text_1: Stem cell experiment lets diabetics forgo insulin
text_2: The NBC broadcast nicely contrasts the demands that glucose monitoring and insulin shots impose on Type I diabetes patients with the tremendous uncertainty associated with experimental stem cell treatments that might free patients from these daily routines. It summarizes the treatment’s apparent benefits and potential harms, as well as ethical concerns about exporting research on dangerous treatments to countries such as Brazil where patients may not fully understand the risks. If the broadcast has a weakness, it is that it fails to mention the limitations inherent in any small, nonrandomized, nonblinded study with short follow-up that investigates a new treatment in patients with a chronic disease requiring lifelong care. (See “Evidence” above.) Even if the treatments were relatively safe and conducted in the U.S., viewers should understand that such studies are awash in potential biases and should always be approached with caution.