THANKS to Dana D. – for sending this information;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
By: Melissa Martin and Mary Agnes Welch
Posted: 01/13/2015 10:32 PM
The hope of dancing at her son’s summertime wedding led Sharon Nordstrom to pay $38,000 for a treatment she hoped would keep her multiple-sclerosis symptoms at bay.
That money paid for what she hoped would be a life-changing stem-cell procedure at a hospital in Pune, India. It was part of what she, and nearly 70 other patients from Manitoba and from as far away as Australia, believed was a clinical study helmed by a brilliant Winnipeg medical researcher with a PhD, who said the procedure could stop MS in its tracks.
Soon after her return in May, Nordstrom began to uncover troubling facts. Doug Broeska, whom patients reverently call “Dr. Doug,” has no recognized medical credentials. Regenetek Research, his company based out of a spartan office on Chevrier Boulevard, boasted credentials and positive medical results that didn’t add up. Patients who were once ardent supporters were attacked as saboteurs or shills for “Big Pharma” and threatened with removal from the study after they asked questions.
A Free Press investigation has found Broeska fabricated his credentials, including his PhD, and overstated the effects of the stem-cell treatment, for which he often charged desperately ill people $45,000. Four patients spoke to theFree Press on the record, saying they got no benefit from the treatment, got none of the followup common in clinical trials — such as MRIs or physical acuity tests — and believe they are victims of fraud.
Patients, doctors in India and now Canadian officials are questioning the claims of Winnipeg researcher Doug Broeska and his $45,000 stem-cell therapy for MS sufferers.
At least two of Regenetek’s former patients have complained to the RCMP, and sources say the Canada Revenue Agency is investigating, though CRA officials would not confirm that. Last week, Regenetek’s website, Broeska’s LinkedIn page and a “patient-run” Facebook group were taken down.
The most disturbing evidence is a letter, dated Dec. 10 and obtained by the Free Press, in which the chairman of the medical ethics committee at the Inamdar Hospital in Pune ordered Broeska to step down as principal investigator of the stem-cell study, warning his lack of credentials and followup “violated international ethical standards.”
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