Stem cell therapy: the next wave in regenerative medicine?
All it involved was a quick injection no different, really, than a flu shot.
A few weeks later, Bill Ambrose realized hed become significantly less reliant on taking Aleve for knee pain, and he was re-learning how to walk without shuffling his feet.
Surgery, it turned out, might not be necessary after all.
Last November, Ambrose scheduled knee surgery to alleviate discomfort in his knees caused by what orthopedic doctors called true bone-on-bone at the joint. But for one reason or another, he kept missing pre-surgery and the surgery never happened.
The next month, Ambrose met with Dr. Bill Nolan, of Cherry Street Health Group, to discuss advertising space in the Danvers Herald.
For the purpose of full disclosure, Ambrose is an employee of Gatehouse Media Company, and he works in the advertising department for Wicked Local, the local branch of GHM newspapers.
After Nolans ads ran inthe Jan. 5issue of the Herald, Ambrose said he reached out to Nolan again. This time, for himself.
Nolans practice offered a solution to his knee pain an alternative to knee surgery he had never considered before: stem cell therapy.
Essentially, the solutionCherry StreetHealth Group offered was an injection of amniotic fluid into Ambrose's knee joint. The stem cells and other growth factorsin the fluid would allow for the regeneration of the cartilage at the joint.
I became interested so I decided to go ahead with it, Ambrose said.
He brought in scans to show Nolan, who said, contrary to what orthopedic doctors had told him, he didnt have true bone on bone. There was still a small space between the bones.
I decided to have one leg done and my knee started getting much better, he said.
Satisfied with the results of the first injection, Ambrose decided to get his left knee done in April.
I still experience some pain in [the left knee], but I get up in the morning and theres very little pain at all, he said in an interview a few weeks following the appointment.
The stem cell option
In the U.S., there are three ways that stem cells are used, Nolan said. Theyre either taken from bone marrow, fat cells, or the amniotic membrane of a healthy c-section from a consenting woman.
When stem cellsare injected into the body,they're expected to increase space at the joint, rebuild cartilage, and ultimately, provide more stability in the joint. As many as 570 businesses across the country advertise some kind of stem cell therapy, according to a 2016 paper.
Stem cell therapy is not necessarily a new discovery, but it is relatively recent in the world of regenerative medicine.Stem cells were first used as much as century ago, first for eye procedures and as filler for the spinal cord, according to Regenexx, which claims to have pioneered orthopedic stem cell treatments in 2005.
Adult stem cells are retrieved directly from the patient, either frombone marrow or fat cells,and concentrated beforeits reinjectedinto the patient's site of pain.
In the case of amniotic fluid therapy,amniotic fluid, which contains stem cells and other growth factors, is injected into the site. These cellshave been shown to "expand extensively" and show "high renewal capacity,"according to research published in the National Library of Medicine.
We know that as you age, your stem cell count decreases,Nolan said, explaining the benefit of using cells from the amniotic membrane. We know that when we get it from the amniotic membrane, theres a large amount of stem cells that are present. From the amniotic membrane, there are no antibodies or antigens, so its safe for anyone to get.
At Cherry Street Health Group, theproduct usedis produced by General Surgical and distributed by RegenOMedix, according to Nolan.The product, which is called ReGen Anu RHEO, is American Tissue Bank approved and FDA cleared.
RHEO is marketed as "a human tissue allograft derived from placental tissue; amniotic membrane and amniotic fluid."Its a"powerful combination" of amniotic fluid and mesencymal stem cells, which are known to differentiate into a variety of cell types, according to RegenOMedix.It also contains growth factor proteins andis "rich" in other necessary components for tissue regeneration.
The product is non-steroidal and comes with no side effects, and the company says no adverse events have been recorded using the product.
Nolan said stem cell therapy has been offered as a treatmentat Cherry Street since 2016.
Across the U.S., there are as many as 56 businesses marketing some form of amniotic stem cellsto its consumers, according to the same paper.
At Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, for example, orthopedic surgeon Adam Yanke enrolled one of his patients into an experimental amniotic cell therapy treatment program. The woman, a 65-year-old suffering from osteoarthritis in both knees, told reporters the injections were "by far the most effective pain treatment" she had tried, and so farthat relief has lasted up to a year.
But while the use of amniotic fluid therapyas a regenerative medicine is becoming increasingly popular throughout the U.S.,the use of amniotic stemcellsdoesn't comewithout concern from some within the community.
