Group warns about overseas stem cell treatment for cerebral palsy, other disorders

The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) is warning patients who are going over seas to receive stem cell therapy for such diseases as cerebral palsy to ask rigorous questions before paying thousands of dollars for treatment.

The ISSCR recently released the "Top Ten Things to Know About Stem Cell Treatments" because of the increased marketing of overseas stem cell therapy on the internet and in other media outlets, according to Canada's CTV.

"The false claims and unscrupulous methods through which some clinics attract patients has quickly become one of the most important concerns facing the field today," Drew Lyall, the Stem Cell Network's director and one of the authors of the report, said.

Many patients with diseases like cerebral palsy and Parkinson's disease have sought stem cell treatment in places like China and Brazil because such treatments are not yet allowed in America.

"There are organizations out there that are preying on patients' hopes, offering stem cell treatments – often for large sums of money – for conditions where the current science simply does not support its benefit or safety," Dr Irving Weissman, president of the ISSCR said in a statement.

United Cerebral Palsy estimates that there are 800,000 people have cerebral palsy in the U.S.