UEP N71 INSTITUTO SUPERIOR DARDO ROCHA

PROFESORADO DE INGLS

STUDENT: Cassiraga, Maria Beln

SUBJECT: Language and Grammar IV

TEACHER: Lezcano Gerig, Carlos Fabricio

 Essay n2

Improvement and innovation are key elements in the medicine field, within this fascinating world Genetics Engineering and
Regenerative Medicine have recently emerged with an undeniable force. Both of them have contributed to the most
significant discoveries in the last decades. It is the use of stem cells that has grown more dramatically lately. Many therapies
have been developed to cure diseases; especially the blood based ones such as leukaemia and important research have
been done on Alzheimer and Parkinson. Thousands of patients received their benefits in many countries around the world
and in our country hundreds of procedures have already been practiced successfully. Thus I firmly believe that the state and
the medical community must support this emergent but prolific field. Two benefits clearly stand out. First of all, a clear
benefit for patients who tried stem cells therapies is that they can improve their life quality significantly. Consequently, as
more procedures are carried out the science community benefits gaining more evidence of their use and can either prove or
refute the validity of certain aspects of it.

First of all, it would be necessary to introduce some important concepts related to such a wide topic. Genetic Engineering
can be simply described as a branch of Biology that is in charge of manipulating and modifying the genetic material to either
transfer genes within and across species boundaries to produce improved or novel organisms. On the other hand,
Regenerative Medicine aims at repairing or replacing cells or organs to recover the impaired function. Finally, Stem cells are
a very special group of cells described as pluripotent, that is to say able to reproduce indefinitely. Another incredible
characteristic of this type of cells is that they are free of genetic defects. Moreover, they retain their potential to turn into
many different types of cell which may enable them to fix almost any defect in the human body. That is why they are also
called by the media miraculous cells. These cells are found in the umbilical cordon and within adult organs. Nonetheless,
there is on-going research that continually advances and sooner many more insights will be known.

As it has been stated above, many stem cells treatments, though recently introduced, have been carried out successfully all
around the world. Thus, patients did not undergo invasive treatments and now enjoy a better life quality. According to the
World Health Organization, 1 out of 100 children suffer from autism these days. Such is the case of Kenneth, an American
boy with autism. Kenneths mother , Marry, did not want to see him suffering longer so she has taken him to Panama in
order for him to be administered a treatment with stem cells. Marry decided to carry the risk because she wanted the best
for his little son. According to her own report, Kenneth could not express his feelings properly, he could not refer to time
while speaking and he suffered from severe tantrums where he started screaming and running uncontrollably; he even
ripped his clothes off one day. The normal treatment he had followed did not help him much. However, the stem cell
treatment he underwent has produced fruitful changes on him. Nowadays, he looks like any of the other boy of his age; he
possesses a calm, polite and intuitive personality and he is always eager to learn new things. Perhaps, says his mom, this
is because hes trying to bridge the gap. The only therapy he is part of nowadays is his speech therapy.

Not only patients are highly benefited from this huge advancement, but also the science community grows and can
consequently produce much better treatments based on what it has been proven to be successful or not. In China doctors
are allowed to carry out many procedures with stem cells and they are one of the most advanced countries in this field,
being specialised on brain disorders. However, the majority of the treatments available worldwide are those related to blood
pathologies. Likewise, diseases such as Alzheimer or Parkinson are being treated and many investigations are being
conducted on blindness. In Argentina, there exists a Stem Cells Bank with its main office in Cordoba and a second one in
Mendoza. Its Director, Doctor Omar Reimondo explains that China is at the vanguard of investigations because of the
scarce limitations set by the government. He shows himself positive about the improvement and wider acceptance of stem
cells treatments in Argentina; he assures that we have the potential to be as good as other countries the only problem are
the limited opportunities for implementing new treatments. About that issue he is extremely cautious saying that stem cells
treatments do not always work, but there is a continuous evolution. In addition to this, a recent survey in our country says
that each year there is an increase of 15% of families who decide to preserve the stem cells found in the umbilical cordon of
their babies in order to use them in the future if necessary, something that undoubtedly exhibits the predisposition of people
towards science progress. Fortunately, in our country there are three specific experimental treatments carried out by
different well known and prestigious institutions and supported by the Health Ministry. One of the has to do with the use of
stem cells in cerebrovascular accidents, the second one is related to the recovery of knee cartilage and a third one for skin
reconstruction in severe burns. These treatments together with the ones available in private health centres constitute a
positive evidence of the great impact that stem cells treatments bring with them.

Taking into consideration every single point previously stated, I would say that stem cells treatments are an incredible
discovery that can certainly improve patients life quality at the same time that they provide the science world with valuable
insights that will allow them to make more improvements. Though strongly criticised by some professionals, there is quite
sufficient evidence to believe that stem cells procedures are the future of medicine and both the government and the society
in general must show interest and predisposition to get informed and involved in this process.