WIKIMEDIA, CHINMAYA MAHAPATRAThe health minister of Italy, Beatrice Lorenzin, has put the final nail in the coffin of a clinical trial to test the effect of mesenchymal stem cells on neurodegenerative diseases. Lorenzin announced earlier this month (October 3) that, based on the conclusions of a panel of experts, the trial will not continue; it is the second time her agency has reached this conclusion, and this time, it is final.
According to ScienceInsider, Luca Pani, the director of Italy’s drug regulator, AIFA, said in a statement that investigators found “a number of serious violations which leave no room for interpretation.”
The Stamina Foundation in Italy had already treated a number of patients suffering from neurodegenerative diseases with stem cells. A formal clinical trial was set to proceed until scientists piped up in opposition, and a review of the approach a year ago determined that it was not based on sound science.
However, a judge said that some members of the first panel might have been biased, so a second panel convened this year and ended up reaching the same conclusion.
According to the Nature News Blog, “The Stamina Foundation is estimated to have treated well ...
