Stem Cell Research - Protect Consumers from False Claims and Miracles

1952 Words4 Pages

Stem Cell Research - Protect Consumers from False Claims and Miracles

Due to the potential therapeutic uses and the potential profit from stem cells, there has been an increased interest in stem cell research. While some progress has been made, we do not know nearly enough about how stem cells work to use them for the treatment of human diseases. However, there are researchers that claim that they have developed the technology to apply stem cells to the treatment of aging and diseases. Websites such as www.youngeryounger.com and www.medra.com state that they have created a miraculous medical cure, known as cellular therapy, which can treat just about any problem.

Cellular Therapy was invented accidentally in 1931 when Swiss physician, Dr. Paul Niehans, injected parathyroid cells from a calf into a patient with damaged parathyroid glands. Eventually the patient recovered, which Niehans credited to his experimental transplantation of the young calf cells. Realizing the potential curative powers and applicability of his treatment, Niehans pursued the idea of cellular therapy and continued his research in the area of animal-human cell transfer (American Cancer Society, 2002).

So what is cellular therapy? The basic premise behind cell therapy is the injection, transplantation or ingestion (now the treatment comes in oral tablets!) of living or freeze-dried animal tissue from fetuses, embryos or organ's of young animals. The tissue is most commonly taken from sheep, cows, and sharks with sheep being the most optimal donors because they are "vital [and] hardy animals with the best immune systems" and their "proteins are particularly compatible with the human body" (www.youngeryounger.com, 2003). The tissues or cells transplan...

... middle of paper ...

...n cellular therapy so everyone knows what it is and how to prevent themselves from being scammed, or worse, from being harmed.

Sources:

American Cancer Society. 2002. Guide to Complementary and Alternative Methods. Accessed on 10/15/04.

Barrett, S. 2003. Cellular Therapy. Accessed on 10/15/04.

Barrett, S. 2003. The Shady Side of Embryonic Stem Cell Therapy. Accessed on 10/15/04.

Medra, Inc. 2004. Accessed on 10/15/04

OneRom Group, Inc. 2003. Accessed on 10/15/04

U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment. 1990. Unconventional Cancer Treatments, OTA-H-405. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.

More about Stem Cell Research - Protect Consumers from False Claims and Miracles

Open Document