欧洲最大的干细胞诊所在发生婴儿​​死亡后被关闭.

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Europe's largest stem cell clinic shut down after death of baby0 o# y, k1 h" r% Y$ G- [
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Europe's largest stem cell clinic, which is at the centre of a scandal over the death of a baby given an injection into the brain, has been shut down.
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XCell had exploited a loophole in German law allowing it to charge for experimental procedures 1 }" q- I1 c# j
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Robert Mendick and Allan Hall in Berlin 8:10AM BST 08 May 2011+ K+ t: h/ Y/ d

% x2 Q" g! H% v* `  }2 |/ m# fThe closure of the XCell-Center in Dusseldorf follows an undercover investigation by The Sunday Telegraph into its controversial practices, which attracted hundreds of patients from the UK. The clinic charged patients up to £20,000 for stem cell injections into the back and brain despite a lack of scientific proof that the treatments actually worked.( q0 q# Z% }' ~+ a7 J
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Experts in stem cell research had accused the clinic of preying on vulnerable patients, desperately seeking a cure for such illnesses and diseases as cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, autism, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, heart disease, diabetes and spinal cord injuries.
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While most other European countries - as well as the US, Canada and Australia - have banned stem cell treatments unless shown to be safe and effective, XCell had exploited a loophole in German law allowing it to charge for the experimental procedures.
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But last week, the clinic suddenly announced it had ceased carrying out operations due to what it described as legal changes in Germany. In a posting on its website, XCell said last week: "Due to a new development in German law, stem cell therapy is currently not possible to perform at the XCell-Center. Regretfully for this reason, we must cancel your appointment until further notice. We will notify you for further updates about the matter."+ A; H8 r4 Y+ _- C3 m6 Q+ ?5 L' K

/ y0 j; x8 n6 n7 PThe clinic had come under increasing scrutiny following the death of an 18-month-old boy in August last year, in a case first revealed by The Sunday Telegraph. The child, who was from Romania, was injected in the brain with stem cells but suffered internal bleeding. Three months earlier, a boy aged 10 from Azerbaijan had almost died when the same procedure went wrong. The doctor who carried out the operation remains under criminal investigation. 8 M+ e- t" V7 @+ k( J: R4 @6 t, i% e