With the prospect of providing new hope for patients afflicted with liver or kidney disease, Italian scientists have made a number of advances in adult stem cell research. Their breakthroughs could lead to novel treatments for kidney and liver disease as the team has identified kidney stem cells that help kidneys to repair themselves.

The new kidney cells appear to be able to turn into an assortment of other cells in the body said team leader and top immunologist Sergio.

“Chronic renal diseases and terminal renal insufficiency are viewed as the medical emergency of the new century,” Sergio told a press conference, according to the ANSA Italian news agency.

In the mice used in the study, the team established that the adult stem cells repaired the damaged kidney after injection. Existing treatments don