Design World

  • Home
  • Technologies
    • 3D CAD
    • Electronics • electrical
    • Fastening & Joining
    • Factory automation
    • Linear Motion
    • Motion Control
    • Test & Measurement
    • Sensors
    • Fluid power
  • Learn
    • Ebooks / Tech Tips
    • Engineering Week
    • Future of Design Engineering
    • MC² Motion Control Classrooms
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • Webinars
  • LEAP AWARDS
  • Leadership
    • 2022 Voting
    • 2021 Winners
  • Design Guide Library
  • Resources
    • 3D Cad Models
      • PARTsolutions
      • TraceParts
    • Digital Issues
      • Design World
      • EE World
    • Women in Engineering
  • Supplier Listings

Stem Cell Tourism Without A Passport: Hundreds Of Clinics Operating In The U.S.

By Daniel Seeger | July 1, 2016

Share

A new study published in the journal Cell Stem Cell warns that unregulated and unsafe stem cell therapies are being employed in clinics throughout the United States. The findings refute the commonplace narrative of so-called “stem cell tourism,” which involves patients crossing borders to seek treatment that is of highly questionable merit. Instead, hundreds of U.S. facilities are engaged in direct-to-consumer marketing of stem cell interventions, with particular proliferation in California (113 clinics) and Florida (104 clinics).

(Image credit: Associated Press/Paul Sancya)

The news comes even as tremendous leaps are being made in the safe and effective use of stem cells in variety of treatments. Also this week, the journal Neurology published a study providing new evidence that injecting human stem cells into the spinal cord may eventually be a pathway to slowing the progress of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in patients. Though it stirred a great deal of hope and excitement, the report in Neurology also emphasizes caution and acknowledges the delicacy and risk of such procedures.

The natural worry is that the abundance of businesses marketing unproven stem cell therapies as a miraculous panacea will undermine the perceived value of researchers who are moving with a more ethical incrementalism in the development of treatments. That dilemma will only increase as more horror stories of dire outcomes get extensive press coverage, such as the recent New York Times piece on a patient who sought stem cell therapy in Mexico, resulting in the development of a tumor that has flummoxed doctors and left him paralyzed.

The study in Cell Stem Cell, authored by Leigh Turner and Paul Knoepfler, speculates that the relatively slow movement towards regulatory oversight has contributed to the problem, a concern that has been raised previously. They write, “Given that we identified 351 businesses actively advertising stem cell products in the U.S., it is fair to ask whether regulatory inaction has emboldened entrepreneurial physicians and other market participants. We place a high value on the imperative to provide patients with safe and efficacious interventions and see a need for more effective regulation of the U.S. marketplace for stem cell interventions.”


Filed Under: Industry regulations

 

Related Articles Read More >

ids-industrial-camera-manufacturer.sustainability-3
IDS focuses on sustainability in shipping
Part 5: Motion control + MQTT, OPC-UA, and other protocols for cloud services
Facebook CEO Zuckerberg Calls for More Outside Regulation
Musk’s Boring Company Calls it Quits on LA Tunnel, Instead Focuses on Hyperloop

DESIGN GUIDE LIBRARY

“motion

Enews Sign Up

Motion Control Classroom

Design World Digital Edition

cover

Browse the most current issue of Design World and back issues in an easy to use high quality format. Clip, share and download with the leading design engineering magazine today.

EDABoard the Forum for Electronics

Top global problem solving EE forum covering Microcontrollers, DSP, Networking, Analog and Digital Design, RF, Power Electronics, PCB Routing and much more

EDABoard: Forum for electronics

Sponsored Content

  • Global supply needs drive increased manufacturing footprint development
  • How to Increase Rotational Capacity for a Retaining Ring
  • Cordis high resolution electronic proportional pressure controls
  • WAGO’s custom designed interface wiring system making industrial applications easier
  • 10 Reasons to Specify Valve Manifolds
  • Case study: How a 3D-printed tool saved thousands of hours and dollars

Design World Podcasts

May 17, 2022
Another view on additive and the aerospace industry
See More >
Engineering Exchange

The Engineering Exchange is a global educational networking community for engineers.

Connect, share, and learn today »

Design World
  • Advertising
  • About us
  • Contact
  • Manage your Design World Subscription
  • Subscribe
  • Design World Digital Network
  • Engineering White Papers
  • LEAP AWARDS

Copyright © 2022 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy | Advertising | About Us

Search Design World

  • Home
  • Technologies
    • 3D CAD
    • Electronics • electrical
    • Fastening & Joining
    • Factory automation
    • Linear Motion
    • Motion Control
    • Test & Measurement
    • Sensors
    • Fluid power
  • Learn
    • Ebooks / Tech Tips
    • Engineering Week
    • Future of Design Engineering
    • MC² Motion Control Classrooms
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • Webinars
  • LEAP AWARDS
  • Leadership
    • 2022 Voting
    • 2021 Winners
  • Design Guide Library
  • Resources
    • 3D Cad Models
      • PARTsolutions
      • TraceParts
    • Digital Issues
      • Design World
      • EE World
    • Women in Engineering
  • Supplier Listings