Rabbit Fetus Therapy Risky, Scientists Warn

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STEM cell experts warn that therapies offered by visiting European practitioners are unproven, potentially dangerous and illegal in Australia.

Beginning tomorrow, representatives of Fetal Cell Technologies International -- with headquarters in Kuala Lumpur -- will present free "education" seminars in Perth and Sydney about the alleged benefits of injections of cells from rabbit fetuses.

A spokesman for Australia's medical regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration, confirmed the treatments were not approved for registration or promotion within Australia, although the TGA could not prevent FCTI from publicising the services offered at its clinics in Malaysia and Switzerland.

Such so-called cell therapies are also illegal in the US.

The American Cancer Society warns of bacterial and viral infections, life-threatening or fatal -- allergic reactions, brain swelling and serious immune system reactions.

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In a press release and on its website, FCTI claims its "rabbit fetal precursor stem cells" are effective treatments for conditions as diverse as autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy and ageing.

Stem cell scientist Richard Boyd, director of Monash University's Monash Immunology Stem Cell Laboratories, said: "I see no scientific mechanism by which this single group of cells could repair such a diverse range of diseases".

He said the term "rabbit fetal precursor stem cells" was scientifically meaningless.

"We don't know the identity of these cells, how they've been treated or how they expect the cells to target the specific disease sites," he said.

According to stem cell scientist and physician Kirsten Herbert, clinical adviser to Melbourne's Australian Stem Cell Centre, FCTI's claims have "no scientific credibility".

Dr Herbert, who is also with the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, added: "Any practitioner claiming to have treated hundreds of patients with a novel treatment but without publication (in a peer reviewed journal) raises concerns."

According to Doug Sipp, leader of the science policy and ethics unit of the RIKEN Centre for Developmental Biology in Kobe, Japan, FCTI is one of roughly 200 outfits worldwide offering unproven therapies supposedly based on stem cells.

Mr Sipp said online claims and testimonials were unsubstantiated. "They're exploiting the reputation of stem cells as the future of medicine," he said.

Dr Herbert agreed: "This sort of direct marketing to patients is criticised by the general medical and scientific community because it allows the providers to make claims without any substantiation by scientific evidence."

Representatives of FCTI failed to respond to requests for comment and scientific documentation.

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