Al-Sowayan BS, Al-Shareeda AT. Stem cells and the pursuit of youth, a tale of limitless possibilities and commercial fraud. World J Biol Chem 2021; 12(4): 52-56 [PMID: 34354805 DOI: 10.4331/wjbc.v12.i4.52]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Alaa T Al-Shareeda, PhD, Research Scientist, King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Ali Al Arini street, Ar Rimayah, Riyadh 11481, Saudi Arabia. al-shareedaal@ngha.med.sa
Research Domain of This Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Article-Type of This Article
Opinion Review
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Biol Chem. Jul 27, 2021; 12(4): 52-56 Published online Jul 27, 2021. doi: 10.4331/wjbc.v12.i4.52
Stem cells and the pursuit of youth, a tale of limitless possibilities and commercial fraud
Batla S Al-Sowayan, Alaa T Al-Shareeda
Batla S Al-Sowayan, Department of Cell Therapy and Cancer Research, King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh 11632, Saudi Arabia
Alaa T Al-Shareeda, Department of Cell Therapy and Cancer Research and Departmebt of the Saudi Biobank, King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh 11481, Saudi Arabia
Author contributions: Al-Sowayan BS was responsible for the concept and article drafting; Al-Shareeda AT carried out the revision and final approval of the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interests.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Alaa T Al-Shareeda, PhD, Research Scientist, King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Ali Al Arini street, Ar Rimayah, Riyadh 11481, Saudi Arabia. al-shareedaal@ngha.med.sa
Received: February 21, 2021 Peer-review started: February 21, 2021 First decision: April 20, 2021 Revised: May 17, 2021 Accepted: July 7, 2021 Article in press: July 7, 2021 Published online: July 27, 2021
Abstract
This article examines the hype generated around the term “stem cell”, and the capitalization of the stem cell craze by the cosmetic industry. It started by introducing product lines containing active ingredients derived from plant stem cells. Then, evolved to using own cells for skin regeneration and hair loss treatment, and allogenic cells for the manufacturing of stem cell-derived products. This article also discusses the missing links for safe and reliable stem cell applications in cosmetics, and why local regulatory bodies, members of the industry and consumers must all work together to stop the illegitimate use of the “stem cell” good name in unsafe or fraudulent commercial practices.
Core Tip: The capitalization of the stem cell craze by the cosmetic industry. Products and procedures utilizing plant stem cells-extracts, a person’s own cells or allogenic laboratory grown stem-like cells, are all being offered as direct-to-consumer options for tissue regeneration. What are the missing links for safe and reliable stem cell applications in cosmetics, and why is it important to address these issues?
