EB57 Allen Scott Ian DeMartino: CoinTelegraph and The Rise of Crypto-Powered Independent Media
CoinTelegraph Chief Editor, Allen Scott, and writer, Ian DeMartino join Sebastien (Brian is away) for a conversation about the independent Bitcoin media. Cryptocurrencies enable new business...
By: Epicenter Bitcoin
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Metallic Bitcoin Plates - Illustration/Photo Series
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BYOB: Learn How to Use Bitcoin to Be Your Own Bank Kickstarter Campaign
Support the crowdfunding campaign @ https://www.indiegogo.com/at/bitcoin-be-your-own-bank BTC tips: 1AwVc2gN1iB8nVcy2ByhR6jkqaSovS56MK.
By: John Light
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BYOB: Learn How to Use Bitcoin to Be Your Own Bank Kickstarter Campaign - Video
Bitcoin had a wild ride over the past two years, with prices driven by speculation, investment and government regulation, and investors should expect nothing less in 2015.
"Although the swings in absolute value seem to be lower in 2014 than they were at the end of 2013, the volatility will likely remain for the next few years," Zennon Kapron, managing director of Shanghai-based market research firm KapronAsia told CNBC.
"Bitcoin is largely a binary outcome with it either being a tremendous success or reduced to something only used by enthusiasts. There is a tremendous amount of private equity and venture capital money being put into bitcoin to create new and compelling business models, but the only thing that will temper volatility is increased acceptance and usage," he said.
Bobby Lee, CEO and Co-Founder of China-based bitcoin trading platform BTC China agrees: "Volatility will be inherent for this new asset class. The reason is simple: It has a small circulation value now, but theoretically, with wide adoption, the circulation value should be 100x or 1,000x what it is today," he said. "The price would have to appreciate dramatically, and that would involve very high volatility for years to come."
An over 8,000 percent price increase over the course of 2013 to its peak of around $1,147 early that December put bitcoin on the map. In early 2014, bitcoin's fall was just as quick; concerns about increasing government regulation and a market bubble saw bitcoin's value halve in just a few months.
Bitcoin is currently trading around $337 on the BTC-e exchange.
Driving forces for 2015
Developments on three fronts have the potential to drive bitcoin higher in 2015: a better usage model, more companies using blockchain-based technology and increased usage for remittances.
"Bitcoin is a technology that still needs to find its use case," Kapron said. "The iPhone defined an industry by giving consumers and businesses something that they didn't know that they needed. For bitcoin, there's no proven killer app, although numerous players are working on it. We need a bitcoin usage model in 2015 that does something better today than we did yesterday, and we're just not there yet."
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A Bitcoin sign in a Toronto shop window in May, in better times. Photograph: Mark Blinch/Reuters
After skyrocketing to more than a thousand dollars in price late last year and attracting global attention, bitcoin, the leading digital currency, has stalled.
Figures obtained by Reuters show that while wallets cyberspeak for accounts are being created at a steady clip, many of them are empty.
Analysts also provided Reuters with data that shows liquidity in the cryptocurrency remains limited.
Bitcoin, a virtual currency created through a mining process where a computers resources are used to perform millions of calculations, has been hailed as revolutionary because of its lack of ties to a central bank and its potential as an alternative to credit cards for paying for goods and services.
However, the currencys volatility has slowed broader acceptance. The price of bitcoin has plummeted roughly 50% so far this year. It most recently traded at $356.26, down from a peak of $1,163 in December 2013.
Two of its primary appeals the lower transaction fees compared to credit cards and its use in cross-border transactions have not been enough to offset its ups and downs.
Until a unique application emerges that separates it from credit cards, online payments or other currencies, the expansion may remain slow, many market insiders said.
There has to be some motivation that would help this whole bitcoin system explode, like really good applications for consumers, said Jonathan Levin, a London-based digital currency consultant and co-founder of the Oxford Virtual Currency Group. At the moment, there isnt.
