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Stem cell therapy shows prospects for severe neurological diseases




According to experts at the Meeting of the European Neurological Society in Prague, current research findings give reason to hope that different types of stem cells could open up new prospects in therapy for severe neurological diseases such as stroke, Parkinson's or MS. But given the many unresolved issues, neurologists warn about dangerous promises of cures from unscrupulous providers.

"There are a number of highly promising research findings today, which could pave the way to completely new types of stem cell therapies for severe neurological diseases," Prof Dr Gianvito Martino (San Raffaele Hospital, Milan) said at the 22nd Meeting of the European Neurological Society (ENS) in Prague. "But we need more time to clarify the many unresolved issues on safety and benefits. At the moment, there is one central message for neurological patients: These therapies are still in an experimental stage.

We must urgently warn affected patients not to spend large sums of money to undergo treatments against Parkinson's, MS or stroke that have not yet been adequately tested." Prof Martino went on to say that specialised practitioners in countries inside and outside Europe are enticing severely ill people with false hopes of cures even though the therapies are not yet approved and central safety issues are still not clarified, such as the possibility that stem cell implantation might cause cancer or infections. The market is lucrative. Experts estimate that several billion US-dollars are spent every year worldwide for stem cell treatments.... Read More - http://www.msrc.co.uk/index.cfm/fuseact ... ageid/1406

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