What is the secret behind the successes with the bone marrow treatments? While bone marrow transplants have been done for the past 50 years for cancer patients and those with blood disorders, this procedure is different because it is being used for neurological conditions as well as other health problems. It uses your own bone marrow and instead of isolating one type of stem cell, it uses a rich variety of stem and progenitor cells that hide deep inside of your bones. The bone marrow is rich in two different types of stem cells. One type turns into blood cells, blood vessels, and cells of the immune system. These cells are called hematopoietic stem cells (heme meaning blood-related). The other type of stem cell in the bone marrow are support stem cells that produce bone, fat, tendons, skin, muscles and connective tissue. Recent research shows that these hematopoietic and the support stem cells are also able to divide into all types of brain cells, including glial cells (white matter) and neurons (gray matter). The bone marrow also contains retinal progenitor cells and several patients have commented on how their vision has improved as a side benefit of their bone marrow procedure.