Leaked files slam stem-cell therapy

摘要

Aseries of damning documents seen by Nature expose deep concerns over the safety and efficacy of the controversial stem-cell therapy promoted by Italy's Stamina Foundation. The leaked papers reveal the true nature of the processes involved, long withheld by Staminas president, Davide Vannoni. Other disclosures show that the successes claimed by Stamina for its treatments have been overstated. And, in an unexpected twist, top Italian scientists are dissociating themselves from an influential Miami-based clinician over his apparent support for the foundation. Stamina, based in Brescia, claims that it successfully treated more than 80 patients, mostly children, for a wide range of conditions, from Parkinsons disease to muscular dystrophy, before the health authorities halted its operations in August 2012. A clinical trial to assess the treatment formally was approved by the Italian government last May, and an expert committee was convened by the health ministry to study Staminas method and to recommend which illnesses the trial should target.