Last weeks second auction of bitcoins by the US marshals service, which showed a drastic drop in bidders from the first sale in June, demonstrated just how far bitcoin has fallen off the radar. The first auction attracted 45 unique bidders, with 63 bids, while the December sale showed just 11 buyers and 27 bids.
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(CNN) -- On Thursday December 18, we'll be hosting a Twitter live chat @CNNTech debating the future of Bitcoin with a panel of experts. Join us at 5pm GMT/12pm ET by tuning into the hashtag, #bitcoinfuture. We look forward to seeing you there!
Here's a look at our panel:
Jeffrey Robinson
Jeffrey is the author of "Bitcon: The Naked Truth about Bitcoin," and has been described as the world's 'leading financial crime author' by the British Bankers' Association.
In addition to books on dirty money, he has written a number of investigative non-fiction books, major biographies and half a dozen novels.
Daniel Mark Harrison
As editor of CoinSpeaker, Daniel reports on the latest developments in the world of cryptocurrencies.
He is a regular public speaker, and writes regularly on the issues and innovations affecting companies and markets around the world.
Adam Levitin
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Part of complete coverage on
(CNN) -- On Thursday December 18, we'll be hosting a Twitter live chat @CNNTech debating the future of Bitcoin with a panel of experts. Join us at 5pm GMT/12pm ET by tuning into the hashtag, #bitcoinfuture. We look forward to seeing you there!
Here's a look at our panel:
Jeffrey Robinson
Jeffrey is the author of "Bitcon: The Naked Truth about Bitcoin," and has been described as the world's 'leading financial crime author' by the British Bankers' Association.
In addition to books on dirty money, he has written a number of investigative non-fiction books, major biographies and half a dozen novels.
Daniel Mark Harrison
As editor of CoinSpeaker, Daniel reports on the latest developments in the world of cryptocurrencies.
He is a regular public speaker, and writes regularly on the issues and innovations affecting companies and markets around the world.
Adam Levitin
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Ford Motor Company has released a its Looking Further with Ford publication for 2015 [PDF link] that includes studies commissioned about the future of many different technologies as well as expected trends. Bitcoin made a debut with four mentions across the publication.
The publication is compiled by Sheryl Connelly from Global Consumer Trends and Futuring at Ford and the first mention of Bitcoin comes in comparison to digital currency apps such as Apple Pay and Google Wallet:
Out with the purse and the messenger bagtoday, people dont want to carry stuff, and increasingly, they dont need to. Bitcoin, Apple Pay and Google Wallet are displacing the need for physical wallets and money clips. The rise of subscription-based shopping services means we can avoid the store. Wearable gadgets and smartphone apps have dismantled the need for physical keys. With these technologies, consumers are able to pare necessities down to their essenceless baggage, more nimbleness. Across the globe, the advent of these technologies brings a transformation in the mechanics of how we pay, how and where we are marketed to, and who we trust with our most valuable information. Convenience is at a premium, and consumers are opting in for itbut at what price?
The second mention applies to a Philippines-based mobile wallet named coins.ph. The mobile wallet is cited as part of an emerging market seeking an audience of mobile users who do not have secure baking and need to send money to family and friends.
The unbanked as an audience for Bitcoin has been a long-time argument for the killer app and efficacy of Bitcoin. It has been mentioned that sectors that lack stable central baking and a proliferation of mobile devices may be excellent breeding grounds for Bitcoin services. As far back as 2012 this has been a long-term view of analysts looking at market trendsfor example, Africa still has a strong user base for this and since 2013 businesses have been courting that audience.
Digital wallet services such as Apple Pay and Google Wallet enable the wireless flow of digital currency and give consumers and merchants a chance to eschew hand-over-counter transactions for using mobile software. Bitcoin fits into this paradigm similarly because bitcoins can only be transferred digitally (although there are solutions that allow for paper wallets to transfer value) and as a result, Bitcoin-related wallets and apps dovetail nicely with mobile payment paradigms.
Connellys paragraph addressing Apple Pay, Google Wallet, and Bitcoin presents a reasonable expectation about what mobile users want from a digital currency experience, but ends with a question that suggests potential friction or problems.
