Stem-cell therapy can cure… everything? Sketchy clinics selling untested and often illegal treatments proliferate

Credit: C. Chang/Science News
Credit: C. Chang/Science News

Sketchy clinics selling untested and often illegal stem cell treatments in the U.S. are proliferating, new research out [November 4] has found. It estimates that the number of businesses offering stem cells for everything from back pain to protection against covid-19 has more than quadrupled since 2016. This rise has happened despite patients being grievously hurt and the Food and Drug Administration pledging to crack down on the industry.

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There’s already one major and proven application of stem cell therapy in wide use today: bone marrow transplants that can restore a person’s supply of healthy blood cells. But scientists speculate that these treatments could help with many more conditions, including spinal cord injuries, Alzheimer’s disease, and heart disease.

The promise of stem cells is real. But in the last two decades, there’s been a shady industry promoting these treatments to consumers directly, often by making claims far beyond the current science supporting their use. And while doctors and clinics can treat patients with stem cells as part of legitimate and experimental research, many of these stem cell shops are doing so by skirting current FDA regulations.

This is an excerpt. Read the original post here.

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