mernster

I think the NYT should have done better job of explaining that not all stem cell treatments are created equal. Associating "stem cell" with scary monster teratoma is not helpful (although I of course feel terrible for this guy and anyone else who has been victimized by this kind of irresponsible "medicine").

Under no circumstances should anyone be injecting embryonic cells into themselves. Clearly, it is unsafe and I'm not sure there's a lot of evidence to show that it does much to alleviate stroke or any other paralyzing condition.

Bone marrow stem cells (mesenchymal stem cells; MSC) on the other hand have a proven safety record, as do several other types of more mature stem cells (cord blood, e.g.). Full disclosure, I'm a partner in Forever Labs (foreverlabs.co), which is a company dedicated to storing bone marrow cells while one is relatively young, so that they can be used later in life. Articles of this type are important, but we need to make sure we don't throw out the baby with the bathwater. Stem cell treatments have a bright future, IMO.

There are companies in the US that will set you up in Mexico or the Cayman islands where the regulations are more favorable (in that they do not exist). It's pretty exciting. FDA is lagging, but it's hard to blame them for caution given all the troubles they've experienced since the 90s.