The Interventional Orthopedics Foundation, a Broomfield, Colo.-based nonprofit, warns about faulty stem cell products after testing placental tissue-derived products. The products contained no live stem cells.
Here are five key points:
1. The nonprofit cautioned that some physicians inject dead tissue into patients, when they claim they are injecting amniotic stem cells.
2. The placental tissue-derived products tested by the IOF are FDA regulated. They are sold directly to physician practices. Although not registered as live stem cell products, many physician websites bill the tissues as stem cell therapy.
3. Although the product contains no live stem cells, they exhibited a weak growth factor effect, which helps promote tissue repair. Therefore, patients may experience some improvement after these injections.
4. However, growth factors can be obtained at a less expensive price, and physicians should not be billing for stem cell therapy when injecting these products.
5. IOF encourages physicians to use platelet rich plasma and bone marrow concentrate for biologic therapies.
"The sales reps, neither being physicians nor scientists, confuse research showing that live amniotic tissues do contain small amounts of stem cells with the frozen products that they sell, which once shock thawed at a doctor's office, contain no living tissue," said Christopher Centeno, MD, member of the IOF board of directors.
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