FEATURE: Japan weighs tighter rules as regenerative medicine treatments spread

TOKYO - Claims that treatments can "reverse aging" or "attack cancer cells" are being used to promote regenerative medicine at private clinics across Japan, but a series of patient deaths and legal violations is raising concerns about safety.

As privately paid treatments such as stem cell therapies expand, newer procedures involving exosomes, tiny structures released by cells that carry signals between cells and play a role in the body's natural repair processes, have also emerged beyond the reach of existing legislation, prompting the health ministry to consider tightening regulations.