The American stem cell sell in 2021: U.S. businesses selling unlicensed and unproven stem cell interventions. Ethical issues and misinformation linked to overhyped science.

In March 2021, 1,480 U.S. businesses operating 2,754 clinics were found selling purported stem cell treatments for various indications. More than four times as many businesses than were identified 5 years ago are selling stem cell products that are not FDA-approved and lack convincing evidence of safety and efficacy following a new paper published in Cell

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How to identify misleading information and fake news in scientific communication

A guide to to determine if something is pseudoscience or real science Click the link Your first exposure to any pseudoscientific claim will almost certainly come in the form of a catchy headline—perhaps a little too catchy. John Gregory, a researcher for the online fact-checking service NewsGuard, warns that fully capitalized words, exclamation points, or strong

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Internet hawkers of stem cell therapies for ocular diseases

Patients have been blinded or have experienced retinal detachments after treatment with so-called stem cell therapies such as intravitreal injections of autologous stem cells that are not FDA approved for many ocular conditions across the US and that were marketed directly to patients. Currently, the FDA has regulatory authority over such companies and since June

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Unapproved Stem Cell Therapies Harms Highlight Need for Greater Regulatory Enforcement

Unproven regenerative medical products have led to infections, disabilities and deaths Overview Stem cell products and other regenerative therapies have significant potential to treat traumatic injuries and serious diseases. Although some have earned approval from the Food and Drug Administration, most have not, and many of these unapproved interventions have led to life-threatening infections, chronic

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The effects of armed conflict on the health of women and children. More than 10 million deaths in children <5 years can be attributed to conflict between 1995 and 2015 globally.

Women and children bear substantial morbidity and mortality as a result of armed conflicts. This paper published in The Lancet focuses on the direct (due to violence) and indirect health effects of armed conflict on women and children (including adolescents) worldwide. It was estimate that nearly 36 million children and 16 million women were displaced

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Bioethicist condemn unproven and unlicensed ‘stem cell treatments’ for COVID-19

As the COVID-19 pandemic enters its third month, businesses in the United States are marketing unlicensed and unproven stem-cell-based “therapies” and exosome products that claim to prevent or treat the disease. In Cell Stem Cell on May 5, bioethicist Leigh Turner describes how these companies are “seizing the pandemic as an opportunity to profit from hope and

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Raised alarm on unproven stem cells marketing as COVID therapy

Scientists and international bodies including Stem Cells Australia, the International Society for Stem Cell Research, the International Society for Cell and Gene Therapy and EuroStemCell have raised the alarm about the marketing of unproven therapies during the pandemic, warning of damage to patients and to the credibility of the field. Source The Medical Republic Professor Daniel

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EMA warns against using unproven cell-based therapies

EMA’s Committee for Advanced Therapies (CAT) is advising patients and the general public against using unregulated cell-based therapies which may not be safe or effective. The CAT’s advice is in response to individuals, companies and hospitals promoting unproven cell-based therapies as cures for a broad range of conditions including cancer, cardiovascular diseases, autism,cerebral palsy, muscular

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A real-time dashboard of clinical trials for COVID-19

In response to the global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) emergency, clinical trial research assessing the efficacy and safety of clinical candidate interventions to treat COVID-19 are emerging at an unprecedented rate. As of April 21, 2020, well over 500 clinical trials have been registered at the various international and national clinical trial registry sites.  Most

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