Health Insider: Beware of bogus claims for stem cell rejuvenation

Could stem cell injections help rejuvenate your face or body? Probably not, plastic surgery experts say, but ads for these types of bogus procedures abound on the Internet.

Stem cells offer tremendous potential, but the marketplace is saturated with unsubstantiated and sometimes fraudulent claims that may place patients at risk, a team led by Dr. Michael Longaker of Stanford University Medical Center wrote in a review published in this months issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

The experts say consumers need to be wary of advertisements promoting the benefits of minimally invasive, stem cell-based rejuvenation procedures. Claims for stem cell procedures for face-lifts, breast augmentation and vaginal rejuvenation are not only unsubstantiated, but also risky, Longakers team said.

The researchers said that, to date, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved only one cosmetic stem cell procedure designed to treat fine facial wrinkles. And since that single procedure was approved, the product involved has been monitored extensively.

Overall, cosmetic stem cell procedures have not undergone significant scientific scrutiny, the Stanford team said. The risks associated with stem cell and tissue processing have not been closely examined. The effects of aging on stem cells are also not well established, the researchers explained.

More than 100 clinical trials are currently evaluating stem cells derived from fat, but few are focusing on cosmetic treatments. The researchers cautioned that the products used in these cosmetic procedures likely involves additional types of cells unless they utilized sophisticated cell-sorting techniques.

Many blood plasma-enriched platelet protein treatments are also incorrectly advertised as stem cell therapy, the studys authors noted.

Meanwhile, there is only minimal evidence that cosmetic stem cell procedures have any antiaging effects, the researchers said. They warn that stem cell face-lifts may actually be lipo-filling procedures fat injections with no prolonged antiaging effect.

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Health Insider: Beware of bogus claims for stem cell rejuvenation