Chinese Regenerative Medicine and Controversy of Therapies Involving Stem Cells
Regenerative medicine is a combination of interdisciplinary researches, techniques and clinical applications that moves beyond the traditional transplantation therapies. It focuses on repair, replacement and regeneration of cells, tissues and organs damaged from disease, trauma, aging and congenital defects. There are several approaches to stimulate the body’s own healing abilities which may involve transplantation of stem cells, gene therapy, tissue engineering, soluble molecules, and manipulation of cell and tissue types.
According to the study of the MRC that was published in the UK journal Regenerative Medicine, China wants to become a leader in the field of regenerative medicine. The MRC’s claims also confirms the growing number of Chinese contributions to scientific journals in the field which are exceeded only by the US, German, Japanese and British experts.
The Chinese researchers have made a remarkable contribution to the science of regenerative medicine, while the Chinese government significantly enlarged the funds for stem cell research, tissue engineering and gene therapy. However, the Chinese international credibility has been and still is suffers because of administration dubious therapies involving stem cells in Chinese clinics. Although Chinese Ministry of Health requires evidence of safety and efficacy for all stem cell and gene therapies there are over 200 clinics all over China offering stem cell treatment for series of diseases such as ataxia, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy, Parkinson’s disease and many others which have become increasingly popular outside China as well.
The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) has strongly condemned therapies involving stem cells offered in the Chinese clinics, but the MRC found out that the number of foreign patients traveling to China is rapidly rising. Thus the treatment involving injection of cells from aborted fetuses at an institute in Beijing was received by approximately 1,000 foreigners from total 1,500 patients.
Subscribe to the comments for this post