Treatments in Germany involving adult stem cells will be more closely regulated after revision of Germany’s medical products law received final approval by the Bundesrat, the upper house of parliament.

The Bundesrat approved the revisions on 10 July, just over two weeks after the German Society for Neurology and the German Parkinson Society issued a joint statement warning that patients with Parkinson’s disease should not undergo treatments involving bone marrow stem cells. Such treatments are being offered around the world, including at the XCell-Center in Cologne, the societies said in the statement on 23 June.

The XCell-Center began operating in Cologne in January 2007, since when “more than 1600 patients have safely undergone our various stem cell treatments,” the centre’s website states.

The website (www.xcell-center.com), available in 10 languages, gives a detailed overview …