StemCell Therapy

The death of a woman after she was treated with stem cells at a private clinic in Thailand has reinforced warnings for desperate sick people to avoid stem-cell tourism the gamble of undergoing untested stem-cell treatments in unlicensed private clinics abroad.

Post-mortem results reported this week reveal that the stem-cell treatment almost certainly killed the woman, who had been suffering from kidney disease. She developed strange lumps in the kidney, liver and adrenal gland.

So what are the implications for stem cell research generally, and is it safe for clinical trials to continue? New Scientist has some answers.

What was wrong with the patient, and what treatment did she receive?

She had lupus nephritis, a condition in which the bodys own immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys the kidneys. Usually it can be kept in check with immunosuppressive steroids, but when these failed, the woman turned to a private stem-cell clinic in Bangkok.

How would stem cells help?

Bona-fide trials in European clinics about six years ago showed that some people with similar kidney disease benefited if stem cells from their own bone marrow were injected into their blood. The bodys immune system was first deliberately destroyed with powerful immunosuppressive drugs, then the reinjected stem cells helped to stop the attacks on the kidney by rebuilding and rebalancing the immune system. About a third of the 50 recipients relapsed after a year or so, and 12 of these people died. But around two-thirds saw benefits, with some going into remission.

So what happened with the woman who went to Bangkok?

Continue reading here:
Death revives warnings about rogue stem cell clinics - New ...

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