The results of a recent phase 2 study of stem cell therapy for rheumatoid arthritis can only be described in one word: tantalizing. The dramatic results, which include symptoms relieved for at least nine months after just one stem cell injection, still need to be validated in a larger phase 3 study. But that hasn’t [Read More]
Stem cell therapy offers an incredible and unprecedented medical opportunity for people suffering from chronic musculoskeletal pain to finally attain the relief that they have been seeking. Unlike medications and physical therapy, stem cell therapy actually targets and repairs the body’s damaged tissues in order to minimize and eliminate pain altogether. However, it’s counterproductive to [Read More]
The large number of stem cells in fat has led to a new wave of treatments in plastic surgery that hopes to harness the potential of this ‘wonder’ cell. Since a stem cell can turn into any type of cell if properly stimulated, it is not hard to see why any treatment attached to it [Read More]
The prevalence of progressive AGA approaches 50% of Caucasian men and women beyond the age of 40; whereas in Asian, Native American, and African American men the prevalence is lower and less severe. There is a definite pattern the author has seen the past 34 years in hair restoration. Ten years ago, seven of ten [Read More]
A stem cell is a basic cell that has the capability to transform into specialized cells such as the heart, nerves, lung, skin and more. It also can duplicate and produce more of its own. The body summons stem cells to the site of injury to repair and restore normal function. When other cells get [Read More]
Glaucoma is known as one of the most common causes of vision loss and blindness in older Americans. Despite its prevalence, there is still no cure for it. While treatments can prevent the disease from worsening, nothing can reverse the damage caused by glaucoma. Scientists are now studying the applications of regenerative medicine to determine [Read More]
Arthritis is one of the most common health conditions facing Americans today, with nearly 51 million people around the country coping with some form of the painful joint disease. For many years, the main goal of arthritis treatment and management was simply to control pain and minimize joint pain as much as possible to give [Read More]
Stem cells have had success in treating many conditions. In our clinic we have had great success using stem cells harvested from fat in the treatment of Interstitial cystitis or the painful bladder syndrome. Millions of patients suffer from the debilitating condition known as interstitial cystitis or painful bladder syndrome. Interstitial cystitis is a condition [Read More]
The Patient Profile of a Very Active Athlete John was a 60-year-old healthy avid skier when he came to see me for a consultation to consider stem cell therapy to treat his painful right knee. The patient’s original injury took place while playing high school football at which time he tore his ACL. He recovered [Read More]
The realm of regenerative medicine has yet another success to boast to the rest of the world. Scientists just succeeded in using stem cells to grow intestinal tissues with authentically functional nerves. The laboratory experiment utilizes pluripotent stem cells in order to study Hirschsprung’s disease, and now the results can be applied to other vital [Read More]
Teeth play very valuable roles in the human body, from chewing food to keeping the jaw bones strong and healthy. But now scientists have revealed that your teeth could actually save your life. Similar to concept of harvesting stem cells from the umbilical cord after delivery and banking them in case of a health emergency [Read More]
When three-year-old Ava Stark was diagnosed with a rare blood disorder earlier this year, her family was told that she would not survive without a stem cell transplant. Thus began a search for a potential donor who could give the gift of life to the toddler from Lochgelly in Fife, Scotland. Now, after two failed [Read More]
Autism, and more broadly speaking autism spectrum disorder, is associated with a varying degree of poor brain development in which the affected child has difficulty with verbal and nonverbal communication, social interaction, and repetitive behaviors. Parents of children with severe autism are painted a bleak picture for their child’s future. Meltdowns, compulsive behaviors, and a [Read More]
Sweden’s Nobel Prize panel, which hands out the prize for medicine among others, has been rocked by a scandal involving an Italian surgeon who specializes in stem cell therapy. Dr. Paolo Macchiarini is accused of falsifying his CV and falsely claiming he is Pope Francis’ personal physician. Two judges on the panel, Harriet Wallberg and [Read More]
