Missouri state lawmaker Patricia Ashton Derges (R) indicted for selling fake stem cell COVID-19 treatments

[CaughtInThe]

Missouri lawmaker indicted for allegedly selling fake stem cell COVID-19 treatments

A Missouri lawmaker has been charged in a 20-count federal indictment after she allegedly administered COVID-19 treatments that she falsely claimed included "regenerative" stem cells at medical clinics she operates.

www.thedenverchannel.com

Damn. That's evil.

 

[Mr Person]

OP Link:
<>
While she claimed that the treatments contained regenerative stem cells, the Department of Justice alleged that they did not contain stem cells and only contained a tissue graft of amniotic membrane and amniotic fluid. NBC News reports that Derges charged between $900 and $1,400 for the treatments but charged one patient as much as $6,000.
<>


Wait. wait. wait. That's pregnancy stuff. The amniotic membrane is in the placenta. Where is she getting this stuff? And what exactly was the treatment?




Risks

Allogeneic tissue has an implicit risk of infectious disease transmission. In general, amniotic membrane is procured from potential donors undergoing caesarean section who have been screened for communicable diseases such as HIV, hepatitis, and syphilis. The placenta is cleaned with a mixture of balanced salt solution, penicillin, streptomycin, neomycin, and amphotericin B. The amnion is separated from the chorion by blunt dissection under sterile conditions, attached to nitrocellulose paper strips, and stored in glycerol solution. The tissue is either stored in that solution for fresh use or cryopreserved at a temperature of -80 degrees Celsius.[33] Currently, there are no published reports of communicable disease transmission from AMT. One report exists of a sterile hypopyon after repeated transplantation of human amniotic membrane onto the corneal surface

Amniotic Membrane Transplant - EyeWiki

All content on Eyewiki is protected by copyright law and the Terms of Service. This content may not be reproduced, copied, or put into any artificial intelligence program, including large language and generative AI models, without permission from the Academy.

eyewiki.aao.org

That link is all about oracular use. But it's not exactly the kind of thing you find lying around. I'd imagine there's a rather complicated process for arranging to get this kind of tissue from donor to recipient.

I guess that explains all the fraud-type charges....

 

[CaughtInThe]

OP Link:
<>
While she claimed that the treatments contained regenerative stem cells, the Department of Justice alleged that they did not contain stem cells and only contained a tissue graft of amniotic membrane and amniotic fluid. NBC News reports that Derges charged between $900 and $1,400 for the treatments but charged one patient as much as $6,000.
<>


Wait. wait. wait. That's pregnancy stuff. The amniotic membrane is in the placenta. Where is she getting this stuff? And what exactly was the treatment?




Risks

Allogeneic tissue has an implicit risk of infectious disease transmission. In general, amniotic membrane is procured from potential donors undergoing caesarean section who have been screened for communicable diseases such as HIV, hepatitis, and syphilis. The placenta is cleaned with a mixture of balanced salt solution, penicillin, streptomycin, neomycin, and amphotericin B. The amnion is separated from the chorion by blunt dissection under sterile conditions, attached to nitrocellulose paper strips, and stored in glycerol solution. The tissue is either stored in that solution for fresh use or cryopreserved at a temperature of -80 degrees Celsius.[33] Currently, there are no published reports of communicable disease transmission from AMT. One report exists of a sterile hypopyon after repeated transplantation of human amniotic membrane onto the corneal surface

Amniotic Membrane Transplant - EyeWiki

All content on Eyewiki is protected by copyright law and the Terms of Service. This content may not be reproduced, copied, or put into any artificial intelligence program, including large language and generative AI models, without permission from the Academy.

eyewiki.aao.org

That link is all about oracular use. But it's not exactly the kind of thing you find lying around. I'd imagine there's a rather complicated process for arranging to get this kind of tissue from donor to recipient.

I guess that explains all the fraud-type charges....

Good questions.

 

[Cardinal]

If there seems to be an awful lot of criminals in the Republican Party of late...far more than you would expect from politicians...it's probably not a coincidence. It's the result of the fact that since Trump came onto the scene, criminality is no longer disqualifying for running in and winning elections.

"Grimm has uncovered a new reality in the constantly changing world of Republican politics: Criminal convictions, once seen as career-enders, are no longer disqualifying. In the era of President Trump, even time spent in prison can be turned into a positive talking point, demonstrating a candidate’s battle scars in a broader fight against what he perceives as liberal corruption."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/crimes-are-no-longer-a-disqualification-for-republican-candidates/2018/04/30/c64a40ac-4807-11e8-827e-190efaf1f1ee_story.html

 

[CaughtInThe]

If there seems to be an awful lot of criminals in the Republican Party of late...far more than you would expect from politicians...it's probably not a coincidence. It's the result of the fact that since Trump came onto the scene, criminality is no longer disqualifying for running in and winning elections.

"Grimm has uncovered a new reality in the constantly changing world of Republican politics: Criminal convictions, once seen as career-enders, are no longer disqualifying. In the era of President Trump, even time spent in prison can be turned into a positive talking point, demonstrating a candidate’s battle scars in a broader fight against what he perceives as liberal corruption."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/crimes-are-no-longer-a-disqualification-for-republican-candidates/2018/04/30/c64a40ac-4807-11e8-827e-190efaf1f1ee_story.html

they went from Bob Dole to Donald Trump.


that's a hell of a fall.