Stem cell therapy

Despite the progress in medicine, we are nowadays still faced with diseases and injuries, where with the knowledge, drugs and support technology available to us, we cannot achieve the desired quality of patient's life. Progress in stern cell biology may be the hope for certain diseases in the future. The purpose of this article is to present a rapidly advancing field of stem cells. We summarize the properties of stem cells, various types of stem cells according to their origin from the embryonic or adult tissues, and according to their differentiation potential. Although numerous factors that determine the properties of stem cells are currently already known, we still need to know more about their mutual impact. We present the fields of clinical medicine where stem cells are already used for treatment, as well as those, for which there is, a justified hope that stem cell therapy will become part of routine treatment in the near future. The greatest potential of stem cells is probably their use in the treatment of degenerative diseases and traumatic injuries, where we expect a major impact on the patient's quality of life. Similarly, the knowledge of stem cells has also contributed to understanding cancer diseases and thus open up opportunities for new approach to treating these diseases.