DEAR DR. GOTT: Is there any treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) using stem cell research here in the United States or overseas? I’m interested.
DEAR READER: There are two types of stem cells: embryonic and adult. Embryonic cells are taken from fertilized eggs or aborted fetuses and have been found useful for medical research because they have the capability of producing cells for almost every tissue in the body. Adult cells are not as desirable because they are designated for specific cells such as blood, muscle, skin and intestines and are difficult to harvest. Oddly enough, “adult” is something of a misnomer because people of every age have them.
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