Texas Governor and GOP presidential nominee wannabe, Rick Perry, seems to have stepped in it again when it comes to stem cells. It seems he put the cart before the horse on a grand scale, getting what appears to be an unlawful treatment and only now pleading for it to be legalized after the fact […]
Rick Perry & his first stem cell rodeo: it ain’t pretty Read More »
Another sports stars has been publicly “outed” as having received a non-FDA approved stem cell therapy in a foreign country. First, the big news earlier this year in June was that NY Yankees Pitcher Bartolo Colon had received a stem cell treatment. Then we all heard that Texas Governor and, at the moment, leading GOP
Sports stars, Rick Perry, stem cells: how many more people will die? Read More »
What’s big tent science? As a stem cell scientist I hear all the time about how the pipeline from the lab to the clinic is incredibly slow and terribly inefficient. Meanwhile millions of people have conditions that the current state-of-the-art medicine cannot effectively treat. Somehow we need to make a fundamental change to improve this
Big tent science: new ideas about clinical trials Read More »
We have reached a watershed moment on stem cell tourism. The FBI has gotten very interested in stem cells. In my opinion we are on the cusp of a flood of arrests by the FBI of folks selling illegal stem cell treatments. Selling non-approved FDA stem cell treatments, particular those involving transport of the
FBI seems poised for flood of arrests for stem cell tourism Read More »
With the bewildering amount of news about stem cells, how do we tell the difference between hype and hope? Although the words “hype” and “hope” only differ by one letter, sometimes it is hard to tell them apart in real life, but of course they are very different things. So how do we know when
Stem cell hype: distinguishing it from hope Read More »
The Texas Republican Governor Rick Perry, an opponent of Embryonic Stem (ES) cell research, has reportedly undergone an experimental procedure on his spine involving autologous transplantation of adult stem cells taken from his hip. The procedure, which is not FDA approved and costs tens of thousands of dollars, has no proven track record of success
Tex Guv Rick Perry Gets Stem Cell Treatment: what if ES cells were his only hope? Read More »
Stem Cell Tourism is a blanket term now used to refer to patients receiving non-FDA approved stem cell treatments either by traveling here within the U.S. or more often outside the U.S. Clinics are sprouting up all over the world offering treatments based on stem cells. The science behind these is often non-existent. Most stem
Stem cell tourism disaster coming: my case for caution Read More »
At last year’s ISSCR 2010 Meeting in San Francisco, President Irv Weissman talked about the dangers of unvalidated stem cell treatments. He talked about the responsibility of stem cell scientists to stand against these and the importance for scientists not to endorse or serve on advisory committees of companies peddling such products and “therapies”. As
Stem cell tourism: from bad to worse from 2010-2011 Read More »
Two companies, Advanced Cell Technology (ACT) and Geron, both HQ’d here in California, have FDA-approved early stage clinical trials in the works. Geron’s trial has already started and reportedly now has enrolled at least two patients. The trial is of course for the safety of Geron’s GRNOPC1 oligodendrocyte product made from human ES cells for
Advanced Cell Technology and Geron: allies or competitors? Read More »
There has been a lot of publicity about the reported stem cell treatment of NY Yankees pitcher Bartolo Colon. According to several sources, Colon received his treatment in his native Dominican Republic. Major League Baseball reportedly seems most concerned about this case, at least publicly, because human growth hormone (hGH) might have been used in
Stem cell sports medicine: Bartolo Colon Read More »