Fragrantly Beautiful

AM - Stem cells used for illegal beauty treatment: Russia

AM - Friday, 8 September , 2006 08:30:00

Reporter: Emma Griffiths

TONY EASTLEY: As Federal politicians in Canberra debate the finer points of stem cell research, Russians are queuing up for stem cell injections to improve their looks.

Dozens of beauty clinics offer what they claim are stem cell treatments to give their customers smooth, youthful skin.

Moscow has been dubbed the global capital of beauty stem-cell therapy.

The ABC's Moscow Correspondent Emma Griffiths reports.

EMMA GRIFFITHS: Katia (phonetic) is 28-years-old and has just had a baby. The pregnancy has left her with stretch marks and cellulite on her thighs.

She's turned to stem cells for a cure.

"I was not scared," she says. "It's worth suffering to be beautiful, so I was psychologically prepared for that."

Katia signed up for stem cell treatment at a beauty salon in Moscow. The cellulite clinic claims to inject its clients with both embryonic and adult stem cells.

The therapy costs thousands of dollars, but plenty of Moscowites are prepared to pay up.

Clinic manager Roman Knyazev:

"A woman here is subjected to huge physical and moral pressure," he says. "She does not want to get old. She wants to feel and look good. Besides, there might be some aesthetic problems. There are people who have been in car accidents and there is a genuine need to get rid of their scars. The cells do that quite well."

These building blocks of the human body have become the latest craze in Moscow, but using stem cells as a beauty treatment is technically illegal here.

The authorities have tried to crack down on the practice. They're worried about side effects and that the so-called stem cells might in fact be different material of uncertain origin.

Several clinics have been closed down, but many continue to operate and advertise their services, courtesy of legal loop holes and little regulation.

Ramil Habriev is the head of Russia's public health agency.

"Beauty clinics turned out to be among the top consumers of stem cells," he says. "This is not good, because we still haven't begun to use the technology widely in clinical practice, and we realise that there is a big risk, although our expectations for the effectiveness of such methods are quite high."

There are high hopes in Russia for the medical use of stem cells.Some health clinics have been licensed for research purposes and have already begun to practice on patients.

They claim progress, but haven't convinced the many skeptics here and abroad.

For Katia, her stem cell beauty treatment was akin to a miracle, and she says she'll be back for more.

This is Emma Griffiths in Moscow for AM.

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posted by Cheryl Levesque @ 3:24 PM