Placental umbilical cord blood transfusion in acute ischaemic stroke

An update review of stem cell applications in burns and wound care

The ultimate goal of the treatment of cutaneous burns and wounds is to restore the damaged skin both structurally and functionally to its original state. Recent research advances have shown the great potential of stem cells in improving the rate and quality of wound healing and regenerating the skin and its appendages. Stem cell-based therapeutic strategies offer new prospects in the medical technology for burns and wounds care. This review seeks to give an updated overview of the applications of stem cell therapy in burns and wound management since our previous review of the “stem cell strategies in burns care”.

Will stem cells in cord blood, amniotic fluid, bone marrow and peripheral blood soon be unnecessary in transplantation?

There are now various sources of stem cells. Those derived from blastocysts, named embryo stem (ES) cells, have attracted most attention and are highly multipotent. Human cord blood became widely used as a source of stem cells with differing properties to ES cells and their therapeutic application has grown steadily as they are stored in increasing numbers of stem cell banks. Other sources of human stem cells are derived from peripheral blood and amniotic fluid. They may arise from a common origin in epiblast. This review stresses the use of cord blood stem cells, but describes new approaches which may supersede the use of most stem cells. The advantages and disadvantages of these various classes are described in relation to potential methods involving gene conversion to change somatic cells to ES cells.