Posted by
brad on Wednesday, July 26, 2006 4:54:45 PM
One of the main advantages presented in favor of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) over adult stem cells (ASCs) is that ESCs can potentially become any of the 210 different types of human cells whereas ASCs can only become a limited number.
I am a hobby woodworker and I probably have over 100 tools ranging from a bandsaw down to a tiny screwdriver. I also have a Swiss Army Knife that can do a wide range of tasks. I have yet to find that knife as good as a more specialized tool for a given task.
Similarly with health treatments. If a doctor treating a patient with, for example, a blood disease such as leukemia, has available an ASC which cures blood diseases and an ESC which cures blood diseases as well as nerve, kidney, and skin diseases that doctor will choose the SC which works best for his patient’s specific disease. The ability of the ESC to cure other diseases is not only irrelevant but, because most medical treatments, but especially SC treatments, are likely to have poorly understood side affects, the doctor is most likely to choose the less complex, blood-oriented ASC.
The Swiss Army Knife is a good tool in an emergency but it will be many decades, if ever, before SC treatments become an emergency treatment.