can emphysema be treated with stem cells therapy?
153562
OKay No! You are not born with emphysema! Ugh! 1st year med school, repiratory physiology.  Emphysema is a term used when the elasticity of the lungs reaches a certain level.  Like it or not, as you get older, your lungs lose elasticity.  Like your stretchy pants.  When you lose so much elasticity, that the lungs hardly deflate, they dub the condition emphysema.  Stem Cell Theapy.  Well, when such a therapy exists, it probably will not work.  Stem cells can replace cells, but it cannot replace the framework of your lungs that was made when you were born.
425446
The best source of stem cells is abortion.  That is starting to change, though--they are finding other good sources.
635596
The one major symptom is shortness of breath, early on in the disease it come with mild exertion, as the disease worsens the shortness of breath becomes more constant.  Coughing becomes a problem, takes alot of work to bring up the junk forming in the lungs.  Panic breathing becomes a problem, this is when you just can't seem to get enough air into your lungs it is truly frightening.  COPD is treated with bronchodilators, anti-spasmodic medications and steroids usually in the form of inhalers.  This delivers the medication directly to the lungs where it will do the most good.  Oxygen is eventually required, since the COPD patient has a hard time getting enough air into his lungs, the higher oxygen concentration helps.  Further treatment is surgical.  Lung reduction surgery can help but in the end is only temporary.  The only way to be rid of COPD alltogethor is by lung transplant.  This is how I got rid of mine nearly 9 years ago.
748389
Stem cells offer a means to cure any number of dieases, like leukemia.
674372
STEM CELLS CAN BE PRESERVED THROUGH OUT THE LIFE AND CAN BE USEFUL FOR A PERSON IF SUFFERING FROM ANY DANGEROUS DISEASE, AS THEY MATCH WITH THE BODY CHEMISTRY.
387954
I was diagnosed with COPD ten yrs ago and here I am, lol.  I am not going anywhere till I say so  LMAO.  But really, it depends on how bad it is not how you got it.  Take your meds like you supposed to stop smoking if you do and keep from getting a cold or sinus infections.  good luck
755812
there are 2 types of stem cell used.  one is NOT from embro's and has cured about 100 diseases so far(republican).  the other is from unborn embro's and has cured ZERO diseases(democrat).  Think the chioce is that simple, it is.
1123512
lung transplant these days are very succesful but carries the risk of rejection nevertheless, and the possibility that the CF will reattack the new lungs and eventually make them like the original.   \n\nbut your question actually involves more than how long one is on "the list".  there are multiple transplant patients, well over a few hundred thousand, many of whom are at the top of the list.  there are only a few donors throughtout the country depending on a variety of issues as to whether or not they would make good donors for your nephew.  of course tissue matching and rejection possibilities play a big part in the selection, as does age, priority of illness, organ itself, staff availability, and a few other key issues.  survivability is another factor which is looked at and can sway the decision as to whether one patient or the other gets the organ.\n\nit can be overwhelming.  there are also many success stories where out of the blue you recieve a call because "bingo" everything matches your nephews need.  so dont despair, the odds are better than the lotto but in general can be hard to win.  \n\non a different note but relative to CF; there are many fine advances in the contol and treatment of CF.  gene therapy, dna alteration, and similar biotech approaches are also available and should be considered, they have their successes too.  \n\nlastly understand that CF is not a primary respiratory problem; it is secondary.  CF is a metabolic disease with respiratory involvement.  CF patients are prone to many recurring lung infections like pneumonia but not limited to pneumonia.\n\ngood luck.
624231
ES cells have the potential to self-renew, or keep dividing without differentiating into a specific cell type. that means you can coax them to become any kind of cell and keep some going to maintain the pool of stem cells.\n\nso in theory you can make skin for people with burns, new livers, hearts, lungs for people waiting on transplant lists, etc.\n\nthere are adult stem cells you can use as well, but they are hard to get and hard to maintain with current techniques.
