"The story does not mention any costs of the experimental procedure. The story states that the new therapy eliminated the need for injections for months or years in 14 of 15 patients, thereby describing absolute benefits. The story states the new treatment is not without risks and that patients are prone to infection. However, there is no description of how severe this harm might be (could lead to death) or how frequently these occurred in the study. So, although harms are briefly mentioned, they are not adequately developed or appreciated. This is not a minor issue, as stem cell transplant can be associated with very signficant risks of infection, organ failure and even death. As an example of what can be left out in a shortened version, this line about potential harms appeared in the original LA  Times story, but was left out of the Boston Globe version we reviewed: ""Burt's research group at Northwestern has performed 170 stem-cell transplants to treat a variety of immune system disorders, and two patients have died from the treatment."" The story does not report the strength of the evidence, namely whether this was a randomized trial or something less robust. Readers also aren't cautioned about the low number of participants or the short length of follow-up which limits the conclusions that can be drawn. The story does not overembellish the nature of the condition or its burden. The article quotes a source associated with the research and also quotes a source not associated with the research. The article discusses the alternate, standard thereapy for type 1 diabetics, which is insulin injections. The article states the treatment is experimental, letting readers know this procedure is not available at your local doctor's office just yet. The story states the research suggests a new avenue of treatment for people with Type I diabetes letting readers know this would be a new treatment (although the story states stem cell transplantation has been used with other conditions). Because the story had input from several sources, including one not involved in the research, it's safe to assume it did not rely solely or largely on a news release."
Stem cell treatment used for diabetes