A brief report in the NEJM today highlights the risks facing patients who get stem cell treatment from dubious clinics as one such patient recently developed a large spinal tumor. Dr. Aaron L. Berkowitz and colleagues describe how this patient who received a mixture of several stem cell types from an overseas clinic was later diagnosed …
Patient gets cancer growing on spine from dubious stem cell treatment Read More »
Remember good old Celltex? That’s the Texas stem cell clinic with the famous patient, former Texas Governor and two-time GOP Presidential hopeful, Rick Perry. It ran afoul of the FDA and headed for the border, setting up shop in Cancun, Mexico. They have since mostly flown under the radar with the exception of their concerning …
Tex-Mex Stem Cell Clinic, Celltex, on PR roll with young & famous patients Read More »
Both current and former professional sports stars are lining up to get stem cell “treatments” of various kinds for all sorts of injuries and medical conditions including now Bart Starr. The aging stars who have received stem cell interventions include former San Francisco 49ers quarterback John Brodie (age 79) and more recently hockey legend, Gordie …
More info on Bart Starr unproven clinic stem cell treatment Read More »
NFL Hall of Fame player Bart Starr has reportedly turned to stem cells for hope after having a series of strokes in 2014. The Starr family made a statement that Bart, now 81 years old, was accepted into a clinical trial using stem cells. This seems similar to the stem cell path that the family …
In Bart Starr stem cell treatment for stroke, following Howe to Mexico? Read More »
Popular Science recently did a piece on stem cell clinics that has raised some red flags. The concerns in this case are not necessarily about the clinics per se, but rather the actual article itself. There are a lot of stem cell clinics out there and for years they had a pretty consistent strategy of …
Popular Science stem cell clinic article itself raising some red flags Read More »
How much do these stem cell treatments cost? Stem cell treatments of various kinds are now widely available in America at more than 100 stem cell clinics offering non-FDA approved interventions for dozens of conditions. American patients are often recruited on the Internet to travel around the US or to Mexico and other countries. How …
There was a time I used to watch Countdown with Keith Olbermann on a regular basis and for a few years, I really enjoyed it. After a while I kind of lost interest. Today Olbermann does a sports show on ESPN and it’s just not the same. He also seems like he’s not the same …
When I started blogging in 2010 the stem cell arena was a very different place including the fact I could count the number of US stem cell clinics on one hand. This blog, called The Niche for many years, was just “Knoepfler Stem Cell Blog” back then. Also, back then the hot topic was the …
Stem cell clinics, FDA, & giant, unapproved for-profit human experiments Read More »
The Texas stem cell clinic Celltex was one of the most controversial businesses in the world of stem cells in 2012 and 2013 (see here for background and as an update see this new post on how the Texas clinic has teamed up with a local university). The FDA essentially shut down the Celltex clinical …
Arthritis Foundation Sell Out To Stem Cell Clinic Celltex? Read More »
One of the bigger stem cell stories in the past week was that hockey legend Gordie Howe had received a stem cell ‘treatment” that had “miraculous” positive effects after having a few strokes over the last couple months. (update: see more on celebrities rolling the dice on unproven stem cells here). I am highly skeptical of …
Checking Supposed Stem Cell Miracle for Gordie Howe Read More »