Stem cell tourism has been in the news lately with horrifying stories of treatments gone wrong. But according to a report published in Cell Stem Cell, Americans don’t need to travel thousands of miles for experimental treatments. There are more than 500 clinics offering completely illegal, often ineffective, and potentially fatal stem cell treatments in [Read More]
Theresa Wagner of Northland, Missouri, was at high risk of vascular disease. Smoking and heredity had dealt a double blow to her circulation. When Dr. Keith Allen, a cardiovascular surgeon at St. Luke’s Hospital, met Theresa four years ago, her foot was badly infected due to very poor circulation. What should have appeared as a [Read More]
Stem cells and growth factors are both trending words right now within the medical community, especially as certain treatments become widely available for patients to utilize for a multitude of purposes. It can be complicated to understand the difference between the two when it seems like they achieve the same outcome, but stem cells and [Read More]
Millions of Americans are affected by mental disability. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that the prevalence of autism is 1 in 88 children. About 1 in 323 children have been diagnosed as having cerebral palsy. These two disorders are the most common disabilities affecting children. A special needs child affects the [Read More]
Top athletes and sportspersons are under tremendous pressure to get back into play. They have millions of dollars riding on their backs. Their teams depend on them. A single serious injury can end a promising career. Until now, surgery has been the mainstay of treatment for sports-related injuries. Athletes are left with wires, plates, screws, [Read More]
One of the most promising avenues of regenerative medicine is the injection of intact, living cells into a patient, a branch of medicine known as cell therapy. For instance, as a form of immunotherapy, T-cells may be injected into a patient to fight cancer cells with cell-mediated immunity. After a therapeutic cell phenotype has been [Read More]
Finding out you’re expecting a baby is one of the most joyful moments in life. However, losing the baby before it’s even born can be devastating. If you have had three or more miscarriages in a row, it is called recurrent miscarriage, a condition that can leave you feeling utterly hopeless. There are several reasons [Read More]
On May 5, 2016, Cranberry Holistic Pet Care in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania made headlines when they completed an unprecedented stem cell procedure on a canine patient. This particular dog suffered from osteoarthritis and was constantly in pain, but the treatment itself indicates the wider potential of stem cell treatments to improve the quality of life [Read More]
The eye is an incredible and complex piece of anatomy, which means it stands the risk of malfunctioning or becoming injured at any time. Glaucoma is one such disease that can cause vision loss and blindness, but stem cell research recently uncovered a potential method to overcome the disease and help prevent or even cure [Read More]
Stem cell therapy could soon be used to treat what is, at present, incurable blindness caused by retinitis pigmentosa (RP), an inherited degenerative disease affecting the retina of the eye, associated with a gradual loss of vision. The retina is composed of a layer of cells responsible for sensing light in the human eye. Retinitis [Read More]
Angina—a squeezing, pressure-like chest pain—can feel similar to a heart attack and is a warning sign that the arteries carrying oxygen-rich blood to the heart are blocked. Although angina is typically short-lived, it is an indicator of underlying, potentially life-threatening heart disease. Refractory angina (RA) is resistant to traditional therapies such as drugs, angioplasty, and [Read More]
Damage to the spinal cord frequently results in a permanent loss of body functions that are controlled by nerves below the site of injury. Trauma to the spine from fractures, crush injuries, gunshot wounds, and knife stabbings are some of the possible causes of spinal cord injuries (SCIs). Non-traumatic causes include arthritis, inflammation, infection, tumors, [Read More]
Just like all cells, tissues, and organs in the body, stem cells also age as a person grows older. Now scientists have developed a technique to rejuvenate aging stem cells and allow them to function like their younger, more robust versions. This method of transforming old stem cells into new has applications in the treatment [Read More]
If you are over age 50, have severe osteoarthritis of the knees, and conservative treatments have failed you, the only treatment available for your stiff and painful joints has long been a knee replacement surgery. This entails an approximately 8-12 inch cut in front of the knee, removal of the damaged joint parts, and replacement [Read More]
