Skip to content
The Mindanao Examiner Regional Newspaper

The Mindanao Examiner Regional Newspaper

Title

Name

Primary Menu
  • Home
  • Mindanao
  • Visayas
  • National
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • International
  • SciTech
  • Health & Wellness
  • Sports
  • About Us
    • Regional Advertising Rates
    • Contact Us
    • Profile
  • Home
  • International
  • Patients warned against unproven stem cell treatments after 3 women blinded – CBC News
  • Featured
  • Health
  • International

Patients warned against unproven stem cell treatments after 3 women blinded – CBC News

Editor March 16, 2017

Doctors are warning against clinics that provide unproven stem cell therapies, citing the case of three patients who were blinded after undergoing a treatment meant to help with macular degeneration.

“There’s a lot of hope for stem cells, and these types of clinics appeal to patients desperate for care who hope that stem cells are going to be the answer. But in this case, these women participated in a clinical enterprise that was off-the-charts dangerous,” said Thomas Albini, associate professor of clinical ophthalmology at the University of Miami.

Albini is co-author of a paper documenting the cases published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The three women, aged 72 to 88, all suffered from macular degeneration, a progressive disease of the retina that leads to loss of vision.

After their treatment at a clinic in Florida, all had complications, including detached retinas, hemorrhage and complete loss of vision. They may never regain their sight, Albini said.

The “devastating outcomes” experienced by the women raise the “need for oversight of such clinics and for the education of patients by physicians and regulatory bodies,” the paper said.

The clinic, which wasn’t named in the paper, took fat cells from patients’ abdomens and a standard blood sample. The fat tissue was processed with enzymes to obtain stem cells, then mixed with plasma and injected into their eyes.

According to the paper, the women believed they were taking part in a clinical trial, as they had learned of the clinic’s work on the ClinicalTrials.gov database run by the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

However, listings on ClinicalTrials.gov are not scrutinized for scientific soundness, according to study co-author Dr. Jeffrey Goldberg, chair of ophthalmology at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

In addition, the written information provided to the patient did not mention participation in a clinical trial, review or approval by an institutional review board as would be required in a clinical trial.

There is no evidence the method used at the clinic could have helped restore vision, said Goldberg.

Stem cells have shown promise in restoring vision in some reputable trials, and that has raised hope for treatment among patients.

However, there is little evidence that the type of stem cells gathered by the clinic could have matured into the retinal or photoreceptor cells that legitimate researchers say are needed to treat macular degeneration, he said.

“There is a lot of very well-founded evidence for the positive potential of stem therapy for human diseases, but there’s no excuse for not designing a trial properly,” Goldberg said.

It should have been a “red flag” that the patients had to pay for their treatment — about $5,000 US each, the paper said. It is unlikely legitimate research would be funded by patient fees.

The doctors say patients should also check if anything purporting to be a clinical trial is affiliated with an academic medical centre and inform themselves about stem cell treatments.

Unproven stem cell therapies have been multiplying throughout the U.S. Clinics were able to operate without approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) because stem cells are not considered to be drugs. However, as of April 2016, new rules on human cells and tissue require FDA oversight and approval for such procedures.(Susan Noakes, CBC News)

Link: http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/stem-cell-therapy-blinds-patients-1.4026734

fb-share-icon
Tweet 20

Continue Reading

Previous: Thousands participate in International Women’s Month celeb
Next: Rebels raid house of police agent in Kidapawan City

Related News

PhilHealth1
  • Health

PhilHealth Speeds Up Payments, releases over P592M to NKTI in less than 5 Months

Editor May 29, 2025
Bountiful-harvest
  • Featured
  • Mindanao Post

Aquaponics to conservation: How a young farmer is growing change

Editor May 28, 2025
BARMM-Ministry-of-Health
  • Health
  • Mindanao Post

BARMM health ministry calls for vigilance against MPOX

Editor May 23, 2025

Trending News

Manny Pacquiao Returns to Rewrite History – The Fight That Will Inspire a Nation Pacquiao 1
  • Sports

Manny Pacquiao Returns to Rewrite History – The Fight That Will Inspire a Nation

May 29, 2025
Optum Philippines celebrates first anniversary of Davao Hub and Davaoeño talent MAJ03649 2
  • Business

Optum Philippines celebrates first anniversary of Davao Hub and Davaoeño talent

May 29, 2025
PhilHealth Speeds Up Payments, releases over P592M to NKTI in less than 5 Months PhilHealth1 3
  • Health

PhilHealth Speeds Up Payments, releases over P592M to NKTI in less than 5 Months

May 29, 2025
BARMM brings medical missions to IDP shelters in Marawi Health-mission 4
  • Mindanao Post

BARMM brings medical missions to IDP shelters in Marawi

May 28, 2025
911 in Camiguin town logs over 500 calls since January Service-expansion 5
  • Mindanao Post

911 in Camiguin town logs over 500 calls since January

May 28, 2025
  • Facebook
  • X
  • YouTube
  • Blog
Copyright © 2025. The Mindanao Examiner Regional Newspaper. All Rights Reserved. | MoreNews by AF themes.