Stem underground workers are not hindered by prohibitions
Illegal stem cell treatment has flourished in China
Copper news
Three months after the Ministry of Health of the People's Republic of China announced a tightening of the ban on the clinical use of stem cells that have not received official approval, an investigation by Nature magazine revealed the flourishing of illegal stem cell business across the country, Nature News reports (China's stem-cell rules go unheeded).
According to the publication, "clinics operate openly, and their websites on the Internet offer treatment for such serious diseases as Parkinson's disease, diabetes and autism, attracting thousands of medical tourists from all over the world." On the same sites, descriptions of individual cases of alleged improvement in the condition of patients as a result of stem cell therapy are used as advertising.
Some of these clinics are located in large hospital complexes, which, in the words of Nature, "gives them an aura of universal recognition." In addition, the websites of some clinics have photos of their managers together with representatives of local authorities and influential politicians.
In January 2012, the Ministry of Health issued a package of regulatory documents, which, in particular, obliged organizations to register their research and clinical trials, as well as the source of stem cells and ethical procedures. The Ministry also appealed to regional health authorities with a recommendation to prevent the clinical use of unapproved stem cell lines in the field. In addition, it announced a national moratorium on new clinical trials of table cell therapies, emphasizing as a prerequisite the free participation of patients in trials that have already begun.
But despite this, the Ministry has no data on any clinic that would pass the necessary registration, and reports of success in the treatment of many diseases — from autism to multiple sclerosis — with stem cells isolated from umbilical cord blood and adipose tissue continue to arrive. According to Tony Lu, a representative of Shanghai WA Optimum Health Care, four to eight injections of such cells are enough for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, at a price of 30 thousand to 50 thousand yuan (from 4750 to 7900 US dollars) per injection. An employee of the company responsible for patient relations, Karina Grishina, states that autism can be cured by an injection of stem cells from adipose tissue for 200 thousand yuan, followed a few days later by an injection of cells from umbilical cord blood at a price of 50 thousand yuan.
Nature News experts call such a clinical approach anecdotal and emphasize that such therapy cannot yet be ready for clinical use and poses a threat to the health of patients.
In May 2009, the Ministry of Health of China classified stem cell treatment as a Category 3 medical technology, which includes high-risk technologies that require prior official approval of the relevant audit council. However, so far no permission has been granted for the clinical use of stem cells and the efforts of the Chinese government have been found ineffective.
"As of 2009, the number of Chinese companies practicing stem cell therapy has reached 100," says Douglas Sipp, a specialist in ethical and legal issues of the use of stem cells at the Center for Developmental Biology at the RIKEN Institute of Japan. According to him, "the industry continues to grow even after attempts to change the situation made by the Chinese Ministry of Health."
Nature managed to find one company, Shanghai Puhua, which claims that it has already stopped providing stem cell treatment services in full compliance with government requirements.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru13.04.2012