New Stem Cell Treatment Watchdog

As patients and families seek cures for devastating diseases from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis to Zellweger Syndrome, stem cell treatment facilities have mushroomed throughout the world.  Consumers have difficulty evaluating the medical claims of these facilities, as well as differentiating between experimental clinical trials and proven therapies.  The International Society for Stem Cell Research recently launched A Closer Look at Stem Cell Treatments web site, through which one can ask for a review of a specific stem cell treatment clinic.  The ISSCR specifically seeks evidence of a clinic’s association with a medical ethics committee, “to protect the rights of a patient,” and “supervision by an official regulatory body such as the European Medicines Agency (EMA) or the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).”