The takeaway of the report from Ford isnt so much that report has nice things to say about Bitcoin, but that Bitcoin itself is being seen by a major corporation as a strong future trend that competes with established companies such as Apple and Google in a venue that both are attempting to carve out market share.
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Bitcoin cited in Fords 2015 Global Consumer Trends and Futuring report
COMETS TV: Highlights 12-12-14 Utica Comets vs. Toronto Marlies
Utica Comets Highlights.
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COMETS TV: Highlights 12-12-14 Utica Comets vs. Toronto Marlies - Video
About 50% of psoriasis sufferers experience psoriasis of the scalp, ranging from mild, itching and scattered red spots to thick, burning patches of silvery scales that spread onto the face and neck. The severity of your scalp psoriasis will determine the best course of treatment, and although it can take some time to bring the symptoms under control, many patients are able to manage and even improve their condition in the long run.
Theres no universal treatment for scalp psoriasis, but there are several possible ways to reduce or eradicate the symptoms. Typically, its best to begin with a milder form of treatment, working up to more powerful medications as needed. Here are a few:
Severe cases of scalp psoriasis may not respond to topical treatment or light therapy. These cases will call for a more invasive approach to eradicate the plaques:
Psoriasis on the scalp is generally superficial in nature, but in some cases, the itching, flaking and dryness can lead to more serious problems:
Living with scalp psoriasis can be physically and emotionally challenging, and although its a chronic disease that will call for long-term management, you dont have to deal with constant flare-ups. Work with your doctor and a dermatologist to adapt your treatment plan according to your changing needs and youll very likely be able to keep the symptoms under control.
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On Friday, Novartis Novartisannounced that its anti-IL17A antibody secukinumab (Cosentyx) demonstrated clear superiority over its rival, Stelara ustekinumab from Johnson & Johnson Johnson & Johnson, an antibody against IL-12 and IL-23, in the treatment of psoriasis.
What marks this out as significant is not the potential commercial impact for $NVS, nor the step-change in efficacy this delivers for patients suffering from psoriasis though quite clearly both are true.
Instead, its the commitment prior to approval to test the drug head-to-head against arguably its stiffest competitor. This kind of direct comparison is exactly what the medical profession needs without it, doctors are left with two comparable sets of data from different trial designs and little hope of determining which agent is most suited to the patient in front of them. But the industry has, in the past, been very wary of providing such unequivocal comparative evidence.
Changes, though, are being forced on drug companies. Whereas once upon a time, regulatory approval alone was sufficient to secure meaningful sales, increasingly that is no longer true. Even after the stiff battle with regulators has been won, new product launches today face an arguably even stiffer test: to win over doctors and payers.
While the options for treatment for a particular disease were limited, knowing a drug was safe and effective (the hurdles for regulatory approval) is sufficient to justify use. But almost every large indication today already boasts a slew of approved therapeutics options, all of which are safe and effective. Against such a landscape, it is increasingly obvious that driving significant use requires direct comparison trials such as the CLEAR trial in psoriasis that Novartis reported last week.
Such trial designs are double-edged swords however success will surely drive sales of the new agent, but failure to demonstrate superiority would equally certainly consign the expensively-approved newcomer to the trash can. How many people want to play double or quits with their newly-approved (or, worse still, perhaps, not-yet-approved) blockbuster candidate?
In an industry renowned for its conservative decision-making, its not surprising that owners of newly-launched drugs have tended to test the water first, and only resort to comparative trials if sales are low and slow. With Crestor rosuvastatin, for example, where AstraZeneca AstraZenecawere already selling more than $5billion a year of product, head-to-head comparison with its competitor Lipitor atorvastatin were only contemplated more than five years after approval when the impending loss of patent protection for atorvastatin threatened Crestor sales. Even when those trials failed to demonstrate any material superiority, the established sales were unaffected. That hardly counts as risk-taking.
