Michael Joyce is a multimedia producer with HealthNewsReview.org and tweets as @mlmjoyce.

If you had been in Salt Lake City last month, savoringyour morningcoffee, and watching this channel 4 morning show, you might have been treated to this videopromising a revolutionary treatment that assures you dont have to live with back pain.

Youd also be assured that the doctor being interviewed, Dr. Kahn, works at the only place in Utah that does this particular type of stem cell procedure.

But had you found this story online as Dr. Leigh Turner did, and tweeted it our way you might have noticed, tucked way down atthe bottom of the page, thislonely line: This story includes sponsored content (the video didnt mention this at any point during its 5-minute run time, though its possible the broadcast version was preceded by a disclaimer).

Dr. Turner is a bioethicist at the University of Minnesota who, along with studying direct-to-consumer marketing and medical tourism, has a special interest in unproven stem cell therapies. Last summer he co-authored a paper which documented 351 companies across the United States marketing unapproved & unlicensed stem cell procedures. Dr. Khans Wasatch Pain Solutions is one of these businesses. A quick glance at the companys websiteoffers this:

If that is the case then why is Dr. Kahn using an unlicensed, non-FDA-approved treatment that is not supported by controlled research?

The market for these unregulated, unapproved, and unproven stem cell therapies is expanding, says Dr. Leigh Turner. And the list of conditions they claim to treat has expanded to 30 or 40 different diseases. In reflecting on the promotionalcontent of the video, Turner also noticed something else disturbing:

What strikes me in watching the video is just how commonplace a video like thishas become. These businesses and their claims are everywhere, and people dont even seem to blink anymore. Its just become part of the consumer landscape.

And what about the media landscape? A quick glance at the KUCW/KTVX- Channel 4 website reveals foursponsored videos in just the past fourmonths from Dr. Khans Wasatch Pain Solutions ALL promoting the use of the Regenexx stem cell procedures. I ask Turner what he thinks of the media coverage of stem cell interventionsin general.

The media coverage of these unproven stem cell treatments has been highly variable, says Turner. Ive seen insightful and critical examples of investigative reporting that deserve credit. But then there are videos like this one that can lead to misinformation. Its not asking the questions that need to be asked. You cant just sit back and allow someone to make these claims and assertions and not ask the questions that might help your viewers.

And Turner is right. There is some great writing out there. Like this piece by Julia Belluz of Vox warning of the consequences of hyping unproven stem cell research. And another compelling read published today by BuzzFeed which takes on the issue of harm head-on. News storiesthat dont do such a great job tend toward the anecdotal and feature some of the more wildly speculative uses of stem cells in treating things like Alzheimers disease, multiple sclerosis, or even the damaged throwing arms of major league pitchers. But even some of these articles do well in bringing up important issues likeoutrageous treatment costs, lack of FDA approval, possible placebo effects, pervasive skepticism within the medical community at large, and the availability ofwell-established alternative therapies. But many reporterscould do a much better job in simply asking for data. Asking about conflicts of interest. Asking about risks. And simplyfollowing the money. We offer a primer to help journalists address many of these issues.

But beyond the strip mall stem cell injectionsfor whatever ails you, and journalists asking tough questions or not asking any, is perhaps something even more disconcerting. Again, Dr. Leigh Turner:

If this was just about a few businesses here and there I could see them flying under the radar. But when you have 351 of them as our study shows then it suggests a much bigger problem that raises bigger questions. Where is the FDA? Where is the FTC? What about assuring truthfulness, accuracy and honesty in advertising toconsumers? And where are the state medical boards? When you have doctors making promotional claims not backed up by evidence, and who are performing procedures that are not part of the contemporary, evidence-based practice of medicine, then we clearly need external regulators involved who are making decisions based on evidence and not based on financial gain. Where are they?

Lets be fair here.Whether the setting is strip malls or ivory towers is not the issue; the issue is evidence. I think the strip mall settings of many of these businesses speak more to the burgeoning commodification of stem cell therapies than anything else. But the evidence that these stem cells as many practitioners claim are somehow intrinsically capable of sensing the environment they are injected into, and precisely targetwhatever functions require repair, is not proven. Complex cellular systems dont operate that way, as correctly pointed out by FDA scientists in this opinion piece published in todays New England Journal of Medicine.

It is possible some of these stem cell therapies may eventually prove to be safe. Or even efficacious. But until that is clarified with high quality research, the 5 Ws &1H of journalism should be applied to every single story about these unproven stem cell therapies: WHERE is the data? WHATare the real risks and benefits of this therapy? WHY arent alternative therapies being discussed? WHO is making the money here and are there conflicts of interest at play? WHEN will see scientific studies backing revolutionaryclaims and why dont you have them now?

And we end with HOW? How can our state and federal regulators ignore this? How can journalists not give into the hyperbole for clicks and ratings, and instead choose hard questions seekingreal information? And how can we as consumers stop falling for this misleading infotainment and go about demanding more integrity from our health care providers and regulators?

I dont think the answers will come from your local strip mall.

The segment on the WFAA-TV, Dallas, Good Morning Texas program, was headlined "The latest on

Joy Victory is deputy managing editor of HealthNewsReview.org. She tweets as @thejoyvictory. At this moment,

Joy Victory is deputy managing editor of HealthNewsReview.org. She tweets as @thejoyvictory. Lastweek about a

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Strip mall stem cells - HealthNewsReview.org