Stem cell therapy is a cutting-edge treatment that holds promise for alleviating a variety of conditions, including cardiovascular diseases, neurological disorders and orthopedic injuries. While some preliminary studies using stem cells are showing promise, it is still considered experimental and should only be done at a reputable university or other site.

“Stem cells are really the mother of all cells,” explains Dr. Chauncey Crandall, world-renowned cardiologist and director of preventive medicine at the Palm Beach Cardiovascular Clinic in Florida. “Most of them are in the bone marrow, but they're in other tissues as well.”

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Some stem cells are used to repair skin or tendons, and others form blood products or bone parts, Crandall tells Newsmax’s “Newsline.”

“So, these stem cells are there in the body, and they're waiting to be called out to go and repair, regenerate, and renew whatever tissue is damaged or whatever population of cells needs to be replaced,” explains Crandall.

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Stem cells have been used successfully to treat heart failure, a life-threatening condition in which the heart isn’t working well, which can cause shortness of breath, fatigue, swollen legs and other symptoms that diminish quality of life.

“We do know that we can inject stem cells into the circulation near the heart, and some of these stem cells can actually go in and replace the damaged tissue so that heart function returns and heart failure disappears,” says Crandall, editor of the popular newsletter Dr. Crandall's Heart Health Report.

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In a Mayo Clinic study of 315 advanced heart failure patients from 39 hospitals in 10 countries, those who underwent treatment with stem cells taken from their own bone marrow reported improved quality of life one year later, compared to those who received a sham treatment. In addition, the stem cell recipients were less likely to be hospitalized or die.

Crandall stresses that if you want to try stem cell therapy you need to find a reputable doctor and site.  “We need to be very careful where we go and how this is done, because stem cells, they can move in a correct direction, but they can also move in a wrong direction and cause a reaction. And in some cases, stem cells can turn on and produce tumors,” explains Crandall.

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Crandall says that many universities are starting to perform clinical trials on stem cell therapy and you can go to clinicaltrials.gov to get more information. The National Library of Medicine website and online database provides information about clinical research studies and their results.