science news

Injections of Hope: Doctors Promote Offshore Stem Cell Shots, but Some Patients Cry Foul

By Brian Vastag, Special to The Washington Post | Tuesday, September 2, 2008; HE01

A vast human experiment is afoot. And no one is taking good notes.

Fueled by demand from desperate patients, dozens of companies around the globe are peddling stem cell injections for $15,000 to $50,000 and more. Based merely on the claims made by these companies, at least a few thousand patients from the United States have paid for stem cells overseas.

continue

Nov 20th 2008  |  From The Economist print edition

Stem-cell medicine takes a step forward

Ms. Castillo relaxes

IN THE hierarchy of transplant surgery, replacing a bronchus (the passage from the main windpipe, the trachea, into a lung) does not sound difficult compared with, say, plumbing in a new heart. In fact, until a few months ago, it had never been attempted. The reason was not that the surgery itself would be hard, but that the tissue in question, which is the first line of defence against the bacteria and viruses that come with every lungful of air, has a remarkably active immune response. So active, indeed, that if you transferred part of an airway from one person to another, the resulting immunological conflict would probably kill the recipient. Since a weak bronchus, though debilitating, is seldom life-threatening, transplant surgeons have left well-enough alone.

continue