Dr. Chris Centeno, who specializes in regenerative medicine andthe clinical use of adult stem cells, has blogged numerous times for Regenexx on the "scam" of using amniotic stem cells most recently in sharply worded post on May 22.
"Regrettably, we have an epidemic on our hands that began when sales reps began telling medical providers thattheir dead amniotic and cord tissues had loads of live cells on it," he wrote.
Nolan said he was familiar with Centeno's posts.
"A lot of the stem cell stuff is new," he said. "Some of the products out there ... They were doing testing on them and not finding cells."
Cherry Street Health Group has treatedabout 50patients with this form of regenerative medicine and had significant success, according to Nolan. Although Nolan owns the health group on Cherry Street in Danvers, the stem cell treatments are provided under the medical practice of Dr. Pat Scanlan.
Weve had really, really amazing success, Nolan said. Weve had over 95 percent success of all the patients weve had in the office. Its been a game changer from a practice standpoint.
The "worst thing" that could happen is there might not be any regeneration, he explained.
"You might get pain relief, but no regeneration," Nolan said. "But from what weve seen, there have been no negative side effects."
At Cherry Street, knees are the most commonly treated joints, followed by hips, shoulders and the lower back. The cervical spine is the least common.
"I hesitated on the surgery, and I'm gladI did," Ambrose said. "Even if[the stem cells]don't do any more than what they've done, its been well worth it."
Patients who do present with true bone on bone, however, are not candidates for this form of therapy, Nolan said.
The cost comparison
At Cherry Street Health Group, the cost of the injection comes toroughly $4,000 per knee, a cost that isn't covered by insurance. By comparison, health-care providers often charge insurers more than $18,000 for knee replacement surgeries in the Boston area, according to a report by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.
The report, however, doesn't account for what the patient actually pays.
Nolan said when other factors of post-op are considered time off of work, rehabilitation time and cost the out-of-pocketcost for surgery compared to stem cell treatment is comparable.
"When you really boil it down, it can be the same or, in a lot of cases, a savings," he said.
Ambrose said it "boggles his mind" that more people don't choose this treatment over surgery.
"Why would you spend $40,000 on a car and not want to spend $4,000 on a knee?," he said."Its crazy. Yes, its out of pocket. So what? We buy a lot of stuff we dont need, and then for something like this, something that people, if they do it, theyll be glad they did it. Its just hard to convince them to do it."
In arecent report in STAT news, a health news start up of the Boston Globe, a study of orthopedic procedures in the U.S. suggested an estimated one-third of knee replacement surgeries are inappropriate. More than 640,000 of these surgeries are performed each year, making for a $10 billion dollar industry in knee surgery.
The study said that evidence isn't limited to just knee surgeries.
"There's a lot that needs to change when we look at health care in general,"Nolan said. "It's really no surprise that something like doing this regenerative medicine is going to take time for it to really take off."
Continue reading here:
Danvers health group offers alternative solution to surgery - Wicked Local Danvers
- BIORESTORATIVE THERAPIES, INC. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS. (form 10-K) - Marketscreener.com - March 29th, 2023
- Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell for the Study and Treatment of ... - Hindawi - December 3rd, 2022
- What Happens When Everyone Realises We Can Live Much Longer? We May Find Out As Soon As 2025 - Forbes - December 3rd, 2022
- INTERNATIONAL STEM CELL CORP Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (form 10-Q) - Marketscreener.com - November 17th, 2022
- 3D Cell Culture Market stands at revenue of US$ 1.15 Bn in 2022, and is predicted to surge at a CAGR of 9.8% to hit worth of US$ 2.67 Bn during... - November 17th, 2022
- YUBO INTERNATIONAL BIOTECH LTD Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations. (form 10-Q) - Marketscreener.com - November 17th, 2022
- ACTINIUM PHARMACEUTICALS, INC. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATION (form 10-Q) - Marketscreener.com - November 17th, 2022
- Top 10 Best Stem Cell Supplement Brands - Healthtrends - June 26th, 2022
