2 thoughts on “Stem-Cell Treatments”

  1. Any specific set of treatments, such as autosystemic stem cell treatments, could be got past the FDA by a law passed through Congress declaring that set to be, legally, “the practice of Medicine.”

    It would be a lot cleaner to abolish the FDA, but that runs into the fantasy of “they’re all that protects us from xxxxxxx, who would surely kill us in mounds of corpses, without the FDA.” Of course, the same fantasy is current about the State Medical Boards, that assure monopoly pricing in each State, usually held by the same people holding that fantasy about the FDA, all without thinking about it.

    For my money, abolish the FDA, declare “the practice of Medicine” a naturally interstate commerce, and add in health insurance as being naturally interstate as well. Then make proper use of “the Commerce Clause”, and mandate using internet networks of physicians *in*practice*treating*patients* as the proper way to find out both efficacy and safety in human treatments. Have the Public Health Service take over the functions of the CDC, without taking along any of its managers now performing that function. Exchange the NIH for a prize system like the X-prizes at NASA, that reward curing ailments, and extending human lifespans by 10+ years. Then make it easy for groups in Civil Society to do likewise.

    The rate of advance of medicine in the US would triple, at minimum.

  2. My father is living proof of the wonders of stem cell therapy. He was diagnosed with stage 2 multiple myeloma at the beginning of last year and was told he probably had anywhere from 3-5 years to live. His doctor put him on an aggressive schedule of steroids and immunomodulatory agents to which he responded very well to the treatment. Another scan of his bone marrow showed that they couldn’t find any new myeloma cells and upgraded him to Stage 1. This made him eligible for stem cell therapy to try and beat the disease. He had to go to the hospital for about 3 or 4 weeks straight, a couple of hours a day, where they hooked him up to a dialysis like machine that harvested his body’s stem cells till it filled up an small IV bag. Then, he had to check himself into the hospital for 2 weeks straight where they gave him chemotherapy and then administered the stem cells they collected back into his body all at once. This was effectively like doing a reboot on his body’s immune system, which is why he had to stay hospital bound to avoid infection. It is such a thorough reboot of the immune system that he actually has to get all his booster shots again. Now the doctors are saying that he’s got more than 10 years to live! Truly amazing and wondrous to have him go from a life expectancy of 3 years to more than 10. With that scare however, I still cherish all the times I get to spend with him.

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