Thirty physicians have signed a letter to Health Minister Nelson Bascome opposing plans for stem cell treatment for neurodegenerative disorders in Bermuda.

The doctors — all licensed and practising on the Island — say treating neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's with stem cells would raise serious safety and ethical questions and damage Bermuda's international reputation and credibility.

Premier Ewart Brown and his wife Wanda are teaming up with California-based Stemedica to create a stem cell clinic in Winterhaven, Smith's, in a move which has attracted strong criticism from doctors at home and abroad.

Stemedica says its technologies can treat a wide array of medical conditions including stroke, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

However, local doctors say using stem cells as treatment for neurodegenerative disorders is experimental and cannot be performed in many jurisdictions such as the United States, the UK, Canada and western Europe.

Their letter also stresses stem cell research in Bermuda should be governed by strict regulations adhering to guidelines laid out by the International Society for Stem Cell Research, and should be subject to independent international oversight by such a group.

Mr. Bascome has previously said stem cell regulations are unlikely to be in place by the time the Brown-Darrell Clinic's stem cell facility opens.

He has stated the Ministry is establishing "policy guidelines" but conceded these will not have the teeth of regulations.

Bermuda's stem cell facility was initially scheduled to open in 2007, but has been delayed following a storm of protests from international doctors about the Island's lack of regulations.

On hearing about the Brown-Darrell Clinic, ISSCR president George Daley said he was sceptical of anyone running experimental treatment in jurisdictions without regulatory oversight.

He fears desperately sick patients have been exploited into handing over tens of thousands of dollars for treatment and has warned people not to be misled into thinking stem cells are a miracle cure.

Brown-Darrell has repeatedly refused to respond when asked if it will delay treating stem cell patients until regulations are established on the Island.

Brown-Darrell refuses to say what kind of stem cell treatment will take place in Bermuda, although in previous statements Stemedica has talked about treating stroke, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, ischemic brain traumas, spinal cord injuries, diabetes, diseases of the eye and age related macular degeneration.

Last night, Brown-Darrell did not respond when asked whether it would be happy to be subject to independent international oversight by an organisation like the ISSCR.

We asked the Ministry of Health for updates on Brown-Darrell and plans to draft stem cell legislation and received this response from Permanent Secretary Warren Jones: "If he (the reporter) were really trying to give us the benefit of answering his questions, his request would not have arrived at 5.06 p.m. expecting us to drop everything as if our priority is a Royal Gazette story."