Patients led to believe they are protected against COVID-19 may decide against vaccination, stop wearing masks, cease engaging in physical distancing, or otherwise avoid behaviors intended to promote personal safety and public health, Turner says. Patients suffer financially as well, Ikonomou says, as the products range in price from a few thousand to tens of thousands of dollars, and people are often encouraged to receive the expensive treatments every few months. There are reports of patients suffering physical harm – including blindness and death – from unproven stem cell therapies. “Given the urgency of the ongoing pandemic, even the smallest morsel of COVID-19 science is often deemed newsworthy and rapidly enters a social media landscape where – regardless of its accuracy – it can be widely shared with a global audience,” Levine says.Ĭlinics selling supposed stem cell treatments on a direct-to-consumer basis sometimes use these findings and news reports to exploit the fears of vulnerable patients by unethically advertising the unproven benefits of stem cell treatments to boost the immune system, regenerate lung tissue and prevent transmission of COVID-19, Turner says. However, the findings from preliminary studies are frequently exaggerated through press releases, social media and uncritical news media reports. Many of the studies on possible stem cell-based COVID-19 treatments are at an early stage of investigation and further evaluation on larger sample sizes is required, Munsie says. Unsafe Products Linked to Unproven Claims Other investigators include Megan Munsie, Ph.D., professor of ethics, education and policy in stem cell science at the University of Melbourne and Aaron Levine, Ph.D., associate professor of public policy at Georgia Institute of Technology. “Scientists, regulators and policymakers must guard against the proliferation of poorly designed, underpowered and duplicative studies that are launched with undue haste because of the pandemic, but are unlikely to provide convincing, clinically meaningful safety and efficacy data,” she says. Leigh Turner, Ph.D., professor of health, society and behavior at the University of California, Irvine, is co-author. “Efforts to rapidly develop therapeutic interventions should never occur at the expense of the ethical and scientific standards that are at the heart of responsible clinical research and innovation,” Ikonomou says. The article explores the negative effects that misinformation about cell therapies has on public health, as well as the roles that researchers, science communicators and regulatory agencies should play in curbing the spread of inaccurate information and in promoting responsible, accurate communication of research findings. However, this has not stopped the emergence of clinics offering unproven and unsafe “stem cell” therapies that promise to prevent COVID-19 by strengthening the immune system or improving overall health, says lead author Laertis Ikonomou, Ph.D., associate professor of oral biology in the University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine. While stem cell therapy – using stem cells to promote regeneration, repair or healing – may be used to treat a limited number of diseases and conditions, there are currently no clinically tested or government-approved cell therapies available for the treatment or prevention of COVID-19 or its long-term effects. The global race to develop new stem cell-based COVID-19 treatments during the pandemic was filled with violations of government regulations, inflated medical claims and distorted public communication, say the authors of a new perspective published Oct. Researchers call for stronger regulations to deter sale of unproven cell-based products, and more responsible and accurate science communication
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