One of the leading causes of miscarriage is a problematic placenta, a temporary organ that develops in a woman’s uterus for the duration of her pregnancy to provide nutrition to the developing baby. The placenta is a critical link between the mother and her baby. In addition to providing nourishment and immunity to the fetus, [Read More]
Osteoporosis is asymptomatic until it presents itself with a fracture. The condition affects an estimated 200 million people worldwide and causes close to 9 million fractures every year. Hip fractures resulting from senile osteoporosis nearly always require hospitalization and are fatal in 20 percent of patients, leaving another 50 percent permanently disabled. Only a third [Read More]
In the summer of 2015, a 73-year-old Canadian man, Charles Bernique, doubled over while eating a birthday lunch with his wife. What was initially thought to be extreme food poisoning turned out, in fact, to be a burst esophagus, which led to a severe infection ravaging his frail body. Diagnosed with septic shock, a potentially [Read More]
Myasthenia gravis, a neuromuscular condition in which patients must endure fluctuating degrees of debilitating fatigue and weakness, is a chronic autoimmune disease affecting about 20 people in every 100,000 in the United States. A retrospective observational study led by Dr. Harold Atkins at the University of Ottawa in Ontario, Canada, published in JAMA Neurology, has [Read More]
What is regenerative therapy? It is a relatively new type of treatment which enables or enhances body’s own mechanisms for regeneration of a particular tissue or organ, in order to restore normal anatomy and function of that part of the body. The most significant types of regeneration therapy used for treating injuries are stem cells [Read More]
Stem cell therapy has already shown tremendous promise in healing areas of the brain damaged by radiation injury from cancer treatment. Scientists at the University of California Irvine have now made a promising discovery that an isolated part of stem cells called microvesicles can produce comparable benefits, without some of the risks associated with stem [Read More]
Australian scientists have recently shared some exciting news in the field of stem cell therapy. For the first time, researchers have been able to reprogram adult stem cells to regenerate any type of body tissue. The technique, inspired by a salamander’s ability to regrow a lost limb, makes adult stem cells lose their tissue-specific characteristics [Read More]
In a breakthrough that scientists are calling remarkable, cataracts in the lens of the eye can now be cured by inducing stem cells to regenerate and grow a living lens to reverse blindness in just three months. Surgeons have succeeded in restoring sight in 12 infants born with congenital cataract (a clouded lens at birth). [Read More]
The results of a new study published in The Lancet and presented at the American College of Cardiology’s annual meeting are promising for people battling debilitating end-stage heart failure. In a controlled clinical trial conducted by the University of Utah School of Medicine, one set of patients had stem cells harvested from their own bone [Read More]
All professional athletes have an intense routine to achieve top results. That inevitably leads to damage of their whole body, but the locomotor system takes most of the pounding. Although it makes sense that contact sports are the most common cause of injuries of the locomotor system, the fact is that although injuries in contact [Read More]
The emerging medical field of regenerative medicine poses exciting possibilities. Adult stem cells can potentially restore sight to the blind, help people overcome crippling conditions, and permit someone who is wheelchair-bound to walk again. These groundbreaking therapies are based on the fundamentals of molecular biology and have the potential to cure any disease resulting from [Read More]
Acute lung injury (ALI) is a significant source of morbidity and mortality in critically ill patients. ALI is characterized by acute inflammation that causes disruption of the lung endothelial and epithelial barrier. ALI can be caused by infection with avian influenza virus subtype H5N1. The human mortality rate of H5N1 infection is about 60 percent. [Read More]
Stem cell therapy is becoming a phrase thrown around with abandon. People are increasingly aware of regenerative medicine as a panacea for a spectrum of maladies, ranging from baldness to blindness. Clinics offering adult stem cell treatments are mushrooming in unregulated medical tourism centers in far-flung countries, offering hope to the desperately ill. Stem cells [Read More]
