Originally published June 30 2005
Australian medical experts fear adverse effects from untested embryonic "anti-aging" treatment
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
A controversial method of injecting tissue from aborted fetuses into the brains and spines of individuals with spinal diseases has been under fire in China since its inception, reports the Cybercast News Service, but now the treatment is being marketed as an anti-aging treatment, which Australian medical authorities fear is too much of an unknown to be safe.
Medical authorities in Australia are advising against patients visiting China for untested treatments derived from human embryos, amid reports that wealthy Westerners are paying large amounts of money in a bid to counter the effects of aging.
In recent years, concerns have been expressed about Chinese physicians injecting cells from aborted babies into the spines and brains of patients with spinal injuries or diseases.
Wilson said Thursday they included one of Australia's wealthiest men, a construction tycoon in his 60s who had undergone the treatment with his wife.
A blastocyst is an early-stage human embryo created in a lab from an egg and a sperm.
Many scientists and campaigners for people with degenerative diseases or spinal injuries argue that because of the potential of stem cells harvested from embryos, the research should be encouraged and generously funded.
They want more funding for and emphasis on research using "adult" stem cells, which are already being used for successful therapies.
Dr. Mukesh Haikerwal, president of the Australian Medical Association, said in an interview Friday that a lot of hope was pinned on the possibility of future stem cell treatments for diseases.
In one case, people with growth deficiency had growth hormone from cadavers' brains injected into them, he recalled.
"They grew, but then they got Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, the human form of mad-cow disease.
One patient to undergo the treatment this year was a New Zealand woman diagnosed with motor neurone disease (also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease), a degenerative condition with no known cure.
"The treatment is not legal in most countries, partly due to ethical issues around using fetal stem cells and partly because at present, there's no evidence that it works," said the association's Louise Rees.
Clinics in Russia are also offering health and cosmetic treatments involving stem cells, the Associated Press reported earlier this year.
All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. Truth Publishing LLC takes sole responsibility for all content. Truth Publishing sells no hard products and earns no money from the recommendation of products. NaturalNews.com is presented for educational and commentary purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice from any licensed practitioner. Truth Publishing assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. For the full terms of usage of this material, visit www.NaturalNews.com/terms.shtml