Which treatment has demonstrated that stem cells can help patients become free of disease?

The treatment for leukemia that has shown success in helping patients become free of disease through the use of stem cells is based on hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. This procedure involves transplanting stem cells that can develop into healthy blood cells, which are critical after the disease and its treatments have compromised the patient's own cells. By infusing the patient with healthy stem cells, either from a donor or from their own previously harvested cells, it can lead to the regeneration of the bone marrow and the production of normal blood cells. In many cases, this treatment has led to complete remission of the disease, demonstrating a significant advancement in treating leukemia.

In contrast, while other conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, heart disease, and type 1 diabetes are areas of ongoing research with stem cell treatments, they have not yet demonstrated the unequivocal success in curing patients as seen with leukemia. These other diseases face different challenges and complexities in treatment, making the outcome regarding stem cells not as definitive as in the case of leukemia.