But $NVS adopted an entirely different strategy with Cosentyx. Comparitor trials were the mainstay of the late-stage development program, rather than an afterthought. First, in 2013, in the FIXTURE study, they demonstrated superiority over an anti-TNF product, Enbrel etanercept from Amgen Amgenin a head-to-head study. With that scalp under their belt, they set their sights on the then newly-approved Stelara ustekinumab. The CLEAR study is the product of that strategy, and with the demonstrated superiority completely vindicates it.
Lets be in no doubt: this brave new world is very much to the advantage of patients and payers. Better comparator data will, in itself, lead to better outcomes and saved dollars.
It may not, however, be universally such good news for the pharmaceutical industry. The biggest drag on capital efficiency in R&D is late risk that is, risk that can only be discharged at the end of the development cycle, when the vast majority of the costs have already been expended. Failure at the end of development, or worse still, in the marketplace, erodes capital returns very quickly. If the industry is forced (by the commercial landscape, rather than by regulators) to do more comparator studies of this type, then more late-stage failures will be the order of the day.
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Source: Novartis
Novartis AG and Amgen have both recently reported data from late stage drug trials showing that each of their promising psoriasis drugs bested Johnson & Johnson 's top-selling Stelara. The positive results set the stage for potential FDA approvals that could mean a battle over market share next year.
First out of the gate Psoriasis is a big money indication affecting as many as 125 million people worldwide. In the U.S. alone, as many as 7.5 million people suffer from the condition. As a result, drugs like Stelara post sales of about $2 billion annually. Additionally, billions of dollars more are spent treating psoriasis with other autoimmune drugs every year, including the planet's top selling drug last year, AbbVie 's Humira.
Since the patient population and resulting revenue from the indication is so big, developing new therapies to treat psoriasis has been a major focus of drugmakers like Novartis.
Thanks to positive phase 3 trial results versus Amgen's Enbrel, a leading psoriasis treatment with $1 billion in quarterly sales, Novartis' Cosentyx has already been sent to the FDA for approval. Last month, the FDA's advisory committee gave Cosentyx a universal nod for approval, clearing the way for an FDA decision in January.
Since the FDA usually sides with the advisory committee recommendation, there's a good chance that Cosentyx will get the FDA's official go-ahead. If so, Novartis' recent report that Cosentyx achieved statistically better results than Stelara in clearing at least 90% of symptoms from psoriasis patients provides another powerful marketing message for Novartis' sales team to deliver to doctors.
Fast on its heels Eager to shore up its Enbrel psoriasis market share, Amgen has teamed up with AstraZeneca on brodalumab. During phase 3 trials, brodalumab reduced symptoms by 75% in 85% of patients. Those results outperformed J&J's Stelara, which reduced symptoms by a similar amount in about 69% of patients.
Those results are solid, but more compelling may be the fact that brodalumab achieved total clearance of symptoms in 44.4% of patients taking a 210 mg dose, compared to 21.7% of patients achieving total clearance while taking Stelara.
Now that Amgen has all the data on hand from its brodalumab late stage trials, Amgen will begin discussions with regulators over filing the drug for approval. If those discussions go well, then Amgen could submit the drug to the FDA next year, clearing the way for an FDA decision late next year or early in 2016.
Major shake up Celgene won approval of its autoimmune drug for use in psoriasis patients in September, so existing therapies like J&J's Stelara are already facing competitive threats. However, those threats will increase if the FDA approves Novartis' Cosentyx in January. If regulators eventually approve brodalumab, then there's likely to be significant market share shifts among all the various psoriasis treatments by the end of 2016. Regardless, since Novartis' drug could hit the market in the first quarter, investors that would like exposure to autoimmune drugs may want to focus their attention on its shares, rather than Amgen's.
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Where will you wear your next innovation
Sabre demonstrates how wearable technology will impact the travel sector at the 2014 World Travel Market.
By: Sabre Travel Network
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Challenge and insist the road to success
Challenge and insist the road to success, Challenge + Insist = success Share Travel Videos HD, World Travel Guide http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=World1Tube.
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The Edinburgh office of the company, which is ultimately owned by US-based Colpitts World Travel Inc, is to provide travel and logistics support for the tours, which span three continents.
