Real Possibilities

December 11-17, 2017

What you need to know about stem cell clinics

By Nan Selz

There are more than 600 clinics around the country that offer stem cell treatments for a range of serious diseases and ailments, such as spinal cord injury, stroke, Parkinson’s disease, ALS and Alzheimer’s. Most of the procedures they offer are neither covered by insurance nor approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Further, these clinics are not regulated by the FDA.

Unscrupulous clinics are taking advantage of vulnerable patients by claiming to have treatments or cures for extremely serious, often fatal, conditions. These treatments usually involve the use of the patient’s own stem cells.  There is no proof that the treatments actually work and they may, in fact, be harmful.

The clinics claim that stem cell treatments are the next great breakthrough in medical research, but their critics fear many are based on unproven science.  And safety violations at some clinics have led to serious complications and even death.

The FDA has launched a crackdown on such clinics. It has raided some clinics and warned that others were suspected of peddling “unproven” and “dangerous” products to desperate patients suffering from cancer and other illnesses. StemImmune, Inc. in San Diego was combining live smallpox vaccine with stem cells from the patient’s body fat and then injecting it directly into the tumor. According to the FDA, the treatment was not only unapproved, but it was potentially extremely dangerous.  

Research continues into the benefits of stem cell therapies. The FDA has approved the use of stem cells for some limited treatments, but many clinics use a loophole in the regulations to remain exempt from federal oversight.  

For more information about the controversy surrounding stem cell clinics, see the July-August issue of the AARP Bulletin “Are Stem Cell Clinics Legit?”.