FDA Could Delay Adult Stem Cell Breakthroughs
destinyland writes "A Colorado medical advocate says, 'The FDA contends that if one cultures stem cells at all...then it's a prescription drug,' in arguing that revolutionary new treatments could be delayed by 20 years — even using cells extracted from your own body. According to the FDA, even therapies that simply re-inject your body's adult stem cells could be prohibited without five years of clinical trials and millions of dollars of research. How useful are cultured stem cells? 'In animal models, they routinely cure diabetes.'"
It might be the point of view of one man, but it's not a crazy position to take. I for one would want any medical treatment fully tested and certified, irrespective of if it's made out of 'modified' bits of me. Cancers, if you recall, are actually a part of you gone wrong. If I'm dying of cancer, sure, I'll try damn near /anything/ in my last days. However, if it's something that will be offered as a routine treatment to non-critical patients then it needs to run the full gamut of testing, like every other contender.
Scientists point out problems, engineers fix them
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