Stem Cell Treatments?

[SunnyOne]

I confess up front that I know nothing about this topic - but I am traveling in Mexico right now and see doctors advertising this as a service - but the applications are not mentioned?

Also, I have run into two couples here from the US that brought their children here for stem cell treatments for autism.

Aren't stem cell treatments in the US not common? I guess I'm not clear why they are popular in Mexico but not the US?

Anyone?

 

[EastWest Gal]

The FDA has only approved limited stem cell therapies for a few disorders and warns against unproven therapies.

https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/fda-warns-about-stem-cell-therapies

"The only stem cell-based products that are FDA-approved for use in the United States consist of blood-forming stem cells (hematopoietic progenitor cells) derived from cord blood.

These products are approved for limited use in patients with disorders that affect the body system that is involved in the production of blood (called the “hematopoietic” system). These FDA-approved stem cell products are listed on the FDA website. Bone marrow also is used for these treatments but is generally not regulated by the FDA for this use."

I'm pretty skeptical, frankly. I remember Laetrile.

 

[aaronc879]

I have seen a couple stories about a handful of high level professional wrestlers that have used stem cell treatment to recover from years of wear on the body and all of them have had good things to say. Too expensive for me but if I had the money I would try it for some of my chronic pain issues.

 

[athena53]

A friend who had a bad spine injury after he took a hard fall on the ice while playing hockey at age 70 tried that about a year ago. I haven't seen him since then- he and his wife attended our church but he's now in a motorized wheel chair that he sometimes has to operate with head controls and can occasionally operate with hand controls. His wife was circulating e-mails occasionally about how he was doing and he's had only incidental improvement since the stem cell treatments (accident was October, 2021) so I don't think the treatments had much effect. I did some research and it looked like a Hail Mary move in his case.

I had a "suggested post" on FB form a local place that does stem cell treatments. In answer to just about every "Do you treat X?" question they replied "Yes, we treat X". No indication of success rates.

 

[easysurfer]

A friend who had a bad spine injury after he took a hard fall on the ice while playing hockey at age 70 tried that about a year ago. I haven't seen him since then- he and his wife attended our church but he's now in a motorized wheel chair that he sometimes has to operate with head controls and can occasionally operate with hand controls. His wife was circulating e-mails occasionally about how he was doing and he's had only incidental improvement since the stem cell treatments (accident was October, 2021) so I don't think the treatments had much effect. I did some research and it looked like a Hail Mary move in his case.

I had a "suggested post" on FB form a local place that does stem cell treatments. In answer to just about every "Do you treat X?" question they replied "Yes, we treat X". No indication of success rates.

From what I remember reading, not all stem cells are the same. Certain ones are more likely successful than others. But then that brings about moral and ethical questions in the states. Thus, people head to Mexico for treatment.

 

[donheff]

A guy I worked with's wife had a terminal cancer (what type I can't remember). He did a lot of research and finally took her to a stem cell clinic in Mexico that he concluded was legit. She had a remission and was soon on the road to recovery. That doesn't prove anything but it always interesting to know somebody who gave it a shot. Before I turned to it I would try to do some due diligence that there was at least some modest Baysian prior likelihood of success - determine that the method being used made good theoretical sense for the targeted problem, good animal studies, reliable testimonials about the clinical practice, etc. My coworker's wife was treated about 15 years ago and she was fine several years later. I have not kept up with him so I don't know if she had a relapse.

 

[MichaelB]

At last count there are more than 2500 clinics in the US (link here) that provide stem cell treatments. Many of the treatments are not approved by the FDA, so in effect the users are acting as human guinea pigs and the physicians are making a bundle of money while experimenting on patients.

 

[athena53]

Many of the treatments are not approved by the FDA, so in effect the users are acting as human guinea pigs and the physicians are making a bundle of money while experimenting on patients.

I agree but in a way that's capitalism at work and it may do some good. It could increase the body of knowledge about what's effective and what isn't. My friend who had the hockey accident was pretty well-off so maybe the wealthier people are subsidizing these experimental treatments. I hope the private clinics are reporting their successes and failures so that we can learn more.

From what I've read, stem cells taken from one part of the body don't necessarily do well when injected somewhere else in the body.

 

[O2Bfree]

I asked my orthopedic surgeon about stem cell treatment a few years ago, and he said they're still very much experimental, and it's unethical to be selling the treatments.

 

[MichaelB]

I agree but in a way that's capitalism at work and it may do some good. It could increase the body of knowledge about what's effective and what isn't. My friend who had the hockey accident was pretty well-off so maybe the wealthier people are subsidizing these experimental treatments. I hope the private clinics are reporting their successes and failures so that we can learn more.

From what I've read, stem cells taken from one part of the body don't necessarily do well when injected somewhere else in the body.

Market solutions and healthcare do not easily coexist. Regulation is a critical aspect, and it helps ensure the development of treatments does not come at the expense of human life and greater suffering. There may be many positive anecdotes, but they are no substitute for rigorous study.

 

[EastWest Gal]

I asked my orthopedic surgeon about stem cell treatment a few years ago, and he said they're still very much experimental, and it's unethical to be selling the treatments.

Double-blinded placebo controlled studies are the way to go. People making money off of unproven treatments are doing that. Please be careful. Very careful.

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/23/health/a-cautionary-tale-of-stem-cell-tourism.html

https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/resear...ns-highlight-need-for-greater-fda-enforcement

 

[sengsational]

Clinical trial results are great, but they're not done for unpatentable treatments because they are expensive, and nobody stands to monopolize the treatment. That doesn't mean that other kinds of evidence is worthless, it's just that it must be weighed carefully. Someone I know very well is joining a stem cell trial for a serious condition, and I'm grateful for that. I know another person who's at high risk of Alzheimer's and has a 50% shot at getting the placebo. These tests are expensive in more ways than one.

 

[Koolau]

At last count there are more than 2500 clinics in the US (link here) that provide stem cell treatments. Many of the treatments are not approved by the FDA, so in effect the users are acting as human guinea pigs and the physicians are making a bundle of money while experimenting on patients.

I guess it boils down to what you would do if you had been given a terminal diagnosis. Within limits, you'd spend your money and play guinea pig - especially if you had heard several anecdotal cures/remissions. Everything changes when it's YOUR life I would think.

 

[Winemaker]

Yesterday, I read an article on a newsfeed about the new research into Alzheimer's, a theory that older folks can't shed/discard damaged/incomplete cells properly, which leads to them clumping places all over the body. The stem cells are currently used in mice are showing promise in that the mice are much younger than the their counterparts.