Is a treatment based on stem cells for Parkinson’s Disease on the horizon? A Japanese team of researchers led by Dr. Jun Takahashi, professor at Kyoto University is reportedly aiming to start on human studies of an induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell-based treatment for Parkinson’s Disease (PD) as early as fiscal year (FY) 2014. In […]
Trial of Stem Cells for Parkinson’s Disease on Horizon Read More »
With all the excitement over the potential of stem cells to transform medicine, a key bottleneck is physician training. Just how many doctors in the entire US have years of real experience and training in clinical use of stem cells….hmmm, let’s see….I can only think of a few in the whole country. Yes, it’s really
Crash course stem cell training for docs puts patients at risk Read More »
Over at the Harvard Law “Bill of Health” blog, Mary Ann Chirba and Alice A. Nobel posted a piece entitled “Our Bodies, Our Cells” a few days ago that has generated a lot of discussion about FDA regulation of stem cell interventions. Their piece really has two parts. In the first part they go through
My response to ‘Our Bodies, Our Cells’ Harvard post on deregulation Read More »
Are MUSE cells for real? Stem cells come in different types that vary in a key property called “potency”, but very few are pluripotent. The more potency, the greater the flexibility of a stem cell to make other cell types. Flexibility in the cellular world is power. The most powerful stem cells generally used are
Jury is still out on purported adult pluripotent stem cells despite new MUSE paper Read More »
Today, I would say not a single stem cell-based treatment for baldness being sold out there claiming it works seems promising and legit. (Update: see this 2019 piece on where things stand on stem cells for hair loss.) Sad, huh? Is there reason for hope for stem cells helping hair loss? But there is reason
Stem cells to cure baldness: how would that work & when? Read More »
Remember the electric Stem Cell Bra from Howard Leonhardt? This innovation is hoped by the creators to grow bigger breasts for women via the power of electricity and stem cells. Could this work? How would it work? Is it safe? Are there clinical trials ongoing? Who is the team and what is the rationale behind this
The Stem Cell Bra interview with Howard Leonhardt Read More »
Be my eyes and ears as I look for stem cell ads, especially with hype, that show up in the mainstream media. You might win some cool stem cell swag. When you see such an ad, document it somehow! How? By taking a photo or copying the link if it is on the web or
Contest: find mainstream media stem cell ads Read More »
In this post I propose that researchers and patients advocate together to pressure the stem cell clinic industry to collect and publish such data. Why do I make such a proposal? Many thousands of patients have bought stem cell interventions from non-compliant stem cell clinics. Thousands of others are considering doing so. You can see
Call to patients: let’s advocate together for stem cell clinic publishing Read More »
After several years doing this blog, I have come to the conclusion that when it comes to stem cells, fact is sometimes stranger than fiction and a case in point is the new electronic stem cell bra. It is intended but not proven to augment breast size. Yes, you read that right. The StemCell Bra (seen screen
Electric stem cell bra for breast enlargement Read More »
A new stem cell cosmetic cream, Stemáge, being pitched by former super model Kathy Ireland in YouTube commercials has made a number of claims. They have also used suggestive language that they (or their apparently affiliated company Scharp Technologies) were collaborating with what is, in my opinion, one of the best research institutions in the world:
Sanford-Burnham: We are Not Collaborating with Stemáge Stem Cell Cream Read More »