The New York State Attorney General (AG) filed suit this week against a Manhattan stem cell clinic. It’s a landmark case. The defendants are Image Plastic Surgery, LLC, Park Avenue Stem Cell, and Joel B. Singer, M.D. The clinic markets adipose stem cell injections for a variety of health conditions. Park Avenue Stem had belonged […]
Why NY AG suit against Manhattan stem cell clinic is such a big deal Read More »
Institutional review boards or IRBs are some of the biggest enablers of risky, unproven stem cell clinics. We often see statements on stem cell clinic websites to the effect that they have approvals from IRBs so the clinic firms must think that patients like to see that. Why would specific IRBs approve for-profit “experiments” by
FDA needs to quickly act against IRBs enabling risky fat stem cell clinics Read More »
Stem cells for baldness? Where does that stand? Can hair loss be reversed using stem cells? I get asked these kinds of questions regularly here on The Niche that all converge on the issue of whether there might be a stem cell treatment for baldness soon. For that reason every couple of years I do
Stem cells for baldness: any progress in 2019? Read More »
Japan is a leader in stem cell and regenerative medicine research, and in particular in clinical translation toward the bedside. Induced pluripotent stem cell (IPSC)-based investigational therapies are rightly an area of focus in Japan given their invention by Nobel Laureate Shinya Yamanaka. Small clinical studies based on IPSC have been initiated there for several
Japan stem cell clinical studies rapidly piling up Read More »
Over the last couple of years the marketing of unproven clinic injections of non-FDA-approved stem cells seems in open-throttle mode. What used to just be on the web here and there is now on billboards, newspapers, flyers, infomercials, and on TV. It’s possible that millions of dollars are being spent yearly on advertising this stuff,
Stem $ell$: clinic marketeers dangle big bucks to docs Read More »
In a surprising development, the United States government (FDA and DOJ) and the stem cell clinic firm, US Stem Cell (USRM), Inc., that it has sued seeking a permanent injunction, have agreed on something! According to new court records on Pacer (see screenshot), they have both given up on mediation in the federal lawsuit. Further,
Clinic biz US Stem (USRM) may be kaput in matter of weeks or months Read More »
Maybe the announcement that Commissioner Scott Gottlieb will be leaving the FDA soon shouldn’t have caught us all off-guard, but it did. Gottlieb isn’t a perfect Commissioner, but he brought a sensible, open approach to running the FDA that was very refreshing. Amongst all the top leadership in the Trump administration, Scott Gottlieb stood out
Scott Gottlieb leaving FDA: possible reasons, impact on stem cell field, & more Read More »
Every so often here on The Niche I list science and news articles worth a look as “weekend reads”. Below is my list for this weekend. Enjoy! The first article doesn’t really fit into the other main categories, but the title “herding brains” caught my eye. Stem Cells Stem cells and regenerative capacity in aging
Weekend reads include herding brains, stem cells, & CRISPR Read More »
When I was a kid there was this commercial on TV for Chiffon margarine (fake butter) with the slogan, “It’s not nice to fool mother nature!” As a kid I thought it was dumb but kind of funny. A modified version of that mother nature advertising slogan has become a cultural tagline. Don’t mess with
Don’t mess with (mother) Nature: why risk taking on a powerhouse journal? Read More »
Who are the top stem cell and regenerative medicine influencers to follow on Twitter and elsewhere in 2019? Terrapin asked this kind of broad question to some within our community about 5 years ago and came up with a Top 50 list of stem cell influencers, which I like to joke I was “at the top
50 stem cell influencers on Twitter to follow in 2019 Read More »