The office, which is the corporate-travel firm's European headquarters, will manage all of both organisations' flight and visa requirements.
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In January and February, Scottish Ballet is taking 50 dance and production staff to China and Japan for its production of Krzysztof Pastor's Romeo and Juliet.
The company is then touring six US cities, including Chicago, Houston and Washington DC, in May with its production of A Streetcar Named Desire. This comes after it visits Inverness, Edinburgh and London.
In March, SCO, led by conductor Robin Ticciati, will take about 50 of its members on tour in Germany, Austria and France.
Tammo Schuelke, SCO concerts and projects manager said: "Colpitts understands the high standards and individual-focused service that a chamber orchestra requires when it goes on tour and has consistently delivered for us."
Scottish Ballet is "delighted" to be working again with Colpitts's for next year's tours, according to its company manager John Aitken.
He said: "They understand our many and varied international travel requirements and continually deliver a premium service, which enables us to focus all our energy on our on-stage performances."
The UK and European division of Colpitts was established in 1995, and it has premises in Aberdeen and Munich, Germany, in addition to the headquarters in Melville Street in the Scottish capital. As well as the arts sector it works with the technology, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, finance and energy sectors.
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Colpitts wins travel contracts with Scottish Ballet and Scottish Chamber Orchestra
QUITO, ECUADOR--(Marketwired - December 15, 2014) - The future for Quito, Ecuador is looking bright, with over $87 million in hotel investment announced over the next 10 years, being recognized as South America's leading destination by the World Travel Awards for the second consecutive year and, as the hub for all the adventures that await across Ecuador, gaining a reputation as a top location for meetings, sporting events and global conferences.
And then there is the chocolate. Pacari Chocolate, an Ecuadorian organic chocolate brand, based in Quito, took home 14 awards at theInternational Chocolate Awards, the largest number of global awards won by a chocolate producer. Pacari sources directly from small producers and is the only chocolate company in the world working with biodynamic cacao.
It is producers and experiences like Pacari (which offers tastings and tours) which are growing Quito's tourism industry. And Quito is taking its story around the world. At this year's World Travel Mart in London, Quito highlighted its growing tourism industry to travel trade and media. In 2014, over 50 per cent of travelers to Ecuador (1 million from January - September) visited Quito, further positioning it as a hub for the Galapagos, Amazon and Andes. Tourism Quito predicts that at year-end, over 680,000 tourists will have visited, representing a 10 per cent growth rate.
Committed to bringing the world to its city, Quito hosted the tourism industry for the 21st annual World Travel Awards (the "Oscars" of the travel industry) in August, and celebrated its win alongside its new international airport, Mariscal Sucre International Airport, which was chosen as the leading airport in South America.
When the city was named one of the 14 official finalists (from an original 1,200 cities nominated) in the New 7 Wonders Global Contest, Tourism Quito launched a country wide promotional tour, capturing the pride that all Ecuadorians have for their capital city.
Keen to prove its ability to host larger Meetings, incentives, conferences and events (MICE), in July Quito successfully hosted the Second Continental Congress on Heritage Kitchens.Held every two years with the mission to strengthen the knowledge and commitment to the preservation of regional cuisines around the world, The Continental Congress of Heritage Kitchens brought together 160 historians, anthropologists, chefs and culinary researchers from 14 countries. The congress included lectures, master classes, visits to Quito's famous local markets and regional cooking competitions.
With an ongoing mission to attract tourism investment, in September Quito also hosted the seventh annual South American Hotel & Tourism Conference (SAHIC), which brought together more than 300 industry executives hotel in Latin America, North America and Europe. The mayor of Quito used this opportunity to reinforce his role in promoting tourism and continuing to develop the capital city, ensuring it is a rich and dynamic gateway to the rest of Ecuador. To achieve this, foreign investment is essential.
Positioning itself as an exceptional hub for sports event, Quito also hosted the Tour de las Amricas Golf Tournament and the Adventure World Championship 2014. One hundred and fifty professional golfers from all over the world attended the Latin American edition of the PGA Tour. In November, Quito launched the Huairasinchi Explorer Adventure Racing World Championship, sponsored by Tourism Quito.