- How Does Stem Cell Therapy Work and What Are the Risks? | ISCRM - June 26th, 2022
- Stem Cell Wellness Kit - June 26th, 2022
- Kangstem Biotech withdraws trial application for stem cell-based osteoarthritis treatment - KBR - June 26th, 2022
- Global Human Embryonic Stem Cell Market to be Driven by the Rapid Technological Advancements in the Forecast Period of 2022-2027 Designer Women -... - June 26th, 2022
- Sana Biotechnology Announces Multiple Preclinical Data Presentations to Showcase Its Hypoimmune Platform, Including in Type 1 Diabetes, at the... - June 26th, 2022
- Efficient terminal erythroid differentiation requires the APC/C cofactor Cdh1 to limit replicative stress in erythroblasts | Scientific Reports -... - June 26th, 2022
- Propanc Biopharma's CSO Hails Dostarlimab's Impressive Results Whilst Acknowledging More Work to Be Done in the Fight Against Cancer - Business Wire - June 26th, 2022
- Precision BioSciences Announces In Vivo Gene Editing Collaboration with Novartis to Develop Potentially Curative Treatment for Disorders Including... - June 26th, 2022
- 10 Years of Immunotherapy: Advances, Innovations, and Better Patient Outcomes - Targeted Oncology - June 26th, 2022
- Embryonic Stem Cell Research: An Ethical Dilemma - January 30th, 2022
- Skeletal Muscle Cell Induction from Pluripotent Stem Cells - January 30th, 2022
- mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine Effectiveness in the Immunocompromised - Medscape - January 30th, 2022
- MaaT Pharma Announces Positive Interim Engraftment Data for Oral Formulation MaaT033 Allowing Early Termination of Phase 1b CIMON Study - Business... - January 30th, 2022
- European Commission Approves Merck's KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) as Adjuvant Therapy for Certain Patients With Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC) Following... - January 30th, 2022
- Targeted Therapy Innovator Foresees New Paradigms in Breast Cancer - OncLive - January 30th, 2022
- Global Circulating Tumor Cells (CTC) Market Growing Demand, Future Trends, Competitive Regions and Forecast 2021 to 2027 The Oxford Spokesman - The... - January 30th, 2022
- Adipose derived mesenchymal stem cell secretome formulation as a biotherapeutic to inhibit growth of drug resistant triple negative breast cancer |... - December 8th, 2021
- All at-risk TN-bound travellers test Covid negative - The New Indian Express - December 8th, 2021
- Good Stocks To Invest In Right Now? 4 Health Care Stocks To Check Out - FW Business - December 8th, 2021
- Pandemic lockdown declined emotional well-being for adults with hearing, vision loss: Study - ETHealthworld.com - December 8th, 2021
- Impact of microbial contamination of haematopoietic stem cells on post-transplant outcomes: A retrospective study from tertiary care centre in India -... - August 17th, 2021
- Longeveron: Time to Buy the Di - GuruFocus.com - August 17th, 2021
- The latest on the Covid-19 pandemic in the US: Live updates - CNN - August 17th, 2021
- How this Holocaust refugee beat Covid-19 against all odds J. - The Jewish News of Northern California - August 17th, 2021
- Trade-offs among transport, support, and storage in xylem from shrubs in a semiarid chaparral environment tested with structural equation modeling -... - August 17th, 2021
- Oklahoma 10-year-old in remission after being diagnosed with rare form of leukemia 2 years ago - KFOR Oklahoma City - July 21st, 2021
- Covid: There's a serious problem with how we are testing people for the virus Neale Hanvey MP - The Scotsman - July 21st, 2021
- Profilin 1 Protein and Its Implications for Cancers - Cancer Network - July 21st, 2021
- Homing Technology Delivers Therapy to Cancerous Bone - The Scientist - July 21st, 2021
- Developmental Interest in Allogeneic PlacentaDerived Cell Therapies Expands - OncLive - July 21st, 2021
- Triple negative breast cancer and non-small cell lung cancer: Clinical challenges and nano-formulation approaches - DocWire News - July 21st, 2021
- The World's First Lab-Grown Foie Gras Could Solve This Major Concern - Mashed - July 21st, 2021
- KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) Plus Chemotherapy Before Surgery and Continued as a Single Agent After Surgery Showed Statistically Significant Event-Free... - July 21st, 2021
- Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells (hMSC) Market Size 2021 | Global Trends, Business Overview, Challenges, Opportunities and Forecast to 2027 The Bisouv... - March 3rd, 2021
