Italy Blocks Use of Stem Cell Therapy

摘要

Italy's Health Minister Beatrice Lorenzin announced on 10 October that Stamina, a foundation in Turin that developed a controversial and unproven stem cell therapy, will not be allowed to test it on humans-at least not in Italy. "We have put an end to it," Lorenzin says. "I would have liked to give patients better news, but the method has shown to be not eligible for a clinical trial." The treatment is based on bone marrow stem cells that Stamina's President Davide Vannoni claims can grow neurons and cure neurodegenerative diseases. In May, the government provided €3 million for a clinical trial. However, last month, an expert panel unanimously rejected the method, claiming that it lacks scientific basis (Science, 20 September 2013, p. 1324). A Health Ministry decree explains that the rejection was based on an "inadequate description of the method" and "the lack of quality controls on cells."