1149383
well since the cells are from your own body... you're going to continue to be susceptible to genetic conditions.\n\ni guess, offhand, let's say you have cystic fibrosis and you want to have a lung transplant through therapeutic cloning.\n\nthe defect in the lungs is caused by a mutant gene that is present in your cells. because this gene is still present in the cloned cells, the cloned lung will have the same defect as the one you're looking to replace. so that's one problem.\n\nsince this hasn't been done yet, we can't tell for sure what complications could occur during the process of organ development and how that would impact the health of the transplantee.
70496
I am for stem cell research. There is a whole world of possibility of reversing damage caused by debilitating disease and injury.
112101
The constant exposure to irritants, tar etc.. causes the alveoli ( the air sacs inside your lungs that expand when you breathe in ) to lose their elasticity...as a result less oxugen is absorbed in these sacs resulting in a shrinking, hardening of these sacs, and a decrease of oxygen intake.  This is why most emphysema patients are on oxygen to help them breathe......This is emphysema
1158303
Emphysema as stated previously is typically caused by smoking and less likely second hand smoke.  So not smoking would prevent the development of emphysema.\n\nThere is another rarely genetic disorder called alpha-1 anti trypsin deficiency that account of 1-2% of all emphysema patient.  \nhttp://www.netdoctor.co.uk/diseases/facts/alpha1def.htm\n\nThe way emphysema works is as follows: people smoke and over time the toxins in the smoke damages and thins out your lung tissue.  As you get less and less lung tissue,  there is less surface area by which the oxygen that you breathe can cross into your blood.  Remember, that with less lung issue there is less surface the oxygen can come into contact with and cross into your blood.  If enough lung tissue is destoyed, there is less oxygen going into your body and your body recognizes this.  You get short of breath.  In addition when you do activity, your body's oxygen demand increase but the limiting factor is the limited amount of oxygen your lung can get into your system.  So people with emphysema have poor exercise tolerance and they fatigue early.  By the time people develope symptoms from emphysema, it is pretty advanced.  The way that I see it is that people have alot of reserve lung tissue initially that compensates for the progressive lost of lung tissue.  There is a point when all your reserve is used up which is late in the ballgame that you become symptomatic.\n\nObviously, anything that tries to push your lungs to do more will result in the lung not being about to meet the demand.  So things like allergies, a common cold, and pneumonia  can all try to push you lungs to do more but it can't.\n\nThis however is a very simplistic view of emphysema but I hope you understand it a bit better.  Getting on medication will help with the symptoms in addition to pulmonary rehab which helps to increase you physical endurance.  Get yearly flu shots and get your pneumonia shots.  See you doctor early when you develop increasing shortness of breathe, a cold or change in you cough or a fever.  Treat allergies and cold/bronchitis aggressively.
881788
I already totally support stem cell research, but I was really impressed by that news. I really hope a cure for MS and other spinal afflictions is in the very near future.\n\n\nGod Bless You
59612
Stem cells are cells designated by the body to make copies of themselves to replace tissue. This helps the body regenerate in an orderly maner.\nYou're born with them.
835435
stem cells are cells that haven't differentiated into specific types (like liver cells, lung cells, or skin cells). they are very useful for scientists becuase they haven't differentiated and can be turned into whatever cells are necessary. try google to find more about them but try to stay away from anything political.
605592
Emphysema is the loss of the lungs recoil.  When you breath in your alveoli (air sacs) expand to get in as much air as possible.  When you exhale, the alveoli contract and squeeze the old air out.  With emphysema the alveloi loose the elasticity and fully expand, but don't fully contract and often become fragile and not fully functioning.  They can't utilize the oxygen they breath in and usually need supplemental oxygen.\n\nI often tell people we are all going to die.  Some peacefully and others painfully.  If the person hasn't quit the smoking habit (I don't know the person I just going off on the majority of people with emphysema smoke) then the possibility of living into the senior years before dying is quite high.  But, if they refuse to quit, then their lives will be short and painful.  Will there be a time when they will be dependent on oxygen, definitely.  But it is key to stop the reason for the injury