A lack of associated preclinical data or meticulously produced evidence of safety or efficacy, limited follow-up of patients, and reporting of adverse events raises great concern. One of the most pressing concerns is that of safety. 5 Although the exact number of stem cell tourists from the UK using these ‘services’ is unknown, it is estimated to be in the hundreds with an increasing number asking medical experts for advice on the practice. These treatments come at a considerable price, with an average cost of $21 400 (approximately £15 000) for a course of treatment. Clinics in countries as close to the UK as Germany list on their websites an A–Z of conditions that they claim to be able to treat, from Alzheimer's disease and autism, through to stroke-related disability. The GMC's stance is that this was a gross abuse of a position of trust, and Dr Trossel was intentionally misleading vulnerable patients, making exaggerated claims, and using illegitimate, unscientific treatments.Ī Google™ search reveals a plethora of similar clinics offering false hope of curing the incurable. Following some investigation, it is doubted whether the substance used contained any form of stem cells at all. Large sums of money, of at least £10 000 per patient, had been forwarded to him in advance of the treatment. It has been reported that nine patients were involved in the case, and that Dr Trossel allegedly injected a substance containing stem cells into at least five of them in his Rotterdam clinic. Media frenzy surrounding the case of Dr Trossel and his dismissal following his controversial advice, and offer of unregulated stem cell treatment to a multiple sclerosis patient, 4 led the General Medical Council (GMC) to conclude he had breached medical practice by ‘exploiting vulnerable patients’. The lack of clinical evidence to support stem cell therapy puts patients at risk of receiving at best ineffective, 2 and at worst unsafe or even harmful treatments, 3 raising calls for a campaign to raise awareness and educate patients about these dangers. The practice is for the most part illegal in the UK, but the proliferation of stem cell clinics in countries such as India, China, Mexico, and Germany, and their subsequent marketing efforts has attracted ‘stem cell tourists’ - patients in search of a cure for their illness. The globalisation of health care 1 has exposed patients to novel treatments they may never have previously encountered, such as stem cell therapy.
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