Question 1 5 points Christopher Reeves accident and subseque

Question 1 (5 points) Christopher Reeve\'s accident and subsequent paralysis and death publicized and funded more research into spinal cord injury repair. What is the controversial cell-based procedure, considered immoral by some, that has been proposed to replace damaged neurons? How would it work?

Solution

The controversial cell based procedure that is used in the repair of a damaged spinal cord is the \"stem cell therapy\".

Stem cells are the undifferentiated cells which have the capacity to differentiate into specialized cell or divide mitoticalyl to form more of them. The embryonic stem cells are pleuripotent cells which are responsible for the growth and development of the embryo.In adults these stem cells are found throughout the body in various tissues playing a role in repairing the damaging tissue.

Stem cell are used as a tool in medicine for understanding the various diseases and to over come them. stem cells in spinal cord injury are used to reconnect the damaged lines of sensory communication between the body and the brain.

Stem cells hold a promising future in various fileds and is more encouraging in case of spinal cord injuries.

Normally whenever there is an injury to the spinal cord there is an endogenous regenration event that helps the spinal cord to repair itself and there is a surge in the adult stem cells and the progenitor cells. However the problem is that this process is inhibited by the growth inhibitors present on the oligomyelin debris and the cells of the scar tissue.

It is in this context embryonic stem cell therapy and adult stem cell therapy are considered to repair the spinal cord.

The issues regarding the usage of these cells fall into religious issues and the ethical issues.

Based on the religion : The opposition for stem cell therapy from this quarter comes from the fact that the embryo is considered as living and gives rise to the future organism so any damage to this is against the rule of life and is not considered to be moral this is supported by the church and other religious institutions.

Ethical issues: The ethical issues arise basing on the usage of these cells for various purposes. There is a possibility of misuse of them also as these cells can be manipulated to develop the cell that are required. It is possible to obtain a oocyte from a stem cell of a male raising serious concerns which means the progeny developed out of such an experiment would be subjected to both biological and psychological problems , further there are good many chances of inheriting the recessive characters .

Cloning and gene manipulations are the other two concerns as they may be manipulated for slefish gains which may have profound effect on the society.