Fact check

Fact-checking VSEL stem cells & VSEL treatment

VSELs, vsel ratajczak paper issues

A few people in the stem cell field keep arguing that adult pluripotent stem cells exist, including so-called “very small embryonic-like stem cells” or VSEL stem cells. These days the supposed cells are called VSELs or V-cells too. Only a handful of researchers have ever been able to report finding and studying these cells. Others …

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Stem cell therapy for heart disease: what you need to know

stem cell therapy for hearts

How much promise is there today for stem cell therapy for heart disease? Where do things stand with the clinical research? Patients regularly ask me these kinds of questions. The goal of today’s post is to update you on where things stand. What’s in this post Stem Cell Therapy | Clinical Trials | Delivery of …

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Review of DVC Stem & marketing of unproven therapies

DVC Stem video featuring Lou Ferrigno

A clinic called DVC Stem selling unproven stem cells has popped up prominently on the web recently. It’s a relatively new and in some ways puzzlingly dominant presence on the stem cell section of the Internet. We should pay attention to these kinds of changes on the web. They can impact many people’s healthcare choices, …

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About that Joe Rogan stem cell treatment & clinic promotion

Joe Rogan Stem Cells Mike Tyson

Joe Rogan first popped up more squarely on my radar screen years ago because of a concerning video that’s out there of him talking with Mel Gibson about stem cells. At the time it was one of the most-watched videos on YouTube on stem cells. I took apart that stem cell video and its claims including …

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Therapeutic misconception & the planned Duke Cryo-Cell cord clinic

Duke Cryo-Cell therapeutic misconception

One of the core problems in the world of unproven stem cell clinics is something called therapeutic misconception. I’ll talk more about that in a minute, but first, let me tell you what brought this to mind now. Surprisingly, the story starts at Duke University. A Duke cell therapy team and the biotech Cryo-Cell have big …

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Review of stem cell hair transplant for baldness

stem cell for hair loss

Occasionally a reader of The Niche will ask me about stem cell therapy for hair loss and getting a stem cell hair transplant. I’m interested in this research because I’m fascinated by stem cells. Admittedly I don’t have as much hair as I used to so that’s sometimes on my mind too. So where do …

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Fact-checking Regenexx: reviews, data, & cost

Map of Regenexx stem cell locations. Screenshot of map from company website.

Stem cell clinic firms often come and go rather quickly, but a few like Regenexx have persisted and even become a brand name. I’ve been writing here on The Niche for more than eleven years about stem cell clinics. Regenexx has been around that whole time. Along with its founder Dr. Chris Centeno. Patients have …

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Boning up on stem cells for osteoporosis: good idea, little data so far

osteoporosis, stem cells for osteoporosis

It’s great when an idea like stem cells for osteoporosis just makes so much common sense, but it still requires data. A logical hypothesis is not enough. The point of today’s post is to fact-check the idea of using stem cells for such bone loss. A femur to stand on? Unfortunately, the take-home message is …

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Fact-checking stem cell therapy for autism: still a risky idea

Duke-Curemark-autism-study-pamphlet

The other day I gave a talk in part about stem cell hype and mentioned as an example how the idea of already doing stem cell therapy for autism seems so misguided to me now.  On the whole, in my view there are major downsides and risks for autistic kids whose parents are already having …

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