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Be very wary of this sort of service. I traveled to China about a few years ago and the medical industry appears to be full of charlatans. For instance, doctors often sell medicine directly to patients, with no printed pricing (read: whatever they can get). The stores are full of counterfeit merchandise, which is easily identifiable by the packaging. There are good doctors and China has a long tradition of herbal medicine, but expensive stem cell injections are not part of this tradition. -Archie On Sat, Jun 14, 2008 at 7:08 PM, rayilynlee <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Neurology Now:Volume 4(3)May/June 2008p 10 > THIS WAY IN: To China for Stem Cells > [DEPARTMENTS: THE WAITING] > Schuster, Larry > If you have amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease), > and you've been in a wheelchair for a year or more, this ad from a company > in China for a stem cell therapy (SCT) bolstered by a bone marrow transplant > (BMT) is aimed at you: > 7 SCTs and 1 BMT at a total cost of $33,800.00 USD. > The ad, however, fails to note that no rigorous study has ever been > conducted on the therapies to determine if they have any benefit on the > course of the disease in ALS, in spinal cord injuries, or in any of a large > number of neurological illnesses and conditions for which the company offers > the treatments, which feature cord-blood derived stem cells. > Lucie Bruijn, Ph.D., scientific director and vice president of the ALS > Association, says there's certainly been no evidence that bone marrow > transplants have any value in treating ALS patients. She calls > commercialization of these various unproven cell transplant therapies > unethical. > Sean Hu, Ph.D., chief executive officer of Beike, himself notes the > limitations of the therapy in ALS patients. > Before the treatment they could reach their hand only to the chest. After > treatment they can comb their hair and wash their face, Dr. Hu says. But the > improvements don't last long. That's the problem. Still, he says, many > patients return to repeat the therapy. > Some independent research suggests the immediate improvements sometimes > seen after such treatments may be due to a powerful placebo effect, > triggered in part by intensive community fundraising efforts and support. > Dr. Hu disagrees, saying he believes that growth factors released during > Beike's therapy are responsible. > Several American researchers have tried to find whether the cell treatments > offered by commercial clinics in China have any effect. So far, there's been > no clear evidence of benefit. Dr. Hu says that they hope to have trial data > soon. As we wait for our international trials to start, we believe we should > conduct controlled studies here in China. This is what led us to do the > optic nerve hypoplasia study, which we have worked on with physicians from > the U.S. to make sure that it was designed in a way that will gain > acceptance from the international scientific community. > Yet, after hearing about the billions of dollars allocated for stem cell > research in California and elsewhere and reading the hopeful promotions by > the stem cell clinics and companies, many patients refuse to wait for > evidence of benefit. > I need those stem cells, patients sometimes tell Bruce H. Dobkin, M.D., of > the Reed Neurologic Research Center at the University of California-Los > Angeles, and editor in chief of the journal Neurorehabilitation and Neural > Repair. Usually, he can discourage the patient from going to the stem cell > clinics after talking about what is known about the therapy and the risks, > Dr. Dobkin says. No one has reported a clinically important and lasting gain > of function in patients. > Rayilyn Brown > Director AZNPF > Arizona Chapter National Parkinson Foundation > [log in to unmask] > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto: > [log in to unmask] > In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn