Abstract
‘Potential therapies using pluripotent stem cells’ examines some of the diseases that may be the first to be treated by cell therapy using pluripotent stem cells. Pluripotent stem cells may be either ES cells or iPS cells. Their properties are essentially the same, but iPS cells have the potential to be prepared from an individual patient and thus be a perfect genetic match to that patient. The proposed cell therapies will involve making the required differentiated cells in vitro and then implanting them into the appropriate site in the patient to avoid the formation of tumours. Diseases considered are diabetes, Parkinson's disease, heart disease, spinal repair, and retinal degeneration.