QuackWatch belittles stem cell treatment

[Rex]

Sorry if this is the wrong forum, I just want as many responses as possible.

Ok please forgive me, Im not calling anyone a fake or anything like that, I am looking to recieve treatment but I found a very disturbing article online today that belittles and is calling stem cell treatment a fake and a fraud.

Please I know alot of you here have recieved treatment in the past and I would like your feedback on such an article. I want to believe so bad that stem cells can help me get better, but its so hard to know who to believe anymore.

They are saying that Embryonic Tissue Centers in the Ukraine, Medra Inc in the DR, Brain Therapeutics Medical clinic in California, Vita Nova Clinic in Barbados and Beijing Xishan are all quacks trying to take sick ppl for alot of money without patients to back up their claims.

I know if many of you have recieved treatsment then youd be more than willing to share your thoughts and back up the clinics that have treated you if progress self improvments were made.

Anyway heres the article http://www.quackwatch.com/06ResearchProjects/stemcell.html

 

[Jeannine]

Rex

I read the article in question and it contains old information from 2000 through 2004. It also only discusses embryonic stem cells which so far have not cured anything. Only adult and umbilical cord stem cells seem to have shown any success.

 

[barbara]

Pioneer or not?

My suggestion would be to concentrate on clinics with good reputations that are willing to give you answers and consult with you. The price should not be exorbitant. For me that is a red flag. As far as the clinics you have mentioned, I do believe that some of them are questionable. This is no different to me than any other facet of life. Some hospitals for instance have excellent reputations, others do not. You do not need to then assume that all hospitals are poor because of a few that have problems. Stem cell therapy is a scientific reality. It is available now. I never even considered embryonic stem cells and I still wouldn't. I saw no need to try something that was not as far advanced or safe in my opinion as umbilical cord or adult stem cells. There are getting to be more and more people all the time that have had successful stem cell therapy. The latest find is a clinic in Colorado where I live. They are doing stem cell treatment for orthopedic patients and the results are pretty outstanding. You may not be ready for stem cell therapy. Not everyone is. That's why we call ourselves the Pioneers. I hope that you can overcome your doubts by asking as many questions of those that have had treatment that you can and researching companies on your own. Any company that is reluctant to discuss treatment with you or one that boasts success about every disease in the world and wants to charge accordingly would go in my caution file for sure.

 

[Technocracy]

Sorry if this is the wrong forum, I just want as many responses as possible.

Ok please forgive me, Im not calling anyone a fake or anything like that, I am looking to recieve treatment but I found a very disturbing article online today that belittles and is calling stem cell treatment a fake and a fraud.

Please I know alot of you here have recieved treatment in the past and I would like your feedback on such an article. I want to believe so bad that stem cells can help me get better, but its so hard to know who to believe anymore.

They are saying that Embryonic Tissue Centers in the Ukraine, Medra Inc in the DR, Brain Therapeutics Medical clinic in California, Vita Nova Clinic in Barbados and Beijing Xishan are all quacks trying to take sick ppl for alot of money without patients to back up their claims.

I know if many of you have recieved treatsment then youd be more than willing to share your thoughts and back up the clinics that have treated you if progress self improvments were made.

Anyway heres the article http://www.quackwatch.com/06ResearchProjects/stemcell.html

This entire forum is here to help shed some light on what stem cells are capable of doing, therapy wise, now.

Posters in this forum who have treatment information in their signatures or avatar names have personally been treated with stem cells. They are posting about their real experiences and what they are seeing for results at regular intervals.

Read what is posted on these forums, and then ask direct questions rather than open ended ones that cannot be answered effectively.

Providing some information on what you are seeking treatment for would also help the other members here help you. Stem cell treatment is not effective against every affliction, nothing can be. Without knowing what you are trying to treat, nobody can give you a meaningful answer as to whether or not stem cell therapy can do anything for you.



As for the article you linked, as has been pointed out by Jeannine, one of the people that has had stem cell therapy, that article is over a year old.

Are there people and companies out there trying to scam desperate people out of large sums of money?
Absolutely, that has been around since long before the internet. Fraud is not a new crime by any stretch of the imagination. The internet just makes it faster and easier to defraud people.

Are the companies in that article legitimate or fraudulent?
The article says they are fraudulent, and nobody on here has posted about experiences with these companies that I am aware of so we have no refutational information. Take from that what you will.

Are there companies doing legitimate therapy with stem cells?
Yes there are. A number of members on this forum have had stem cell therapy. They are posting about their results as they develop. You would be hard pressed to find more current information than that.

Can stem cell therapy help me?
That depends on what you are seeking therapy for. That also determines what company would be able to treat you, they don't all treat the same things.

 

[hlichten]

I agree with the replies so far.

It is impossible to fully and accurately determine what is quackery and what is true medicine right now in stem cell therapy. To some extent, it is a matter of opinion. Anyone who gets substantially better following a treatment is unlikely to consider that they have been subject to fake medicine.

I have had two treatments. The first did nothing, but I can not say that I was subject to quackery, even though I was and am not satisfied with all aspects of the treatment I had.

It did not stop me from learning everything that I could, and going last week for a second treatment.

This forum exists for the public and private exchange of information.

