SAN DIEGO – Online stem cell clinics pose a threat to the advancement of regenerative medicine, according to a team of Irish researchers.
"It is imperative that the scientific community is made aware of the threat to stem cell therapy posed by unregulated online clinics," researchers led by Dr. Ruairi Connolly wrote in a poster presented at the World Stem Cell Summit.
"These clinics are harnessing the Internet to attract a wide range of patients suffering from a diverse catalogue of conditions to therapies that are described in an attractive manner. A concerted effort from scientists, researchers, doctors, advocacy groups, and governments alike is required to rapidly address the existing legislative deficiencies to prevent these clinics from offering clinically unproven treatments to vulnerable patients."
Dr. Connolly, of National University of Ireland, Galway, and his associates conducted a web search using five terms: stem cell clinic, stem cell therapy, stem cell treatment center, stem cell cure, and stem cell treatment. Websites were included if they involved stem cells to treat human diseases. Of the 1,091 candidate websites, 68 met the inclusion criteria. The top five countries of origin housing online stem cell clinics were the United States (27), China (12), India (12), Thailand (11), and Mexico (9).
The majority of websites (88%) invited patients to contact them through online comment boxes. "In many instances patients are prompted to initiate contact by the promise of further information following such communication," the researchers wrote. In addition, 29% of clinics had an internationally recognized accreditation, but 65% of these were laboratory-related accreditations and were not pertinent to the clinical applications themselves. About one-third of clinics (34%) mention the number of patients they have treated while 25% provide outcome data and have patented their therapies.
The top 10 indications for stem cell therapy were multiple sclerosis, anti-aging, Parkinson’s disease, stroke, spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy, autism, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, and arthritis.
The top five types of stem cells reportedly used by the clinics were adult autologous (82%), umbilical (19%), adult-allogenic (12%), fetal (10%), and cord blood (9%). More than half of clinics (60%) reported that the stem cells were delivered intravenously.
In the realm of safety, 15% of online clinics state that there is "no risk" involved with stem cell therapy, and 88% claim treatment effectiveness, with 16% "describing the curative potential of therapy," according to Dr. Connolly and his colleagues. In addition, "9% refer to specific research publications to support their outcomes [and] over 40% of sites did not specify the number of treatments required, duration of procedure, or therapeutic course. Almost one-quarter of sites reference contraindications to treatment, with 41% of sites mentioning follow-up patient care."
"It remains beyond doubt that enhanced regulation would benefit vulnerable patients and also [would] protect the unquestionable, immense potential of stem cells as a therapy for human beings," the researchers concluded. "Stem cell therapy is only in its infancy and needs to [be] regulated and monitored adequately today so that it can change the lives of patients tomorrow."
The researchers stated that they had no conflicts of interest.