This international race attracted over 280 athletes, 70 elite teams from 20 nations, who participated in this extreme competition which covered over 700 kilometers.
In 2015 Quito will host a "250"open tournament for the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) -- The international ATP Circuit is composed with 5 types of tournaments 250, 500, 1000, Masters and 4 big opens depending on the amount of prize money to be distributed. On 2015 Quito will take over from Via del Mar (Chile), a destination which has organized this event for 21 years, as the host city for this important tennis tournament.
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North American foreign travel increases again after the boom years South American growth declines
The economic situation in the United States and Canada is improving and with it has come a renewed increase in foreign trips in 2014. At the same time the weaker-performing economies of Brazil and Argentina have led to slower growth in tourism in South America. These are the findings of the ITB World Travel Trends Report, conducted by IPK International and commissioned by ITB Berlin, the world's leading travel trade show.
This year the foreign travel markets of North America reported a growth rate of five per cent. People in North America travelled more often than last year and stayed longer at their destinations, with stays of more than four overnights increasing by eight per cent. Accordingly, spending on foreign trips rose significantly, by 19 per cent. At plus six per cent, holiday travel was among the market's driving forces, while the number of business trips rose by only four per cent. As a trend, holidays focused more on individual travel, local destinations and authentic experiences, resulting in high demand for custom travel packages. Despite rising GDPs and lower unemployment the forecast for next year is less positive: in 2015 trips abroad by people in North America will most likely increase by only three per cent.
By contrast, South America was unable to maintain its above-average growth rates of recent years. During the first eight months of 2014 it registered five per cent growth. However, this fell short of the increases between 2009 and 2013 which at times were in double digits. Economic insecurity in South America, particularly in Brazil and Argentina, has led to this decline in the growth rate in foreign travel. At plus three per cent, the IPK Travel Confidence Index also forecasts slower growth in foreign travel for South America in 2015. This marks a continuation of the current trend.
With the FIFA World Cup taking place in Brazil, 2014 was naturally a special year in terms of tourism arrivals in South America. During the first eight months the number of international arrivals rose by seven per cent, considerably more than during the same period last year (+2.5 per cent). People from Argentina, Chile and Colombia travelling to the World Cup accounted for a large part of this figure. During the event South America's largest country welcomed a total of around one million foreign visitors. Holiday spending averaged around 2,000 dollars per trip. 55 per cent of visitors stayed between four and 15 nights and took the opportunity to get to know the country. 78 per cent said they would like to visit it again.
All the findings are based on information from papers held at the World Travel Monitor Forum in Pisa, which is sponsored by ITB Berlin. Every year the consultancy IPK International invites more than 50 tourism experts and researchers from around the world to present the latest statistics and trends in international tourism.
Other results of the January to August 2014 trend surveys conducted by IPK as well as the assessments of more than 50 tourism experts from over 20 countries and the core data of the World Travel Monitor will be published exclusively by ITB Berlin. Detailed information will be available in the ITB World Travel Trends Report in early December by clicking here. At the ITB Future Day of the ITB Berlin Convention Rolf Freitag, president of IPK International, will present the findings of the World Travel Monitor for the entire year, as well as the latest forecasts for 2015. The World Travel Monitor is based on the findings of representative interviews carried out with more than 500,000 people in over 60 global travel markets. It has been published regularly for more than 20 years and is recognised as the most widescale continuous survey examining global travel trends.
ITB Berlin 2015 will take place from Wednesday to Sunday, 4 to 8 March. From the Wednesday to the Friday ITB Berlin is open to trade visitors only. The ITB Berlin Convention is held parallel with the trade fair, from Wednesday to Saturday, 4 to 7 March 2015. It is the world"s largest specialist convention for the industry. More details are available at http://www.itb-convention.com. ITB Berlin is the leading trade fair for the worldwide travel industry. In 2014 a total of 10,147 companies and organisations from 189 countries exhibited their products and services to 174,000 visitors, who included 114,000 trade visitors.
