STEM CELLS WITHIN PEDIATRICS
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THE IMPACT OF STEM CELLS WITHIN PEDIATRICS
Lauren Adams
Ocean Lakes High School
Independent Research
Mrs. Allison Graves
June 4, 2014
STEM CELLS WITHIN PEDIATRICS
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THE IMPACT OF STEM CELLS WITHIN PEDIATRICS
What I Already Knew/ What I Wanted to Know
The beady brown eyes of an eight year old Leukemia patient looked up and me. She spoke
softly saying, “Lauren, I want to go home.” As I held her hand, we walked down the hallway to
her patient room. At that moment, I felt helpless, knowing that there was nothing I could do
except be strong for her.
As a junior volunteer at the Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters, I have been grateful
enough to have been extended the opportunity to spend many summers volunteering at such a
friendly and inviting environment. The program itself is such a rewarding experience, and the
thought of putting smiles on the faces of others has always been something I cherish having a
helping hand in.
While volunteering at the Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters in Norfolk during the
summer of 2012, I had the opportunity to spend two weeks in the Child Care department, helping
to make children from three months to eighteen years old feel more at home, and help ease their
worries through playing games, reading stories, and even being their shoulder to cry on. Seeing
the joy brought to their faces by helping ease their pain has led me to want to pursue a future
career in pediatrics.
Lately, I have become completely immersed in the study of STEM cell research. I knew
STEM cells were an up and coming scientific field that helped to improve the lives of those in
critical conditions due to their fast-acting, healing nature. Although my knowledge of this field
was not extensive, I became determined to find out more about what exactly STEM cells are,
how they are used, and the application of these vital structures in pediatrics.
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In order to learn more about STEM cells and pediatric fields, I decided to develop preliminary
research questions, which later developed into more in-depth research questions. I knew that in
order to accomplish a common goal, I was going to have to focus on specific aspects of STEM
cell research and pediatrics in order to ensure a successful future product. Ultimately, these
research questions served as the driving force for learning more about these vast fields of science
within such a short period of time. These topic-based questions include: What specifically is
STEM cell research, and how is it utilized in pediatrics?; What are the various branches of
pediatrics?; In what ways is the field of pediatrics working towards efficient diagnosis of patients
and efficient recovery programs?; Where is STEM cell research currently being used?; What
ethical controversies are associated with STEM cell research, and how has this hindered its
development?
All of these research topics ultimately converged to develop on overarching ‘theme’ to my
search: “The impact of STEM cells in pediatrics”. After developing these questions, and creating
an outline to budget my time, I was finally able to begin my search, exploring the unknown.
The Story of My Search
I began my search journey soon after developing my research questions. First, I wanted to
answer my first research question, “What specifically is STEM cell research, and how is it
utilized in pediatrics?” because I felt that it was vital to the understanding of future questions,
and condensing a large portion of the research into careful note taking and easily comprehendible
sentences would surely prove to be beneficial in the future; indeed it did. I visited many
reputable websites dealing the STEM cell basics, and even sorted through the Gale database, but
finally after visiting the National Institutes of Health website, I was able to thoroughly find
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answers to this question; here, I learned about what STEM cells are, the ways in which they are
created, and even the methods used in STEM cell transplants to ill patients. This was very eyeopening. I wanted to ensure that this was a reliable website, so I even went further to research the
author of the eighteen paged article and found that he has a Bachelor’s Degree in chemistry, and
went on to pursue a Doctorate’s Degree before becoming a pediatrician himself.
Within the same hour, I was so intrigued by STEM cells that I had to immediately research my
second question, “What are the various branches of pediatrics?”. This question was very simple,
and very straightforward; therefore, it required little background knowledge and I was able to
find many detailed answers to this question by only visiting a few national websites. Despite this
being so simple, I decided to “beef up” the question by not only finding major groups or
“classes” of pediatrics, but by researching various kinds of pediatric specialists within those
groups. The findings were very detailed and wide-spread.