Stem cell treatment today is an expensive "roll of the dice" to a certain extent. Odds of success can be increased by gathering as much information as possible.

It would (as has been said here) seem to be bad judgment to pay big money for embryonic treatment, or (in my opinion) ANY money for such treatment right now. Not enough research has gone into it at this point.

Several clinics mentioned in the article are clinics I have read about and would not consider going to now or ever.

However, keep in mind that doctors in the course of history have been labeled as "quacks" for trying any treatment that had never been tried before. Some were, and some were not. Some were true pioneers in their field of study.

Years from now we will know the truth, right now we make an educated guess.

 

[chris63]

to naysayer

why is it people will spend thousands on chemo for cancer with the hope that it will "cure" the cancer. all chemo can do right now is possibly put it into remission. stem cell is at least less hazerdous and could possibly work better. either way its a crap shoot. personally i'm more interested in trying to live rather than trying to sit and vegatate.

 

[Jeannine]

chris63

Good for you - you share my outlook. I came here to live and I plan to live as long as I possibly can. Other than anitbiotics I have yet to see any drug actually "cure" anyone.

It appears to me that many people are truly afraid to try anything new. That's why this site is for those who share that pioneer spirit. Hopefully we will pave the way to have this type of treatment available in the US.

 

[babsnew5]

Stem cell help needed

Hi
My name is Barbara , I have talked a little about stem cell in the past .I have COPD and have spoken to DR. F a few weeks ago about stem cell.I also want to know if there is a place in Germany that does stell cell transplant if so can you tell me where. After the holidays are over I am going to go somewhere for stem cells. I am just waiting for the holidays.I am glad to hear of all your progress. I have told several people at my PUlm Rehab about your website .At this time I am on steroids and my FEV1 is 39% but without steroids I have only 25% so I am going in to the transplant center in a couple of weeks to talk about a double lung transplant. But I really don't want to do that . Can anyway who has been through the lung transplant tell me about it. compared to the stem cell.
Thanks I appreciate anything you can help me with. Oh yes I am only 54 yrs old and they say the lung transplant is usually on good for 5yrs
Barbara G

 

[Jeannine]

Hi Barbara

One of our members has a lung transplant in 2001. Here is his story that he posted here several months ago. I am pasting here so you can read about his experiences.

Hello all
My name is Tony Hamel aka Tony in Dallas. I have been around the COPD groups for a long time now. Somewhat over 8 years. I have been a member for EFFORTS, COPD-Support, COPD-International, Transplant-Support, Cure 4 CF and COPD and Live Cell and Stem Cell Therapy Groups.
I have gleaned a lot of information over the last number of years. I learned about my disease mostly through the internet and these groups.
I did have a single left lung transplant on Feb 11, 2001. It was rough going for a while but I made it through. My new lung never functioned as it was supposed to. It never got over 45%. It should have gone to 60 to 70%. I just had some rare complicaitons. My lung function before transpalnt was 9% of normal so at that time a lung transplant was my only option. Stem cells were hardly heard of at all. If I would have known, I would have gone for the stem cells. $20,000 is a lot better than $400,000. Shoot 2 days in ICU cost $20,000.
Well, I have had some complications and infections that have taken me back down to 25% lung function and making an effort to get relisted for another transplant.
BUT, after hearing about this group and that stem cells have been sucessfully used for lungs, I sure want more information. I have already had Live Cell Therapy in Algodones, Mexico from Dr. Diaz.
Money will be a problem. Right now my co-pays for my meds run 450 to 500 per month. My yearly medical costs are $7000 and I have Cigna insurance.
I did start a site for Live Cell Thearpy when I found out what they could do.
They do not cure but give the receipent a better quality of life. Some are outstanding in their outcome. Mine was just a little as my drugs did interfere with the live cells.
I am very much looking forward to stem cells and with a great anticipitation they will work for me even though I have had a lung transplant.
I also have a brother-iin-law that we sure want to look into stem cell treatment for his Alzheimers. He is at stage 5 and going down quickly now. I pray he can get a stem treatment quickly as he needs it more than I.
This excites me more than you know.
I have been waiting for this. I knew when I first heard of stem cell treatments, that it was going to be the cure for many diseases.
God willing, I will be able to get a treatment soon.
Tony Hamel
Keep on keepin' on
Tony in Dallas
Left Lung Transplant Feb 11,2001 St Paul Medical, Dallas, Texas
www.geocities.com/thamel5038

 

[barbara]

To Barbara from Barbara

There is indeed a company in Germany doing adult stem cells. They have not done treatment on anyone with COPD yet, but they are willing to try. The company is XCell-Center and Harv has posted about his recent visit there. You have talked to Dr. F which is also good. I think you need to continue your research, stay active on the forum, ask all the questions you want and pay special attention to the post that Tony did that Jeannine posted. The Ask the Doctor forum in December will be hosted by XCell-Center and it might be a good time for you to submit a question or two to my e-mail about your condition and I will then submit it to them for an answer. I personally would steer clear of any transplant if at all possible. You could always opt for that if stem cell therapy did you no good, which in my opinion is not likely. Once, you have transplanted lungs, there is no turning back and there is no guarantee of success with that operation either.