.
Bone marrow transplantation: A procedure that infuses blood-forming stem cells collected from bone marrow into a recipient. Bone marrow is a longstanding source of stem cells for hematopoietic transplantation.
Hematopoietic stem cell: A stem cell that can generate the blood and immune system's mature cell types. These cells rebuild blood formation after transplantation.
Allogeneic stem-cell transplantation: A transplant using stem cells from a donor other than the recipient. Donor cells can provide immune effects against cancer, while introducing compatibility and rejection risks.
Placebo effect: A change in health outcomes associated with treatment expectations and context rather than the treatment's specific biological action. Carefully controlled trials help separate perceived improvement from a cell therapy's specific effects.
Umbilical cord blood transplantation: A transplant using blood-forming stem cells collected from a newborn's umbilical cord and placenta. Cord blood provides an alternative donor source for treating blood and immune disorders.
Mesenchymal stromal cell: A multipotent stromal cell population found in tissues such as bone marrow and fat. These cells are studied for tissue repair, though many effects may arise from signaling rather than replacement.

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