All in a day’s work I had accomplished researching my first two research questions. The
following day, I began researching my third question, “In what ways is the field of pediatrics
working towards efficient diagnosis of patients and efficient recovery programs?”. This question
required a lot of research, but the findings were very intriguing. I started by using Google
Scholar to find articles about common pediatric phenomena and the ways in which the disease is
diagnosed, and finally the aftermath of the illness. I was able to find few articles regarding basic
pediatric procedures. To my dismay, Google Scholar was not of much assistance to this research
question. After a few hours of misfortune, I finally found the answers I was looking for by
visiting the Chicago Children’s Hospital website; here, I learned about the common diseases
diagnosed by pediatricians, such as Leukemia, and the methods used to discover the illness. This
website even helped to answer my fourth research question, “Where is STEM cell research
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currently being used?” due to how the STEM cell field is highly concentrated around the
Chicago area.
My final research question, “What ethical controversies are associated with STEM cell
research, and how has this hindered its development?” was my absolute favorite. Although it did
take a while to find precise and accurate answers, it truly opened my eyes to the ‘real-world’
application of my research. After sorting through many articles of instances where STEM cell
research and ethics had clashed, I was finally able to come to a concise conclusion about the
ongoing battle between these two scientific areas by visiting, once again, the National Institute of
Health website. It was here that I learned of the ongoing controversy associated between STEM
cell research, and utilization, and what is considered by some to be ‘ethical’.
The Search Results
According to recent studies, STEM cells, in their basic form, are unspecialized cells capable of
regenerating themselves through cell division and are created for the purpose of tissue repair
These cells may become specialized by developing into different types of cells (liver cells, red
blood cells, etc.). One of the fundamental properties of a STEM cell is its inability to initially
have tissue-specific structures that allow it to perform specialized functions1, thus allowing it to
work with other cells within the body. The process of unspecialized cells becoming specialized
cells is referred to as differentiation. A STEM cell 'converts' into specialized cells when it is
triggered by specific signals throughout the body, many of which are unknown.
Two types of STEM cells are currently being studied: Embryonic STEM cells and Adult
(Somatic) Cells. Embryonic stem cells are created through in vivo or in vitro fertilization and
exist as premature forms of adult somatic cells, given that they are up to five days old and will
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mature through meiotic cell division over time1. STEM cells are also present in
microenvironments currently under investigation due to holding medicinal information that
repairs tissue within vital human organs2.
Now knowing the basics of STEM cells, I began researching the various types of pediatric
specialties in hopes of being able to find a slight correlation between both fields. Pediatrics is a
very broad field of study consisting of many different specialty careers depending on one’s
interests. The thought coined by the term 'pediatrics' generally implies a children's doctor and
health specialist, however, there are many branches of pediatrics specializing in bettering the
health of children. A pediatric otolaryngologist diagnoses ear, nose, and throat conditions as well
as head and neck injuries3. I thought this may prove to be useful, since most common illnesses
develop within these areas. Also, a pediatric neurologist oversees problems occurring in a child's
nervous system. These pediatricians diagnose brain tumors, head and neck trauma, muscular
dystrophy, and even behavioral issues3. A pediatric ophthalmologist analyses issues within the
human eye. They specialize in the treatment of eye diseases and eye difficulties; unlike an
optometrist, pediatric ophthalmologists do not fit a child for glasses of contacts, but treat
persisting ocular difficulties3. Lastly, a pediatric cardiologist diagnoses heart conditions and
diseases (chest pain, dizziness, murmors, etc.)3. After finding out a few of the basic branches of
pediatrics, I decided to center my research on pediatric neurology and its correlation to STEM
cells.
The role of STEM cells in pediatrics comes down to one main role: transplants. In most
pediatric clinics, one cannot expect to receive STEM cell treatment merely for a scraped elbow
or knee; this treatment is very powerful and is reserved for only the most malignant of diseases
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such as: hematologic malignancies (cancer), neuroblastoma, sarcoma, rare blood conditions, and
immunodeficiencies2.
Among these, cancer is most commonly treated among children ages 4 to 112. Transplants are
the main form of treatment for malignancies and disorders; A STEM cell transplant usually
refers to the injection, infusion, or replacement of bone or marrow cells within the body2. There
are five main types of transplants. These include autologous transplants (one's cells are replaced
with their own cultured STEM cell), allogeneic transplants (one's cells are replaced by STEM
cells of a compatible donor or blood-relative), synergenic transplants (replacement of cells with
the cultured STEM cells of an identical twin, cord blood transplants (cells are replaced using
cultured STEM cells from the mother's umbilical cord), and lastly what is known as “mixed
chimerism”, referring to the treatment of a patient using chemotherapy rather than STEM cells as
recovery2.
