Stem Cell Treatment
Stem cells are the
body's way of repairing itself after sustaining injury or encountering
disease. In a perfect world, our bodies would be able to fully heal
themselves. But for many of us, full recover is hardly ever achieved
and for some of us, our conditions only get worse or at most slightly
better. Recent research has found that stem cells can be activated to
be more effective at repairing the body. In addition, studies have
also shown that adipose or fat has much higher concentration of stem
cells than previous sources for stem cell harvesting.
What are Stem Cells?
Stem
cells are primitive or primordial cells that have the potential to
change into other types of cells. There are basically two types of stem
cells: embryonic and adult. Embryonic stem cells form early in fetal
development and are primitive undifferentiated cells. As the fetus
develops further, embryonic stem cells transform into specialized cells
to form individual organ systems in the body.
What conditions can be treated with Stem Cells?
Stems cells can be used to treat a wide variety of medical conditions including the following:
Neurological Conditions- Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Autism, Stroke, Neurodegenerative hearing loss, Multiple Sclerosis.
Hyper-immune or Auto-immune conditions- lupus, arthritis, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, Crohn's and ulcerative colitis, vasculitis, nephritis, scleroderma and others. Cardiovascular conditions
- stem cells promote neo-vascular development and can improve
peripheral vascular disease, Beaurger's disease. They also can
differentiate into cardiac muscle and help improve cardiac function
after myocardial infarction or dilated cardiopathy.
Cosmetic enhancement -
stem cells when combined with fat transfer procedure can be used to
restore lost facial volume and rejuvenate the skin. Also stem cells
have been used to enhance the size of the breast or buttocks.
Hair Restoration - stem cells can be used to induce follicular activity and promote hair regrowth.
Erectile Dysfunction -
which is often due to compromised circulation related to diabetes and
other cardiovascular disease can improve with stem cell treatments
Infertility-
which is related to scarred fallopian tubes or damage to other
reproductive organs can be treated with stem cells to repair the damaged
organs and restore fertility.
Pulmonary Diseases-
including pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema where the lung tissue is
damaged can improve with stem treatments which help regenerate lung
tissue.
The Stem Cell Procedure
At re-nu,
we utilize the stem cell treatment pioneered by Adistem®. The process
begins with harvesting adipose tissue using minimally invasive
tumescent liposuction technique in which a small cannula is inserted
into the superficial belly fat to remove about 60 ml of fat with little
or no discomfort. The fat is then processed in the on-site laboratory
to extract the adipose-derived stem cells. Also a small amount of blood
is drawn and processed to extract certain promoters from the blood.
The isolated stems cells are mixed with the special promoters and
further stimulated to achieve maximum activity in the stem cells. The
activated mixture is then reintroduced into the body either
intravenously, intra-articularly (into the joint), subcutaneously, or
intra-nasally. The treatment takes about 4 hours in total and the
patient is able to return to normal activity immediately. Results are
noticeable within 1-2 months and continue to improve. Depending on the
severity of the condition, a patient may require additional treatments.
Benefits of Stem Cell Treatments
For
many medical conditions, there do not exist treatments that actually
improve a patient's condition. Most conventional treatments or
medications only temporarily improve the patient's symptoms or at best
slow down the progression of the condition. On the flip side, some of
these treatments and medications can also cause unwanted side effects
which may be just as bad as the original condition they were meant to
address. While no treatment is 100% effective for 100% of patients
treated, stem cell treatments offer a glimmer of hope for many who had
none. The results different patients get vary from slight improvement
to 100% recovery. For more serious conditions or diseases in more
progressed stages, more than one treatment may be necessary to obtain
optimal results. Stem cell treatments are not considered medication but
rather autologous tissue transplant and hence do not require special
FDA approval. Also because the entire treatment is done in one session
and does not involve tissue banking/storage, it does not fall under FDA
regulation. Unlike most medications, there have been no reported
unwanted side effects of the treatment- after all it is your own body.
