The usage of induced pluripotent cells in the treatment of usually incurable illnesses is an innovative and opportune pathway for medical treatment. Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells, known as iPS, are taken from various diseases, and used to treat them; similar in properties to the anti venom made from actual venom, and vaccinations made from dormant viruses, iPS cells are taken from active disease processes in the body, and reprogrammed so that they have the opposite function, to treat the illness. However, the major risk of usage for treatments is the risk of developing teratomas, encapsulated tumors that can masquerade as cells, but have significant chances of becoming malignant. Due to the constant replication of cells, this cancerous, masked intruder has a greater chance of surviving long enough in the body to metastasize; especially since it may not be caught by the immune system. The title of this article stood out to me because the headline said, “Untreatable” instead of incurable. The American Medical Association changed their former symbol of the caduceus to the aesculapius. The caduceus was interpreted to mean curing and treating & the aesculapius was thought to represent treating, which is why the AMA supposedly wanted to change it (you can treat, but you can’t cure). In actuality, the AMA changed the symbol because the caduceus was the representation of the greek god Hermes, patron of commerce. This is not a good vibe to have as a medical professional, because healing is emphasized rather than profit. Whereas, the rod of aesculapius belonged to Aesculapius, the greek god of medicine. The headline of this article made me think about that. Now, it seems that with the efforts of a few good researchers, we may be well on our way to treating AND curing after all.
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