‘Stem cells can help treat musculoskeletal disorders’

Varanasi: Indian Society of Cell Biology President Prof Jyotsna Dhawan, an emeritus scientist at CSIR-CCMB and the daughter of eminent space scientist and ISRO’s third Chairman Prof Satish Dhawan, today said that skeletal muscle disorders can be treated with stem cells.
She was speaking at the inaugural function of the 45th All India Cell Biology Conference of the Indian Society of Cell Biology at Swantrata Bhavan of Banaras Hindu University (BHU) on Friday.
Highlighting the utility of stem cells, Prof Dhawan said 30% of the body of a normal human being is made up of skeletal muscles, which control body movement and metabolism. On any disruption in these, the muscle stem cells repair them. Muscle stem cells mainly remain in a dormant state and do the reparation when needed.
She further said that in old age and disease conditions, these muscles become weak and muscle stem cells can also not repair them properly. Something similar happens in neuromuscular diseases as well. Since muscle stem cells take a certain amount of time to develop, muscle degeneration occurs quickly. Stem cell senescence technology was used to overcome this problem. Laboratory tests showed how these muscle stem cells are quickly primed to carry out this repair.
Speaking on the occasion, director of the Institute of Science ProfAnil Tripathi said the society is a powerful platform for exchanging knowledge among scientists working on cell science in India and abroad.
Besides, 14 other lectures focusing on how cell science technology could diagnose many diseases, including cancer were also given on the occasion.