Episode 385: Talking about stem cell therapies with Tim Caulfield

In episode 385, James and Mike invite Tim Caulfield (author, professor and lawyer) yet again to talk about the marketing and evidence around stem cell therapies. Low and behold the evidence pales in comparison to the hype. At the end Tim states – “science is hard” – enough said.

1) Is Gwenyth Paltrow wrong about everything?

2) A user’s guide to cheating death

3) Televised medical talk shows–what they recommend and the evidence to support their recommendations: a prospective observational study

BMJ. 2014 Dec 17;349:g7346. doi: 10.1136/bmj.g7346

4) The evolution of policy issues in stem cell research: an international survey

Stem Cell Rev. 2012 Dec;8(4):1037-42. doi: 10.1007/s12015-012-9404-5

5) Reassessing direct-to-consumer portrayals of unproven stem cell therapies: is it getting better?

Regen Med. 2013 May;8(3):361-9. doi: 10.2217/rme.13.15

6) International Society for Stem Cell Research

7) Polar Extremes in the Clinical Use of Stem Cells

N Engl J Med. 2017 Mar 16;376(11):1075-1077. doi: 10.1056/NEJMe1701379

8) How Anecdotal Evidence Can Undermine Scientific Results

9) Exploiting science? A systematic analysis of complementary and alternative medicine clinic websites’ marketing of stem cell therapies

BMJ Open 2018;8:e019414. doi:10.1136/ bmjopen-2017-019414