Injured Argentine winger Angel Di Maria may be resorting to unproven stem cell therapy
Posted: July 12, 2014 at 5:44 pm
Im not betting on it, but if, by some miracle, Argentine winger Angel Di Maria is on the pitch against Germany Sunday in the 2014 World Cup final, get ready for another explosion of interest in stem cell therapy, a now familiar occurrence every time a famous athlete undergoes the treatment.
Di Maria, who either tore or strained a thigh muscle in Argentinas World Cup win over Belgium, is so determined to play in the final that, according to some reports, he is having the muscle injected with stem cells in the hope of healing by Sunday. (This Associated Press report from Thursday said he was practicing at 60 to 80 percent, so Im guessing were talking about a strain.)
If those reports are true, Di Maria will join a long line of elite athletes who have resorted to the unproven and possibly risky therapy. This kind of stem cell therapy is experimental in every sense of the word, according to the International Society for Stem Cell Research. There also is some evidence that the procedure can promote tumor growth or create an immune response to a patients own cells, or that injected stem cells might migrate to another part of the body.
Never mind. There is soccer to be played!
No one denies that stem cells hold promise as a therapy down the road, perhaps in as little as five or 10 years, says Kevin McCormack, communication director for the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine. With $3 billion supplied by voters in a 2004 ballot initiative, the organization is funding trials of the use of stem cell therapies for scarring after heart attacks, sickle cell anemia, leukemia and other conditions.
But for now, stem cells are known to be effective only for certain disorders of the blood, immune system and bone marrow. Beyond that, little has been proven, although clinics in the United States and around the world are offering the therapy and raking in bucks from desperate patients.
Di Maria may even see some benefits, McCormack said. In theory, they might [help] because they may have an anti-inflammatory effect or they may stimulate the bodys own natural healing, he said. But the problem is that they havent done any research to prove that.
The stem cells are harvested from a patients bone marrow and sometimes run through a centrifuge to concentrate them. Then they are injected into the damaged tissue.
For athletes, who are always looking for ways to prolong their careers and bounce back from injury, the fad began in 2010, when Major League pitcher Bartolo Colon had a slurry of stem cells that can turn into a variety of tissues injected into his injured elbow and shoulder. Within months, he was throwing 93 mile per hour fastballs for the New York Yankees. Later, Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning, one of the most famous athletes in the United States, reportedly had stem cell therapy on his injured neck.
McCormack and others express concern that when pro athletes and other celebrities have unproven treatments, it sends the rest of us weekend warriors out in search of the same. Here a good bit of blame goes to us in the media. A 2012 analysis conducted for the journal Molecular Therapyshowed that 72.7 percent of the media coverage of athletes and stem cell therapy didnt address whether the treatment works, and 42 percent referred to alleged benefits. Only 5.7 percent of the stories brought up possible safety issues and risks.
Link:
Injured Argentine winger Angel Di Maria may be resorting to unproven stem cell therapy
- CAR T-Cell Immunotherapy for ALL - National Cancer Institute - October 27th, 2015
- Gene Therapy and Cell Therapy Defined | ASGCT - American ... - October 20th, 2015
- StemCell Therapy MD - October 3rd, 2015
- Stem Cell Therapy in Mexico - May 8th, 2015
- Autologous Adipose Tissue Derived Stromal Vascular Fraction Cells Application In Patients - Video - May 1st, 2015
- Platelet Rich Plasma Injections For Chronic Pain Relief May Help You Avoid Sugery - Video - May 1st, 2015
- Stem Cell Treatment for COPD | StemRx Bioscience Solutions - Video - April 25th, 2015
- Stem Cell Therapy Market in Asia-Pacific to 2018 - Video - April 22nd, 2015
- Phytoscience Philipine celebrity Share good effect of stem cell Therapy - Video - April 18th, 2015
- STEM CELL therapy incredible results for severe MS - Video - April 18th, 2015
- Clinical Benefits of Stem Cell Therapy - Video - April 18th, 2015
- NYC Health & Longevity Center Now Offering Stem Cell Therapy to Avoid Joint Replacement - April 13th, 2015
- U.S. Stem Cell Clinic: What Conditions Can Be Treated? - Video - April 12th, 2015
- Stem Cell Therapy In USA - April 12th, 2015
- Stem Cell Therapy for Pain - Now Available at Columbia Pain Management - Video - April 11th, 2015
- What is Stem Cell Therapy- Trinity Spine and Wellness Center New Port Richey - Video - April 11th, 2015
- U.S. Stem Cell Clinic: How long will my recovery take? - Video - April 11th, 2015
- U.S. Stem Cell Clinic: Stem Cell Banking - Video - April 11th, 2015
- U.S. Stem Cell Clinic: What is Stem Cell Therapy? - Video - April 11th, 2015
- U.S. Stem Cell Clinic: How is Stem Cell Therapy Performed? - Video - April 11th, 2015
