Editorial

The present day situation about stem-cell treatment is like the famous quotation from Shakespeare. "To be or not to be".

Stem cells are taken from bone marrow, umbilical cords and even embryonic cells from rejected embryos.

This treatment was banned in many countries earlier. It is still not widely accepted. However, there are at least a dozen serious diseases ranging from cancer to spinal cord injury and blindness where this treatment is being used.

In many major hospitals, AIIMS, Apollo, Gangaram Hospital and others, this treatment is common. Some hospitals charge between Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 2 lakh for a single shot of stem-cell. To determine the rate of success, many more experiments may be needed.

According to experts, research is on and there has been some success but it is not complete. One cannot talk of success or failure yet. The same is the case with other methods also. In fact any medicine can cure in "proper" doses which varies from person to person. Radiation therapy is useful but one cannot claim that it is a perfect cure-When other methods fail, one tries This in The hope that it will cure.

For The past hundred years, people had been using aspirin. Of late it is being used successfully to prevent heart diseases. Aspirin prevents clotting of blood. The same medicine causes dangerous bleeding of The stomach and intestines in a few patients.

Is it not a very good research to study which are the compounds that can cause clotting and anti clotting? The sky is The limit for medical research as in other sciences. Again, as in other sciences such as Mathematics, Chemistry and Physics, In medical science also we have a superstition. We rarely do a comparative study of other systems. Students who are ready to undertake comparative studies of various fields will find research very rewarding.