Scientists have found a way to use adult stem cells to create a pseudo embryonic sac for use in fertility studies.

With many Americans waiting until they are in their 30s or 40s to start a family, infertility rates are increasing. In fact, according to the United States Office on Women's Health, about 10 percent of American women between the ages of 15 and 44 struggle to get or remain pregnant.

Studying infertility and its causes can often raise ethical concerns, which reduces the chances of finding willing participants and funding. But a team from the University of Michigan may have a solution: Researchers there were able to successfully create a structure that mimics an amniotic sac using pluripotent adult stem cells, and it could help scientists better understand infertility.

"Pluripotent adult stem cells are cells that are taken from any tissue of the body and genetically modified to mimic an embryonic stem cell," says Dr. Naota Hashimoto of La Quinta, California. "This erases any ethical concerns that might be raised using real human embryos, but still allows the researchers to closely study what happens during the embryonic stage."

Hashimoto uses stem cell therapy to treat patients in his own practice. He says many people are surprised to know that adult stem cells can be used to treat everything from arthritis to multiple sclerosis.

"I think many people don't realize that adult stem cells are very useful, and that many stem cell therapies can be done with adult stem cells taken from the patient's own body, such as the pluripotent cells used in this study and the adipose stem cells I use in my practice," he says.

Hashimoto, for his part, is hopeful that the replicated amniotic sac will shine a positive light on adult stem cells and stem cell therapy as a whole.

"The amniotic sac replica has the potential to yield some amazing insight into what happens following the fertilization of an egg," he says. "Hopefully researchers can better understand why pregnancies fail early on, and work to find a possible solution, and take some of the spotlight off the ethical questioning so we can focus on the science."