In order to conduct a transplant, STEM cells must be collected from either the patient (when
autologous) or from a donor (when allogeneic) through a process known as apheresis. During
this process, the individual is given a series of injections throughout a period of days through
which bone marrow is moved into the blood stream. Then, the person's blood is taken for the
transplant. Bone marrow is used because it contains hematopoietic stem cells, a 'spongy'-like
tissue cell4.
On the other hand, the recipient of the transplant must undergo a more thorough process of
tests in order to determine their compatibility with the donor. Then, chemotherapy is used to
eliminate the remaining blood marrow cells within the body in order for the incoming ones to
remain unaffected and have a 'sterile' environment in which to thrive. The goal of a transplant is
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to have new, healthy STEM cells grow and replace the previous cancerous cells. Although
STEM cells are cells that have the potential to become other kinds of cells, they most often exist
as white (or red) blood cells and bone marrow cells because they are easiest to obtain and
culture4.
The next step on my research journey was to finally bridge together all research, as done before,
and find real-world controversies currently associated with STEM cell research and pediatrics.
Although the information that I found was not extensive, it enabled me to determine the root of
an ongoing problem.
The National Institute of Health (NIH) states:
Stem cells show potential for many different areas of health and medical
research, and studying them can help us understand how they transform into the
dazzling array of specialized cells that make us what we are. Some of the most
serious medical conditions, such as cancer and birth defects, are caused by
problems that occur somewhere in this process. A better understanding of normal
cell development will allow us to understand and perhaps correct the errors
that cause these medical conditions.
Research on one kind of stem cell—human embryonic stem cells—has generated
much interest and public debate. Pluripotent stem cells (cells that can develop
into many different cell types of the body) are isolated from human embryos
that are a few days old. Pluripotent stem cell lines have also been developed
from fetal tissue (older than 8 weeks of development).
As science and technology continue to advance, so do ethical viewpoints
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surrounding these developments. It is important to understand and explore the
issues, scientifically and ethically. (2014)
After vast amounts of research, I was able to come to the conclusion that STEM cell research and
utilization has significantly impacted the field of pediatrics in ways that have benefitted the lives
of those diagnosed with degenerative diseases. This eye-opening experience has led me to want
to pursue a career in the field of pediatrics.
My Growth as a Researcher
Throughout this journey, I have learned a lot about STEM cells and their application to
pediatrics. Also, I loved having the opportunity to incorporate ethics into this discovery, since it
involved the application of prior knowledge to a new scientific field. Most importantly, I have
learned that in order to find answers to an unknown question, one must be patient and thorough.
The amount of work that goes into scientific research is absolutely astonishing. Now, I am
confident in my abilities to research and unknown topic and turn it into something of substance
through composure of a scientific research paper.
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STEM CELLS WITHIN PEDIATRICS
Cited References
1. Luciana MD. 2014. STEM Cell Basics and Applications. (1) [Internet]. [2014 February
1, cited 2014 June 4] . Available from:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1873506114000403
2. Stem Cell Basics: Introduction. In Stem Cell Information [World Wide Web site].
Bethesda, MD: National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services, 2002 [cited Sunday, June 08, 2014] Available at
<http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/basics/pages/basics1.aspx>
3. Connor MD. 2014 January 7. Pediatric Specialists [Internet]. 1. Chicago(IL):American
Pediatrics; [2014 January 7, cited 2014 June 4] . Available from:
http://pathways.org/lower-left-nav/tools-and-resources1/parent-resources/types-ofpediatric-specialists
4. Edward KR. 2014 March 21. Conditions Treated with Stem Cell Transplant [Internet].
Chicago, (IL):University of Chicago Medicine; [2014 March 21, cited 2014 4 June] .
Available from: http://www.uchicagokidshospital.org/specialties/cancer/stem-celltransplant/conditions.html