Close X
Thursday, November 28, 2024
ADVT 
Health

Most stem cell-based cosmetic surgeries fake'

Darpan News Desk IANS, 30 Jul, 2014 07:39 AM
    Next time you come across an advertisement offering cosmetic stem cell procedures not only to give your skin a glowing look but also to stop it from growing old, beware.
     
    Most of such ads claim benefits from procedures that have not undergone rigorous scientific evaluation - including potential risks related to stem cell and tissue processing and the effects of ageing on stem cells, a new research warns.
     
    "Stem cells offer tremendous potential but the marketplace is saturated with unsubstantiated and sometimes fraudulent claims that may place patients at risk," warned Michael T. Longaker from Stanford University's Medical Center.
     
    The procedures marketed as "stem cell facelifts" are often just "lipofilling" procedures, "an established fat injection technique with no prolonged anti-ageing effect", Longaker added.
     
    To gain insight into these claims, researchers performed a Google search for cosmetic stem cell treatments, the most common of which was "stem cell facelift".
     
    Most procedures used "stem cells" isolated from fat.
     
    However, the websites provided little information on the quality of the stem cells used.
     
    Without advanced cell-sorting procedures, the products used in these procedures likely contain many other types of cells besides fat-derived stem cells.
     
    To date, just one stem cell procedure for cosmetic purpose has received the approval from the US Food and Drugs Administration (FDA).
     
    That product, designed to treat fine facial wrinkles, is undergoing extensive post-approval surveillance.
     
    "With plastic surgeons at the forefront of stem cell-based regenerative medicine, it is critically important that we provide an example of a rigorous approach to research, data collection, and advertising of stem cell therapies," Longaker concluded.
     
    The research was published in the journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

    MORE Health ARTICLES

    About 13 percent new mothers avoid sex

    About 13 percent new mothers avoid sex
    Have you rejected love-making calls from your hubby after childbirth? Take heart as you have not committed a sin....

    About 13 percent new mothers avoid sex

    Monitor pulse after stroke to avoid second

    Monitor pulse after stroke to avoid second
    Regularly monitoring your pulse after a stroke or the pulse of a loved one who has experienced a stroke can prevent a second stroke....

    Monitor pulse after stroke to avoid second

    Condom that fights sexually-transmitted diseases

    Condom that fights sexually-transmitted diseases
    Imagine a condom that not only stops pregnancy but also kills germs that can lead to sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)....

    Condom that fights sexually-transmitted diseases

    Impulsive behaviour linked to brain connectivity

    Impulsive behaviour linked to brain connectivity
    In what could help better understand behavioural problems and social adaptation difficulties in children, researchers have found that patterns of brain connectivity...

    Impulsive behaviour linked to brain connectivity

    Vitamin D deficiency increases schizophrenia risk

    Vitamin D deficiency increases schizophrenia risk
    Individuals with Vitamin D deficiency are twice as likely to be diagnosed with schizophrenia as compared to those who have sufficient levels of the...

    Vitamin D deficiency increases schizophrenia risk

    Cancer drug can detect HIV virus

    Cancer drug can detect HIV virus
    In a key discovery against HIV, researchers have shown that an anti-cancer drug can activate hidden HIV to levels readably detectable in the blood by...

    Cancer drug can detect HIV virus