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    Swing and a Miss: Stem Cell Sports Medicine & Human Guinea Pigs
    By Paul Knoepfler | April 24th 2012 04:48 PM | 3 comments | Print | E-mail | Track Comments
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    Associate Professor of Cell Biology and Human Anatomy at UC Davis School of Medicine. Long-time stem cell and cancer scientist. Cancer survivor...

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    The number of people being treated by so-called "stem cell sports medicine" is increasing rapidly, making for a very large, non-FDA approved experiment on human guinea pigs.

    The catalyst?stem cell injection

    A whole lot of famous celebrities are getting "work done" using stem cells. For example, we see sports stars getting stem cell treatments that are not approved by the FDA and have little if any science behind them.

    Why are an increasing number of famous people including athletes getting stem cell transplants now?

    First, it is human nature to look for a quick fix for what ails us so patients are providing a demand for stem cell therapies even if the technology is not yet ready for prime time. Throw in the fact that some of these people are injured pro athletes whose careers hang in the balance and it is no surprise they are turning to stem cells.

    Second, a growing number of folks are trying to make money off of stem cell hype by providing non-FDA approved treatments to desperate patients. These purveyors of dubious stem cell treatments include real doctors, but also people who play doctors on the Internet.

    More sports stars than ever are getting stem cell treatments that are not FDA approved and have no science behind them. For example, a new case of stem cell sports medicine involves Oakland Raider Football player Rolando McClain, who reportedly got stem cell therapy for various injuries and according to McClain he “feels a lot better.” How stem cell treatments of this kind could ease pain remains unknown and is not supported by hard, published science.

    Another recent case is that of aging MLB pitcher C.J. Nitkowski (pictured above getting stem cells injected into him; photo credit CNN), who received a stem cell treatment that he hopes will allow him to continue his career. A year or so ago we talked about the case of another stem cell treated MLB pitcher, NY Yankees pitcher Bartolo Colon, who received a stem cell treatment in the Dominican Republican. According to CNN, Nitkowski followed in Colon’s footsteps:

    Nitkowski telephoned the doctor who treated Colon and agreed to pay about $3,000 for the procedure.

    I wish these guys well and hope that the stem cell treatments they received do not harm them. However, the problems associated with famous people getting stem cell treatments go well beyond the dangers to themselves from the treatments.

    When famous people such as sports stars and politicians (e.g. Texas Governor Rick Perry) get such dubious treatments they are absolutely encouraging every day people to get the same treatments, putting a lot more people at risk of not only losing their life savings to pay for the treatments, but also of great injury or even death.

    These treatments are not necessarily safe and can be fatal. Each celebrity who gets such a treatment translates into many more everyday people, probably even little league pitchers, getting the same treatments. In essence all of these people are becoming human guinea pigs, part of a huge disorganized experiment without FDA approval.

    An important message to the sports stars themselves is that there is absolutely zero reason to believe these treatments will work. I call it trying to win the world series in spring training. In other words, impossible and premature.  If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is and that applies to stem cell sports medicine. I’m a stem cell scientist and I have no vested interest in stem cell sports medicine either way, but let me tell you clearly that right now you have nothing to gain and everything to lose.

    For more background, I covered stem cell sports medicine in an earlier post that provides more background, but things are rapidly getting worse and more dangerous in 2012.

    Comments

    Hank
    Good stuff.  Obviously we have to give regulators a break while blatant charlatans are rooted out - if they put the hammer down and banned stem cell therapy, we would call them anti-science, so if Rick Perry asks for their to be guidelines on what is real and what is not, because he wants Texas to be the home for stem cells, it's hard to berate him and feel like that is fair. He doesn't know (other than he got no harm and maybe a placebo-effect benefit) so at least he asks the medical board to figure this stuff out. It's the kind of open-mindedness we are supposed to encourage in politicians.

    If no stem cell treatment is worthwhile and they should all be banned, then I hope the FDA is reading you.
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    Hank Campbell | 04/24/12 | 22:44 PM
    UvaE
    we see sports stars getting stem cell treatments that are not approved by the FDA and have little if any science behind them.
    Interesting how a lack of science education gets people to run away from free, relatively safe and proven preventive measures like vaccines but makes them pay for trendy, but risky and ineffective treatments like stem cell therapy.

    And you're right in saying that athletes are catalysts. I was told by a retired professional weightlifter that anabolic steroids were used in the early 1960's, with evidence of use going back to the late 1930's. Many amateurs and pros in other sports followed suit and ventured into and cheated with a whole spectrum of products.
    Enrico Uva | 04/25/12 | 08:36 AM
    FDA approves medical devices and drugs. Not cells or tissue transplants from your own body. No FDA approval is needed to receive your own blood back if you loose too much during a surgery. They could even spin off a concentration of platelets and use it in the surgical wound if necessary. No FDA approval is needed to take bone from your hip and stick it in your back to fuse it. It's considered a "gold standard" but does not need FDA approval. Yea, the FDA will regulate it to make sure your not doing anything funny to it, but they clearly state that as long as you are only minimally manipulating (spinning in a centrifuge), then it does not need "approval" and therefore is not a device or drug. When a child burns their face off and they harvest skin from their ass and transplant it on their face, do you think they need an FDA approval for that??!! NO! If it comes from your body, it doesn't need FDA approval. It must just follow FDA regulations. The devices that prepare the grafts are what needs approval. If someone is making stem cells in a lab and injecting them, then that cell is considered a "drug" and it needs approval.

    There are soooooo many human stem cell trials going on that it's pretty funny to see these comments (writer included) catching up with the times. You guys are talking about sports med when cardiologists have the most abundant research trials, history of proven usage, and proven market.

    Anonymous (not verified) | 06/20/12 | 20:50 PM