Skip to main content

Banking Baby, Wisdom Teeth For Stem Cells Banking..




New York
June 8, 2005—Baby and wisdom teeth, along with jawbone and periodontal ligament, are non-controversial sources of stem cells that could be "banked" for future health needs, according to a National Institutes of Health researcher who spoke today at the American Dental Association's national media conference. Harvested from the pulp layer inside the teeth, jawbone and periodontal ligament, these stem cells may one day correct periodontal defects and cleft palate, and may help restore nerve cells lost in diseases such as Parkinson's, according to Pamela Gehron Robey, Ph.D., Chief, Craniofacial and Skeletal Diseases Branch, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research of the National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services. Stem cells have the potential to save injured teeth and grow jawbone.
Regenerating an entire tooth is on the horizon, and years from now, Dr. Robey said stem cells from teeth and jawbo- ne might be used to correct cleft palate, one of the most common birth defects, sparing children multiple surgeries. "As long as a cell has a nucleus, anything is possible," Dr. Robey states. In time, individuals may be able to bank their own stem cells from baby and wisdom teeth, similar to the way umbilical cord blood is stored. At present, commercial facilities to store stem cells from teeth are not available. According to Dr. Robey, the viability of stem cells derived from baby teeth is determined by when the tooth comes out. The longer a loose tooth is left in the mouth to fall out on its own, the less viable it is as a source of stem cells. As research in the field progresses, Dr. Robey hopes that stem cells from baby and wisdom teeth may one day restore nerve cells damaged by diseases such as Parkinson's Disease, one of the most common neurological disorders affecting the elderly.
"The stem cells from jawbone and teeth share a common origin with nerve tissue," Dr. Robey points out. "With the proper cues, researchers may be able to encourage them to form nerve-like tissue which may restore cells that make dopamine, but much more work is needed." Dopamine is a brain chemical that nerve cells need to properly function. To extract the stem cells from teeth, researchers can remove the periodontal ligament, drill into the tooth to remove the crown and then extract the pulp which is placed in an enzyme solution to release the stem cells. From jawbone, cells can be isolated by collecting marrow following a tooth extraction, for example, or by biopsy.
Therapeutic Application
Dental Stem Cells can Differentiate into...
This has Potential Benefit in..
arrow
arrow
Cardiac cells (heart cells)
arrow
Repair damage caused by Myocardial Infarction (Heart Attack)
Neurones (nerve cells)
arrow
Repair due to stroke or other degenerative diseases
Myocytes (muscle cells)
arrow
Repair loss due to crush-injuries or other degenerative diseases
Osteocytes (bone cells)
arrow
Repair fractures and other joint/bone diseases
Adipocytes (fat cells)
arrow
Restore fat loss
Chondrocytes (cartilage cells)
arrow
Repair of cartilage after injuries or other degenerative diseases such as Osteoarthritis
Dermal tissue (skin cells)
arrow
Assistance in Plastic Surgery applications

  • Mesenchymal stem cells help repair hearts damaged by heart attack -- in part by becoming heart cells themselves.
  • Autologous Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy Delays the Progression of Neurological Deficits in Patients With Multiple System Atrophy -May 2008
  • Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation Accelerates Hearing Recovery through the Repair of Injured Cochlear Fibrocytes
  • Mesenchymal stem cells have shown to have a Therapeutic potential of in prostate cancer bone metastasis –
  • Clinical applications of human Mesenchymal Stem Cells are evolving rapidly with the aim to improve hematopoietic engraftment, expanding HSC, preventing graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), correcting inborn metabolic errors and delivering a variety of therapeutic genes into the cells.

Applications of mesenchymal stem cells in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine
Mesenchymal stem cells have been used to regenerate marrow microenvironment after myeloablative therapy.
The use of natural and synthetic biomaterials as carriers for mesenchymal stem cells delivery has shown increasing promise for orthopedic therapeutic applications, especially bone formation. Mesenchymal stem cells are ideal for treating arthritis and connective tissue ailments. When introduced into the infarcted heart, mesenchymal stem cells prevent deleterious remodeling and improve recovery. Number of reports have also indicated that these cells possess the capacity to trans-differentiate into epithelial cells and lineages derived from the neuro-ectoderm, and in addition, mesenchymal stem cells can migrate to the sites of injury, inflammation and to tumors. These properties of mesenchymal stem cells make them promising candidates for use in regenerative medicine and may also serve as efficient delivery vehicles in site-specific therapy.
Future Research on Mesenchymal Stem Cells
According to American Diabetes Association, mesenchymal stem cells can be the key to healing diabetic foot ulcers: Diabetic foot ulcers are the primary cause of hospital admissions for diabetics. Foot ulcers that heal improperly are at risk for infection, which can lead to amputation

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Apple Invents a new Health feature for AirPods that will provide diagnosis & monitoring of Bruxism

Today the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that relates to a possible future health related feature regarding the diagnosis and monitoring of bruxism using motion sensors in AirPods. Teeth grinding and jaw clenching (bruxism) are the most common parafunctional behavior manifested during sleep and awakeness. Awake bruxism has been mostly associated with emotions like anxiety, stress, frustration or tension. During sleep it causes sleep disorders and arousals. Individuals are mostly unaware of the occurrent and severity of their bruxing habits. The unawareness results in a myriad of orofacial muscle pain and dental consequences like teeth damage, wear and fractures. Commercial devices in dental practice to monitor and treat bruxism are expensive, inconvenient for frequent daily use. For instance, Polysomnography (PSG) studies that target the monitoring of sleep bruxism, require patients to sleep in a clinical setting overnight. Further,
Post a Comment
Read more

Esthetic Oral Rehabilitation with Veneers

Porcelain veneers had long been considered to be only an esthetic solution. However, their range of indications has been steadily increasing, making ceramic veneers a highly viable alternative to classic, far more invasive forms of restorative treatment. Today, veneers can be used to handle esthetics (discolored teeth, fractured and worn teeth, diastemas, dental defects, etc.) and to restore the biomechanics of the dentition, as well as many other indications. Classifications of Veneer Preparations Referred to as no, minimal, or conventional preparation, veneer classifications—or lack there of—create a large gray zone of misunderstanding and miscommunication with patients and within the dental profession. Left unanswered, questions regarding tooth structure removal, finish lines and margins, and other aspects can cause confusion in practice. Flaws and inaccuracies in previously proposed preparation guidelines make those guidelines irrelevant . To dissolve uncertainty, this v
Post a Comment
Read more

Orthodontics for Esthetic Dental Treatment: Symbiotic Efforts for Optimal Results

Human fascination with beauty and esthetic trends is continuously evolving; moreover, public awareness and desire to improve facial appearances are at the highest level. This trend of heightened public awareness and expectation is paving a new way of dentistry toward a more comprehensive approach with esthetic principles at its core. The oral health of the patient and his or her dentition are fundamental in dental treatment. However, the final esthetic outcome should be among the first steps in treatment planning. The ideal esthetic approach in dental treatment planning often requires a multidisciplinary approach engaging various dental professionals. This process requires thorough communication among dental practitioners and a basic understanding of what each discipline can provide. FACIAL ANALYSIS Facial evaluation is an integral part of patient examination. It starts with evaluating facial symmetry, as symmetric faces are considered more beautiful than those that are n
Post a Comment
Read more