Stem cells, which are present in the body of many living organisms, are able to transform into cells of various organs and tissues. What, in fact, scientists from different countries try to use. With the help of these cells, bone tissue can be enlarged or damaged tissues of internal organs can be restored. But such treatment is still at a very early stage of the study, therefore it is necessary to resort to it extremely cautiously. The three patients in the clinic in Florida, for example, were very sorry that they decided to use stem cells because they lost sight of it.
Three elderly patients turned to the clinic because they all gradually lost sight from age-related macular degeneration. The effectiveness of stem cell therapy for restoring vision has not been officially proven, however, women have agreed to carry out all necessary procedures. As a result, the patients not only failed to restore their original vision, but also lost it altogether. The history of the tragically ended treatment was published on the pages of The New England Journal of Medicine.
The article was written by Stanford University professor-ophthalmologist Jeffrey Goldberg in collaboration with several of his colleagues. The scientist stressed that two of the three patients started stem cell treatment after unsuccessful operations before the eyes. In addition, he doubted that women had been sufficiently informed about the possible risks, and that this type of therapy has so far been little explored and could lead to completely unexpected results. Nevertheless, clinics offering treatment with the use of stem cells in the US are opening more and more.
The procedure cost all three women about 5000 dollars. In the documents they signed, there was no mention that the therapy was clinically tested, but none of the patients was embarrassed. Stem cells were isolated from the fat extracted from the bodies of the patients and the blood taken from them. Due to the fact that the material is provided by the patients themselves, there is no need for authorization documents from the US FDA commission. After unsuccessful treatment, the clinic was forced to stop conducting such procedures. The perpetrators of the tragedy will most likely be punished. But for the present there is an investigation of what happened. Two injured women brought lawsuits against the clinic.