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The Transhuman Revolution: Pilot
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By: Call-Me Kenneth
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Stem Cells from Fat: Cells with Potential
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We now know that fat tissue is the bodys most important reserve of vital cells, including stem cells and so-called progenitor cells. When carrying out aesthetic treatment with stem cells from autologous fat in Clinic DDr. Heinrich, regenerative effects were also observed, suggesting their therapeutic application in orthopedic treatment and other areas of medicine.
These findings are not new: Over the course of many years, practitioners of veterinary medicine have made positive experiences in the therapeutic use of autologous stem cells for thousands of dogs and racehorses. Stem cells extracted from the animals autologous fat appear to be suited for the regeneration of damaged joints, bones and cartilages. Furthermore, they are administered with the goal of general regeneration and increasing performance.
Centers worldwide are now also carrying out therapy with adult stem cells from autologous fat on humans. Due to the enormous potential for success and possible huge benefits, Clinic DDr. Heinrich is now offering regenerative stem cell therapy.
Regenerative stem cell therapies have the potential to regenerate weakened tissue and organs and therefore can be used for treating a variety of diseases resulting from organ or tissue weakness. Numerous studies have been made worldwide in which stem cells are used in the therapy of heart disease, diabetes, joint disease, neurological and endocrinological diseases and many other degenerative processes.
When stem cells differentiate into adult cells, the micro-environment plays an important role. The surrounding tissue in which the stem cells lodge apparently determines which type of cells (skin, fat, muscle cells, etc.) evolve out of them. Stem cells are currently not used in cases of cancer, because they could stimulate the growth of existing tumors.
Stem cell therapy with autologous stem cells from fat tissue is carried out on an outpatient basis using local anesthesia. During the first step, a small quantity of fat is obtained with gentle liposuction using microcannulas. The stem cells isolated from it in a complex procedure are injected immediately afterwards according to the indication, either locally at the affected organ or tissue or systemically. In case of systemic administration (usually intravenous using infusion), stem cells seem to find their own way to those building sites in the body at which their regenerative and healing effect is needed. Repeat treatment sessions are often recommended.
The therapeutic effect generally begins several weeks after the application. Any further treatment can be carried out several months later at the earliest, regardless of the improvement achieved. Check-ups after surgery are scheduled on an individual basis.
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Robert Vondracek has had multiple sclerosis for 20 years. His speech is starting to slur and he's been having more trouble getting around, and when he heard about a controversial stem cell therapy that might help, he got excited.
"I heard about the stem cell treatments being done right here in Phoenix," said Vondracek, 61. "It shocked me because it was not approved in this country, I didn't think."
The therapy was offered by an Arizona plastic surgeon who gives the stem cell treatments in the same clinic where he does cosmetic procedures.
But when Vondracek's neurologist heard about his interest in the therapy, which would cost $7,000 per treatment, "He went crazy," said Vondracek. He strongly advised Vondracek against it.
Plastic surgeons, other doctors and naturopaths at more than 100 clinics round the country are charging thousands of dollars for a controversial procedure called stem cell therapy to treat a range of disorders, including neurological diseases like MS and Parkinson's.
Robert Vondracek and his girlfriend, Terese Knapik.
The procedure has angered many neurologists and prominent researchers who say these doctors are preying on vulnerable people and capitalizing on the huge but still unrealized potential of stem cell research, which they say is years away from producing an approved treatment for neurological diseases.
"Peddling snake oil in the guise of stem cell therapies is really a threat to legitimate research," said Dr. George Daley, director of the Stem Cell Transplantation Program at Boston Children's Hospital, past president of the International Society for Stem Cell Research and a professor at Harvard Medical School.
"Finding cures is hard, it takes sometimes decades, it's extremely expensive and it's not something that we can just wish and hope for," he said. "It can only be achieved through very, very hard work."
Dr. George Daley is a nationally recognized expert on stem cells at Boston Childrens Hospital and Harvard Medical School.
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