Money lost, disease still present
In recent years, social networks have been flooded with advertisements about radical diabetes treatment by stem cell transplantation. On the Tebaogoc page... the advertisement "Eliminate diabetes with stem cell transplantation technology, only need to spend 1.4 billion to regain 20 years of health for yourself and mentions many wonderful uses of stem cells such as helping to promote the regeneration of pancreatic islet cells, protect endogenous pancreatic islet cells, improve insulin resistance".
An advertisement for diabetes treatment using stem cell transplants.
Talking to reporters of Giao thong Newspaper, Dr. Nguyen Huy Cuong, an endocrinologist and diabetes expert, affirmed: Up to now, stem cell treatment for patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes has not been proven effective and is still in the research stage. Stem cells open up a new direction for medicine to provide more solutions to difficult problems. However, like all other treatment methods, stem cells, no matter how promising, must undergo a rigorous research process for safety and effectiveness. That requires 10-20 years of testing and on at least 5,000 participants.
Dr. Cuong said that at his Endocrinology and Diabetes Clinic, he has received many seriously ill patients who came for examination after undergoing many stem cell transplants to treat diabetes abroad such as Japan, Singapore...
That is the case of Ms. NTP (63 years old, Hanoi) who came to the clinic with very high blood sugar, weight loss, and physical weakness. Notably, this condition occurred after Ms. P had undergone 5 stem cell transplants to treat diabetes in Japan and 1 time in Vietnam.
"The patient has had diabetes since 2010. He underwent 6 stem cell transplants (from 2018 to 2022), each costing 700 million VND. After examining and treating the patient, the blood sugar level measured in 2022 was 13.9 mmol/l; after meals was 28.9 mmol/l, HbA1c was 13.5%," Dr. Cuong added.
After receiving and treating, Mrs. P was prescribed insulin injections combined with oral medication, closely monitored. Up to now, her diabetes condition has always been stable, Mrs. P has gained weight, her blood sugar is better, and her HbA1c has been reduced by half.
Diabetic patients need to be patient in treatment.
Stem cell diabetes treatment is still under research.
According to Dr. Pham Nguyen Quy, an Oncology specialist at Kyoto University, Japan, "In Japan, specialized medical associations call for caution with stem cell therapies in the form of free treatment (patients pay 100% of the cost for clinics and small hospitals) because they lack sufficient scientific evidence. The Japanese government allows some units to implement these activities if the implementation process ensures minimum safety, not because they are effective. However, this confuses many patients because it is difficult to distinguish the difference between treatment with methods that have clear scientific evidence and methods that are in the research process such as stem cells, leading to exploitation, fraud, and loss of money and health".
According to Dr. Cuong, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has only approved the use of stem cells for the following three areas: Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for patients with leukemia; Spinal stem cell transplantation to regenerate the corneal surface, a process of regenerating a new cornea to replace a damaged cornea; Skin stem cell transplantation for third-degree burns, not for anti-aging purposes.
Stem cell transplantation would avoid the problems of donor shortages, but methods to avoid autoimmune reactions from recipients are still being studied. Using pancreatic islets derived from embryonic stem cells requires lifelong use of immunosuppressive drugs, while using autologous stem cells could avoid rejection.
Therefore, Dr. Cuong warns patients and their families to be patient and wary of promises to cure diabetes with stem cells or various drugs or functional foods that are being rumored.
In Vietnam, research and application of hematopoietic stem cells in medicine and treatment of diseases have been carried out since the 90s of the 20th century. Currently, the Ministry of Health allows the use of stem cells to treat some blood diseases such as bone marrow failure, leukemia, blood diseases requiring bone marrow transplant, osteoarthritis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease COPD.
Blood stem cell therapy can cure many serious diseases related to the hematopoietic system such as multiple myeloma, acute leukemia, thalassemia... For mesenchymal stem cells, the potential for application in treating many different diseases is based on two main mechanisms: the ability to differentiate into functional cells to replace damaged cells and the ability to regulate immunity.
Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/thuc-hu-dieu-tri-triet-de-tieu-duong-bang-te-bao-goc-192250312083306403.htm
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