Carlsbad, CA (PRWEB) April 15, 2013
Skincare products featuring stem cells have become a hot topic. In most cases, the stem cells in beauty products are derived from fruits, trees or herbslike apple trees, melons, or edelweiss. But whats really creating a buzz is the skincare based on human stem cells. Historically, the use of stem cells has been controversial and has led to heated debates about the source of human based stem cells and the ethics involved in stem cell research.
Donna Queen, President of Lifeline Skin Care, says Today, one of the best applications for these stem cells is in skincare, where they can help repair aged and sun-damaged skin.
Lifeline Skin Care, http://www.lifelineskincare.com, was developed in 2010 using the proteins and growth factors extracted from these stem cells. Lifeline Skin Cares parent company, International Stem Cell Corporation, manipulates a human oocyte (egg) so that it begins to divide and produce pluripotent stem cells. These nonembryonic stem cells are of particular interest to scientists because they can be used for both cosmetic skincare and therapeutic regenerative diseases. Their advantages are: (1) they avoid the ethical controversy involved in the creation or destruction of a human embryo; (2) they are a potent source of proteins and growth factors that
produce anti-aging results in skincare; and (3) these stem cells can be a source of therapeutic cells for hundreds of millions of people. Scientists are optimistic that these non-embryonic stem cells can regenerate damaged tissue and cure diseases like Parkinsons, macular degeneration and diabetes, while reducing or eliminating the need for immuno-suppression drugs. Those cures, though, are a decade or more away.
There has been considerable debate about the ethics of stem cell research, particularly as it relates to the creation, use and destruction of embryos. The Catholic Church and many pro-life groups are adamantly opposed to the use and destruction of embryos on the grounds that it involves destroying one life for the benefit of another.
Not all stem cell research involves the creation, use, or destruction of human embryos, however. For example, adult stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells and Lifeline parthenogenetic stem cells do not involve human embryos at all. Its because of this debate, and also because Americans continue to oppose tax funding for embryonic stem cell research, that these ethically-derived stem cells are showing so much promise.
The term parthenogenesis (from the Greek words parthenos, meaning virgin and genesis, meaning birth) refers to a form of asexual reproduction in which an unfertilized egg develops without ever having been exposed to male sperm Unlike embryonic stem cells, which are derived from unwanted embryos that were created through an In Vitro Fertilization procedure, International Stem Cell Corporation obtains its unfertilized eggs from women who have elected to donate their eggs for medical researchthey are not undergoing infertility treatment. The eggs that Lifeline uses: (1) are donated for research and were never produced for reproductive purposes; (2) are never exposed to the male gamete, (3) could never develop into a human
organism. The entire process is closely and carefully regulated by the US Department of Health and Human Services, the National Institute of Health and the California Department of Public Health. All donors remain anonymous and receive no financial compensation for their eggs; their only incentive is to further research into regenerative medicine.
The ethics surrounding embryonic stem cell research will last as long as people of certain moral and religious persuasions are opposed to the creation and destruction of human life. In the meantime, human parthenogenetic stem cells (like those used in Lifeline Skin Care), induced pluripotent stem cells and adult stem cells will continue to be very viable options to regenerate tissue.
For more information about Lifeline Skin Care, see http://www.lifelineskincare.com.
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