- U.S. Stem Cell Clinic: When should I expect to see results? - Video - April 11th, 2015
- Can PRP and Stem Cell Therapy Help You? | Orlando Orthopaedic Center - Video - April 3rd, 2015
- Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell (iPSC) Industry Complete Report 2015 - 2016 - April 3rd, 2015
- Stem Cell Therapy for Neuromuscular Diseases | InTechOpen - March 31st, 2015
- Arizona Pain Stem Cell Institute Now Offering Stem Cell Therapy to Help Patients Avoid Hip and Knee Replacement - March 31st, 2015
- Center of Regenerative Orthopedics in South Florida Now Offering Stem Cell Therapy to Help Avoid Hip and Knee ... - March 31st, 2015
- Ask Dr. Lemper | Stem Cell Therapy Treatments - Video - March 29th, 2015
- No stem cell treatment for public servant's dodgy knee - March 26th, 2015
- Stem Cell Therapy - Lilli Donovan - Video - March 25th, 2015
- Stem Cell Research - Stem Cell Treatments - Treatments ... - March 25th, 2015
- What is "Stem cell therapy" ? | Steps in PRP Treatment : TV5 News - Video - March 23rd, 2015
- Stem cell clinics under govt scanner - March 22nd, 2015
- SuperCells at Centre for Life - Video - March 21st, 2015
- Knee arthritis 3 years after stem cell therapy by Harry Adelson, N.D. - Video - March 21st, 2015
- Stem Cell Injection Treatment Stem Cell Therapy - Video - March 21st, 2015
- stem cell therapy di indonesia Jakarta tangerang serpong bsd bintaro - Video - March 21st, 2015
- The Alpha Clinic for Cell Therapy and Innovation | City of Hope - Video - March 20th, 2015
- Amniotic Stem Cell Therapy Discussed by R3 (844) GET-STEM - Video - March 20th, 2015
- Stem cell therapy may help treat type 2 diabetes - March 20th, 2015
- CAR T-Cell Therapy - Nebraska Medicine - Video - March 18th, 2015
- Stem Cell Therapy- Sci Video2 - Video - March 18th, 2015
- Stem Cell Therapy Now Being Offered for NonHealing Wounds at Telehealth's Three Regenerative Medicine Clinics - March 17th, 2015
- Stem Cell Research & Therapy | Full text | Amnion-derived ... - March 15th, 2015
- High-Dose Immunosuppressive Therapy and Autologous ... - March 15th, 2015
- Miracle stem cell therapy reverses multiple sclerosis - Video - March 14th, 2015
- Hip and shoulder arthritis six months after bone marrow stem cell therapy by Harry Adelson ND - Video - March 13th, 2015
- Stem Cell Therapy Network - Video - March 12th, 2015
- Stem Cell Therapy Cream - Video - March 9th, 2015
- BioLogic Stem Cell Therapy Cream - Video - March 8th, 2015
- World Over - 2015-02-26 - Vatican latest, ISIS, stem cell therapy, Ray Flynn with Raymond Arroyo - Video - March 8th, 2015
- Shoulder Labral Tear Repair Using Stem Cell Therapy - Orthopedic Surgeon, Dr. Wade McKenna - Video - March 6th, 2015
- What Makes Riordan-McKenna Institute Different? Stem Cell Therapy for Orthopedics - Video - March 6th, 2015
- Overcoming Knee Replacement Surgery Faster Using Amniotic Tissue-Enhanced Stem Cell Therapy - Video - March 6th, 2015
- Stem Cell Therapy in Osteo Arthritis Knee - Video - March 6th, 2015
- stem cell therapy helps avoiding knee surgery - Video - March 6th, 2015
- Stem cell therapy in AKI Dr Mohamed Kamal - Video - March 6th, 2015
- Stem Cell Therapy for Bone Fractures - Board-Certified Orhopedic Surgeon, Wade McKenna DO - Video - March 5th, 2015
- Procedure Overview - The STEM CELL ORTHOPEDIC INSTITUTE of Texas - Video - March 5th, 2015
- Glen Wysoki at The STEM CELL ORTHOPEDIC INSTITUTE of Texas - Video - March 5th, 2015
- Shoulder/Hip torn labrum 2 years and 5 months (respectively) after stem cell therapy by Adelson - Video - March 1st, 2015
- Animal cells for a younger you - March 1st, 2015
- 'Miracle' stem cell therapy reverses multiple sclerosis - March 1st, 2015
- Stem cell therapy a boon to Parkinson's patients - February 27th, 2015
- Stem Cell Research & Therapy | Full text | Aromatic ... - February 23rd, 2015
- Why Stem Cell Therapy? - Video - February 22nd, 2015
- What is Bone Marrow Aspirate Concentrate (BMAC) in Stem Cell Therapy? - Video - February 21st, 2015
- Dr Ellis hosts seminar on Stem Cell Therapy & Facial Rejuvenation - Video - February 17th, 2015
- Hip arthritis 3.5 years after stem cell therapy by Harry Adelson, N.D. - Video - February 16th, 2015
- How about Stem Cell Therapy for LBD, Nova Cells Institute stem cells - Video - February 14th, 2015
- Stem Cell Therapy for Erectile Dysfunction - Alvarado Hospital - Video - February 14th, 2015
- Cell Therapy may have just raised $1M, but will crowdfunding have a lasting place in biotech? - February 10th, 2015
- International Stem Cell completes cell bank manufacturing for Parkinson's disease clinical trial - February 4th, 2015
- Tampa stem cell clinic is long on promises, not evidence - February 1st, 2015
- Denver Regenerative Medicine - What is regenerative medicine? - Video - January 30th, 2015
- Cell Trials - January 26th, 2015
- "She's Happy" RMG's next Stem Cell Miracle - Video - January 21st, 2015
- Nutech Mediworld - Pioneering human embryonic stem cell therapy - Video - January 21st, 2015
- Stem Cell Therapy | Recent Strides Quell Stem Cell Debate - Video - January 20th, 2015
- Dr Sherif Stem cell therapy on OA - Video - January 18th, 2015
- Live100 Hospitals - Stem Cell Therapy - Video - January 16th, 2015