Abstract
“Stem cell tourism” is defined as the unethical practice of offering unproven cellular
preparations to patients suffering from various medical conditions. This phenomenon
is rising in the field of neurology as patients are requesting information and opportunities
for treatment with stem cells for incurable conditions such as multiple sclerosis
and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, despite their clinical research and experimental
designation. Here, we review the recent trends in “stem cell tourism” in both the
United States and abroad, and discuss the recent reports of neurological complications
from these activities. Finally, we frame critical questions for the field of neurology
regarding training in the ethical, legal, and societal issues of the global “stem
cell tourism,” as well as suggest strategies to alleviate this problem. Although there
are ongoing legitimate clinical trials with stem cells for neurological diseases,
procedures offered by “stem cell clinics” cannot be defined as clinical research.
They lack the experimental and state-of-the-art framework defined by peers and the
FDA that focus on human research that safeguard the protection of human subjects against
economical exploitation, unwanted side effects, and futility of unproven procedures.
“Stem cell tourism” ultimately exploits therapeutic hope of patients and families
with incurable neurological diseases and can put in danger the legitimacy of stem
cell research as a whole. We posit that an improvement in education, regulation, legislation,
and involvement of authorities in global health in neurology and neurosurgery is required.
Keywords
stem cell research - organoids - iPSCs - brain tumors - stem cell tourism - neural
stem cells - ALS - MS
