The Global Emergence of Unregulated Stem Cell Treatments for Respiratory Diseases: Professional Societies Need to Act

This editorial is written as a call to action for the respiratory and critical care communities to speak out against the international boom in unproven respiratory stem cell treatments. The authors cite the absence of an evidence base for these therapies, ones increasingly being promoted in the United States. They also stress that given the current absence of a cure for some respiratory conditions, companies offering these unproven remedies are taking advantage of an understandably hopeful patient group through regulatory loopholes and strategic advertising. The authors request organizations use available avenues, including social media, to engage patients on the issue, replacing the unproven with factual information and highlights of valid research projects -- and continue to press for regulatory, research and messaging change.

The COPD Foundation's position statement on stem cell therapies can be accessed here.