Dr. Payne comments
From Dr. Payne -
I skimmed this piece and cut & pasted what appear to be this writer's 3 main objections to use of adult stem cells for therapeutic intervention (My comments follow):
Blog:
"But this decreased risk using the adult stem cell does not necessarily indicate that adult stem cell therapy is safe, free of dangers. Even if the adult stem cells are harvested from one?s own body, serious problems and dangers can present if those cells are not handled safely, appropriately controlled or have undergone any chemical or genetic manipulated while in culture."
Dr. Payne
This is absolutely on target and something that 'yours truly' and many others involved in the adult stem cell field strongly advocate. There are undoubtedly some private commercial stem cells operations that operate labs that do not conform to GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) standards or which use independent labs that may not conform to these. However, many more appear to operate or use labs that do. In light of this, I have argued and still do that patients should do their "due diligence" when it comes to gaining assurances (certification) that the stem cell clinic, hospital or research center whose services they are considering utilizing has or uses a lab that conforms to GMP standards and has suitably trained scientists and technicians.
Blog:
"In vitro (i.e. in culture) manipulation of adult stem cells can lead to dangerous and unpredictable changes within the adult stem cell or lead to a contamination that could cause great harm to a patient, even death. Adult stem cell therapies should be regulated with GMP standards. Scientific technicians should be certified and trained to do this work. Well, at least that is what I would demand."
Dr. Payne
See above. No argument here.
Blog:
"The other danger with using any stem cell treatment (that being adult or embryonic) is what I call ?positional effects?. That is, where the stem cell is placed back in the body of the patient could negatively impact safety of the patient. Try shooting a syringe full of adult stem cell osteoblasts inside a human brain and let?s see how safe that will be. Not on me you won't."
Dr. Payne:
The adult stem cells being utilized in most clinics and hospitals I have surveyed (worldwide) are typically cord blood (allogenic) or bone marrow (autologous) derived. The applications and delivery methods vary widely, as do the cell types utilized, e.g., cord CD34+AC133, cord mesenchymal, bone marrow mesenchymal, bone multilineage adult progenitor cells, etc., so it is difficult to rule out the possibility that some patients have had progenitor or stem cells that might be naturally primed to become one kind of cell ending up in a organ or tissue where such cells really do not belong. This said, there have been tens of thousands of adult stem cell procedures done worldwide including infusion of cord and marrow derived progenitor and stem cells into the central nervous system of people with all kinds of neurologic diseases, injuries and conditions, and the simple fact is that post-treatment horror stories have not poured in -- either in the popular press nor in medical journals. Yes, stories concerning (typically) mild HvG (Host versus Graft) and infections related to treatments have popped up now and then down through the years. In addition and most recently, there was the widely publicized case of a child who developed slow growing tumors after receiving a transplant of fetal cells into his brain. But are reports literally pouring in of people treated years back with various kinds of adult stem cells winding up with serious complications or conditions spawned by their progenitor or stem cell treatment? In a word, no. Given this, I see no ethical dilemma or scientific compromise in legitimate, appropriately licensed and staffed private stem cell clinics, hospitals or research centers treating people with intractable or incurable conditions with condition or disease-specific adult stem cells or for people so afflicted seeking out such care from said clinics, hospitals or research centers. Nota bene: I cover many of the issues and questions that patients should be asking of these private stem cell treatment operations in this article: "For Those Considering Doing Stem Cell Therapy Abroad" -
http://www.healingcare4u.org/stem-cell-therapy-abroad.html
Barbara: This is why ASCTA efforts focus on SAFE stem cell treatment.
Dr. Payne's credentials:
Anthony G. Payne, Ph.D.
Biological Theoretician, Senior Science Writer & Interim Director of Clinical Research
Weller Health Institute & Laboratory
3103 South El Camino Real
San Clemente, CA. 92673
Also: Patient Educator-Liaison for Nepsis Institute (Mexico)
Coauthor of Umbilical Cord Stem Cell Therapy and Health Benefits of K2
Blogger's credentials:
