By Maria Danilova / Associated Press

Mikhail Metzel / Associated Press A nurse prepares an injection advertised as stem cells at the Moscow clinic Cellulite, even though the procedure is illegal. Comment on this story Send this story to a friend Get Home Delivery

MOSCOW -- When Svetlana Galiyeva found a clinic offering to treat her multiple sclerosis with embryonic stem cells, she grabbed the opportunity. Twenty-thousand dollars later, she still uses a wheelchair.

And there is no proof her injections had anything to do with stem cells.

While scientists worldwide are only studying stem cells, dozens of Russian clinics and beauty salons claim they are already using both adult and embryonic stem cells to treat everything from wrinkles to Parkinson's disease.

Scientists warn that while stem cells are still being researched in laboratories, treatment by clinics claiming to use stem cells may cost patients their health and fortunes. Moreover, they say, even though it's illegal, enforcement is lax and no one knows if the injections patients are getting contain stem cells.

Stem cells are the building blocks of the human body -- immature cells that can grow into bone, muscle and other tissues. They are plentiful in the embryo and fetus and are believed to be more versatile than stem cells from adult bone marrow and fat. But embryonic stem cells are controversial because they involve destruction of human embryos.

Hundreds of patients are rushing to Russian clinics and beauty salons that claim to offer embryonic stem cell therapy for a range of diseases as well as cosmetic therapy.

Dr. Roman Knyazev's Cellulite, a clinic in central Moscow, advertises injections of stem cells from aborted fetuses into thighs, buttocks and stomach to help women get rid of cellulite and look younger.

But experts say the procedure carries potentially dangerous side effects.

"No one has been given any licenses for injecting (stem cells) -- these are only experiments. This is all being done at their own risk. This is all illegal," said Vladimir Smirnov, director of the Institute of Experimental Cardiology, who runs an adult stem cell bank.

He said he knew of several state research institutes attempting occasional experimental treatment using adult stem cells from bone marrow and fat. Many other clinics, however, run with little regulation as to what they advertise and inject, Smirnov said.

http://www.detnews.com/2005/health/0503/16/A02-116233.htm