Scientific and Medical Research Facts

(Collected from research articles, science papers and medical publications)

• Bone marrow stem cells have also shown the ability to participate in renewal of retinal tissues - Nature Medicine 8, 1004-1010; Sep 2002

• Stem cells can form cartilage and bone - Science (the world's leading journal of original scientific research) 284, 143-47; 2 Apr 1999

• Bone marrow stem cells can form liver, skin and digestive tract cells - New England Journal of Medicine 346, 738-746, 7 Mar 2002

• Bone marrow stem cells can participate in cutaneous healing, contributing to wound healing - Journal of Cellular Physiology 196, 245-250; 2003

• Stem cells participate in the generation of new neurons within the human brain - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 100, 1364-1369; 4 Feb 2003

• Stem cell patients showed significant improvements in nerve conduction velocities, and showed maintenance or slight improvement in bone mineral density - Bone Marrow Transplant 215-222; Aug 2002, published by the NIH

• Bone marrow stem cells have also been shown to contribute to Purkinje cells (Purkinje cells are brain cells that science had believed are not generated after birth) - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 100, 2088-2093; 18 Feb 2003

• Human marrow stem cells have been shown to form cartilage cells - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 99, 4397-4402; 2 Apr 2002

• Bone marrow derived stem cells have also been shown capable of renewing muscle tissue - Science 279, 1528-1530; Mar 6, 1998

• Bone marrow stem cells can participate in restoring kidney tissue - Journal of the American Society of Nephrology 14, S48-S54; 2003

• Repopulation of liver cells from bone marrow stem cells could take place in humans - Nature 406, 257; 20 July 2000

• Bone marrow derived stem cells have also demonstrated the ability to induce renewal of the pancreas - Bone Marrow Transplant 215-222; Aug 2002

• Bone marrow derived stem cells can renew cardiac tissue and improve cardiac performance in humans - Nature Medicine 7, 430-436; April 2001 and many more

• Studies indicate evidence that bone marrow stem cells can renew lung tissue - Development 128, 5181-5188; December 2001

• Stem cells can home to lung tissue, then participate in renewal of lung tissue and reduction of inflammation - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 100: 8407-8411; 8 July 2003

• Bone marrow derived stem cells have been shown to contribute to renewal of gastrointestinal tissue in human patients - Archives of Dermatology 137, 1071-1072; Aug 2001 and many more

(The above is a collection from research articles, science papers and medical publications that factually illustrate the functions of the body’s adult stem cell system. Many of these are described in greater detail on the website of The President’s Council on Bioethics.)