Cell therapies hold significant promise for the treatment of injured or diseased musculoskeletal tissues. However, despite advances in research, there is growing concern about the increasing number of clinical centres around the world that are making unwarranted claims or are performing risky biological procedures.

On The Bone and Joint Journal has just been published a paper of I.R. Murray et al discussing the topic.

Such rogue providers have been known to recommend, prescribe, or deliver so called ‘stem cell’ preparations without sufficient data to support their true content and efficacy.

In this paper, it’s outlined the current environment of stem cell-based treatments and the strategies of marketing directly to consumers and also the difficulties in the regulation of these clinics and are made recommendations for best practice and the identification and reporting of illegitimate providers.