- [Full text] An Update on the Molecular Pathology of Metaplastic Breast Cancer | BCTT - Dove Medical Press - March 3rd, 2021
- 4D Pharma Appointments Paul Maier to the Board as Non-Executive Director - Business Wire - March 3rd, 2021
- Investigative Interventions Gain Ground in GVHD - OncLive - March 3rd, 2021
- Combination Regimens for Multiple Myeloma Show Efficacy in the Transplant-Ineligible Population, According to Dingli - Targeted Oncology - March 3rd, 2021
- Martin Makes Sense of the Rapidly Evolving MCL Treatment Paradigm - OncLive - March 3rd, 2021
- Hoth Therapeutics Expands License Agreement to Include Innovative Cancer and Anaphylactic Treatment - BioSpace - March 3rd, 2021
- Health Matters; Inflammation with Dr. Baumgartner [PODCAST] - WJON News - February 14th, 2021
- G1 Therapeutics gains first FDA nod with myelopreservation therapy Cosela | 2021-02-12 - BioWorld Online - February 14th, 2021
- Kris Gopalakrishnan on innovation - Fortune India - February 14th, 2021
- Change is coming, and at an ever-accelerating pace - Al Jazeera English - January 12th, 2021
- MCL Landscape Adapts to Changes After CAR T-Cell Therapy Approval - OncLive - January 9th, 2021
- 5 questions facing gene therapy in 2021 - BioPharma Dive - January 9th, 2021
- RNA molecules are masters of their own destiny - MIT News - January 9th, 2021
- Global Platelet Rich Plasma and Stem Cell Alopecia Treatment Market: Industry Analysis and Forecast (2019-2026): By indication type, treatment type,... - January 9th, 2021
- Harpoon Therapeutics : Clin Cancer Res 2021; OnlineFirst version Jan 6, 2021 - Marketscreener.com - January 9th, 2021
- Synthetic lethality across normal tissues is strongly associated with cancer risk, onset, and tumor suppressor specificity - Science Advances - January 5th, 2021
- Versiti Blood Centers and Noodles & Company Serve Up Thanks to Blood Donors - PRNewswire - January 5th, 2021
- January 2021: 2020 Papers of the Year - Environmental Factor Newsletter - January 5th, 2021
- Ozone in the air is bad for birds - Massive Science - January 5th, 2021
- How good are the COVID-19 vaccines? - Massive Science - January 5th, 2021
- Stem cells from cord blood can now be used across many conditions: Mayur Abhaya, MD & CEO, LifeCell Internat.. - ETHealthworld.com - December 28th, 2020
- Allogeneic SCT Benefits Children and Adolescents With Relapsed Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma - OncLive - December 28th, 2020
- CalvinAyre.com's most read life stories of 2020 - CalvinAyre.com - December 28th, 2020
- Coronavirus | Over 6,000 travellers from U.K. traced across States - The Hindu - December 28th, 2020
- Exosomes act as messengers and decoys to save healthy cells from viral infection - Massive Science - December 28th, 2020
- Celtics adjust to two-game series designed to reduce team travel - The Boston Globe - December 28th, 2020
- Experts Reflect on Most Impactful FDA Moves of 2020 in Solid Tumors, Hematologic Malignancies - Targeted Oncology - December 28th, 2020
- FDA Resumes eIND Approval for Severe-to-Critical COVID-19 Patients Use of Vyrologix (leronlimab) Following Full Enrollment in CytoDyn's Phase 3 Trial... - December 28th, 2020
- Magenta Therapeutics Announces Commencement of First Phase 2 Clinical Trial of MGTA-145 for Stem Cell Mobilization, Oral Presentation of MGTA-145... - December 12th, 2020
- Daratumumab Regimen Shows Promise in Transplant-Eligible Patients With Newly Diagnosed Myeloma - Targeted Oncology - December 12th, 2020
- HSCT Found Potentially Curative for Some T-Cell Lymphoma Patients - Cancer Therapy Advisor - December 12th, 2020
- Researchers Trace the Origin of Blood Cancer to Early Childhood, Decades before Diagnosis - Yahoo Finance - December 12th, 2020
- ALLO-715, Off-the-Shelf CAR T-Cell Therapy, Produces Early Promise in Multiple Myeloma - Cancer Network - December 12th, 2020
- BeiGene Announces the Approval in China of BLINCYTO (Blinatumomab) for Injection for Adult Patients with Relapsed or Refractory B-Cell Precursor Acute... - December 12th, 2020
- Flintshire youngster goes the extra mile to raise funds for Lymphoma Action | The Leader - LeaderLive - December 12th, 2020
- Meat-Tech Agrees to Acquire Cultured Fat Pioneer 'Peace of Meat' - PRNewswire - December 12th, 2020
- Stem Cell Manufacturing Market Size, Overview with Detailed Analysis, Competitive landscape, Forecast to 2027 - Cheshire Media - December 12th, 2020
- Rocket Pharmaceuticals Presents Positive Clinical Data from its Fanconi Anemia and Leukocyte Adhesion Deficiency-I Programs at the 62nd American... - December 12th, 2020