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Stem cells can turn into specialized cells and can divide to produce more stem cells. They can be harvested from bone marrow, blood and some types of tissue. They have long been used in treatment of blood diseases such as leukemia. Experimental therapies are testing them to help rebuild everything from damaged cells to immune systems.

Howe, who suffered a devastating stroke last fall, was flown just before Christmas to Mexico, where he received experimental stem-cell treatment. In the days following, members of his family described his progress as miraculous.

Photo by Andrew Eccles / AP

Howe is not the first high-profile athlete to seek cell therapy as a cure. Tennis star Rafael Nadal reportedly received treatment for his knee, and football star Peyton Manning is among dozens of other professional athletes who have received stem-cell therapy. And then there are countless non-famous citizens of Canada and elsewhere who pay big money and travel the world every year to seek experimental stem-cell therapies in countries where regulations are not as strict as in Canada.

It’s a trend many researchers have been monitoring with rising concern.

Tim Caulfield, who holds the Canada Research Chair in Health Law and Policy at the University of Alberta, explores the tension between celebrity and science in his book Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything? He says stem-cell tourism contributes to public cynicism about science and medicine and promotes the false belief by some that viable treatments exist but are being withheld from the public.