Stem cells, Darth Vader and the high cost of hope and hype …

Darth Vader: Photo by Stefano Buttafoco

Its not very often that you get stories about stem cells that mention Darth Vader, Obi Wan Kenobi, the Pittsburgh Steelers and a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon, but those references all popped up in a recent flurry of articles that are shining yet again the light on many of the unproven, unregulated uses of stem cells to treat everything from arthritis to Parkinsons disease.

Lets start with an article by Associated Press (AP) writer Will Graves who digs into the use of stem cells in sports. Graves does a good job of highlighting all the reasons why an athlete would try a stem cell therapy quoting Dr. Jim Bradley, a team physician with the Steelers:

They want the cutting edge, anything that is cutting edge that can get their guys a couple more years in the league. If I was an agent, Id want the same thing.

But Graves also does a fine job of pointing out that these therapies are unproven, and that in many cases athletes go overseas to get them because those clinics do not have to meet the same strict regulations as clinics here in the US.

Traveling to a place like the Caymans, thats like saying Im going to Mexico to have an appendectomy to save $80,' said Dr. Matthew Matava, head physician for the St. Louis Rams and the NHLs St. Louis Blues. It looks like its not very smart or youre grasping at straws.

He also quotes Dr. Freddie Fu, head physician for the University of Pittsburgh athletics program, saying there is far too much uncertainty to take risks. Fu says in many cases the people delivering the therapies dont even know where these stem cells might go, or what they might do:

You can have one cell be Obi Wan Kenobi, the other is Darth Vader. Youre not sure which way its going to go.

Matthew Perrone starts his piece in the Huffington Post, with a paragraph that is both gripping and disgusting:

The liquid is dark red, a mixture of fat and blood, and Dr. Mark Berman pumps it out of the patients backside. He treats it with a chemical, runs it through a processor and injects it into the womans aching knees and elbows.

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Stem cells, Darth Vader and the high cost of hope and hype ...