Easing of Regulation of Unproven Stem Cell Therapies Looming; RFK Jr. Discloses His Treatment

RFK Jr. photo and captiion

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who oversees the nation’s biomedical research and medical regulatory apparatus, said last week that he had what he described as a stem cell treatment in Antigua that helped him “enormously.”

Kennedy has spasmodic dysphonia, an affliction that accounts for his raspy voice. He did not identify the physician who treated him or the type of stem cell treatment or the unregulated clinic that was involved. But he said, “Why did I have to go to Antigua for that?”

The suggestion was that the U.S. would soon ease its minimal regulation of clinics that promise unproven stem cell treatments for afflictions ranging from cancer to impotence.

California is a hotbed for rogue stem cell clinics, leading the nation in their numbers, according to some experts. The California stem cell agency has denounced what its CEO, Jonathan Thomas, has called “snake oil” treatments.

Kennedy’s comments last week drew some national media attention. Mohana Ravindranath of the New York Times wrote about the issues and quoted Kennedy.