Stem Cells in Regenerative Medicine: Carpe Diem – Carpe Vitam!

I have only looked at the first few chapters of this amazing book. It's definitely one that I will be looking at and digesting at a slow pace.
The first few chapters were more of a getting to know you by the authors and what their research is about.

I have 2 children at uni, one doing Nursing and one doing Biology, this book will definitely help me keep up with their conversations.

I will update this review when I have read more as I can see that it's going to be fascinating.

Thank you for the opportunity to be able to access an understanding in what is a complex but very important topic.

I am not a member of the medical profession and so can not evaluate the book professionally. But I have had stem cell injections myself in my hips, base of my spine and left knee. I had been in sports and dance my whole adult life and while I always thought I was physically fit, I found I had a great loss of cartilage.

I had a knee replacement 4 years ago and was probably going to have both hips replaced ( and possibly the other knee) in just 2 or 3 years. I elected to have stem cell treatment where the stem cells clone the existing cartilage to create more. I cannot imagine the pain and immobility of having 2 knee replacements and 2 hip replacements plus intricate back surgery. I surely would have been wheel chair bound.

I live in Mexico where we have better results than in the U.S. or Canada because we use human placenta from very young mothers aged 21 to 30. The results up north are more spotty because they have to use animal cells or our own aged cells.

Also the success of cartilage replacement depends on how much cartilage you have left to clone. If you are bone on bone, it is too late.

This treatment is combined with plasma injections (they take your blood, mix it with protein) which helps further to stimulate the stem cell growth.

Doctors in Mexico are using stem cells for a vast variety of medical problems, many of which are detailed in this book. The only exception is that they didn't include the use of stem cells for cartilage replacement AND for degenerated discs which can prevent back surgery, which can be dangerous. This is why I give the book 4 stars instead of 5.

This is a seminal monograph on the subject of the therapeutic application and use of stem cells in “regenerative medicine.” The science described within the pages of this text may be leading edge, but Chan and Klokol have attempted to keep the information accessible to the average reader. However, in some parts the comprehension of the complex science may be challenging. Research scientists and students of medical research may gain the greatest benefits of this work.

The text guides you through the multiple applications of the utilization of Stem Cells and the medical illnesses that may be treated by the use of ‘Xenogeneic Cell Therapy.’ The authors posit the limitations and benefits of the scientific method as it relates explicitly to its use in human subjects. There is a brief description of xenotransplantation in the treatment of cells requiring regenerative assistance in a range of degenerative conditions through cross-species donated cells. Significant importance is placed in the use of cross-species hosts to be Scientific Pathogen Free Animals (SPF – Animals) through the use of ‘Closed Colony’ and proven clinical methods.

Stem Cells in Regenerative Medicine describes the merits, the problemata, and the detailed methodologies of regenerative therapies. The book is replete with beautiful color illustrations that includes the Cell Cycle and the illustrations of the Noble Prize Winner, Günter Blobel, for Physiology or Medicine in 1999. His thesis is on how the distribution mechanism of biological active transport cells migrate, how proteins contain signals inside that direct their location in a destination cell, and how they are transported and where they may migrate to.

I found the Chronology of the development of stem cell research and application to be compelling reading.

Simply the most comprehensive book on the subject of Stem Cells as applied in ‘regenerative medicine,’ and most certainly the best illustrated. The illustrations combined with Chan and Klokol‘s vivid written communication provides you with an invaluable tool in comprehending the ground breaking subject of Stem Cell Therapy.