The big news of the week was the big FDA stem cell in court by Judge Jesus Bernal here in California, who ruled in favor of a chain of stem cell clinics called Cell Surgical Network. The FDA had been seeking an injunction against the clinics. I believe the ruling was founded in part on […]
Weekly reads: CRISPR, FDA stem cell loss, pioneering AMD study, MS, Verve Therapeutics Read More »
Exosome therapy is a still-experimental cell therapy approach aimed at treating specific diseases using secretions from cells. It’s novel since most attention on cell therapies has been given to using the actual cells themselves. In addition, this approach is a newer idea than using cells as the drug to treat diseases. Interestingly, the term “cell
Fact-checking exosome therapy: costs, risks, & lack of data Read More »
I’ve tried to find some time to do some stem cell and other regenerative medicine reading too, but it’s been a busy week of teaching for me as a professor in our new academic year for the UC Davis School of Medicine. I help to teach the Histology part of the first-year curriculum. It’s an
Regenerative medicine reads: retraction, FDA warning, CAR-T, ARM CEO Read More »
The first time I heard CAR-T cells referred to as a regenerative medicine it made me stop and think. Are CAR-T therapies really a type of regenerative medicine? Generally, CAR-T cells are a designer immune cell therapy. They work by killing cancer cells and that’s what came to mind to me. I don’t tend to
What are CAR-T cells & are they regenerative medicine? Read More »
I’ve been following the stem cells for COVID arena for more than two years. During this time researchers have launched scores of trials. A few have been published including a new one. It’s been a wild ride that at times has included politics and an odd cast of characters. There was Rick Perry and also Rudy Guiliani getting
A close look at new stem cells for COVID trial pub Read More »
Some unproven stem cell clinics like one called Giostar have multiple locations sprouting up. To me the concern with that spreading is the potential of multiplying risks to consumers. It can be hard to get a clear take on what these clinics are doing too. What’s in this article What is Giostar? | Giostar review |
Giostar stem cell clinic chain review, red flags, & lawsuit Read More »
The last six months I’ve been spending even more time than usual writing NIH grants (and a few others). The last two weeks have been especially busy on this front as I am getting an R01 renewal out the door. My paper reading lately has been mostly related to the grant writing I’m doing. Still,
Weekly reads: NIH grants, side effect of darker hair, FDA warning, CRISPR Read More »
The FDA stem cell clinic problem just continues to grow, while the agency has been oddly quiet in this space for more than a year. It’s been a major disappointment, particularly as in recent years FDA leadership had implied that bold action was coming. Their own words spiked expectations that the agency would tackle unproven
Did COVID derail FDA stem cell clinic plan? Read More »
I grew up in the Seattle area so it wasn’t great to see stem cell clinics operating there recently, but better news was the WA State AG filing suit against a clinic there. The action included the clinic parent firm US Stemology along with its leader Dr. Tami Meraglia. The suit was filed only months ago
WA AG wins half million from Seattle stem cell clinic US Stemology Read More »
The news just keeps getting worse for Missouri state lawmaker Patricia Derges, who was indicted last year by the feds for an alleged stem cell scheme. She is now also being sued by a former patient. Derges, who is not a physician but rather an assistant physician, was providing supposed stem cell or related biological