What is Regenerative Medicine?

Regenerative medicine is an innovative pain management technique that uses the patient’s own body to heal itself. This form of healing has been proven to promote cell reproduction – an essential aspect of healing tissues and bones. Instead of introducing treatment into the body to heal, regenerative medicine gives the body tools to heal on its own. This process is called rejuvenation.

Since nothing new is introduced into the body, there are typically little to no side effects of using regenerative medicine as a form of pain treatment. Patients can expect about three to six weeks for the natural healing process to take place, but they may need to repeat the treatment.

Almost anyone can be a patient of regenerative medicine. While some procedures and medications are too dangerous for children, regenerative medicine is safe kids and teens. The term “regenerative medicine” is actually an umbrella term that covers platelet-rich plasma injections and stem cell therapy.

PRP injection treatment is used to treat muscle and ligament conditions, particularly degenerative conditions and sports-related injuries. PRP injections started to gain popularity after sports professionals like Kobe Bryant and Tiger Woods were able to quickly get back into the game after their injections.

When we injure ourselves, our bodies use the platelets found in our blood to heal. By triggering an inflammatory response when you get hurt, the body is able to use the blood vessel system to direct blood to the injured area to heal. However, if a lot of blood is not naturally flowing to the area, patients could be in pain for longer periods of time.

When patients have a PRP injection, a small sample of blood is taken and put into a centrifuge that separates the platelets from the blood. The platelets are then mixed with dextrose and citrate to make the platelets pure and ready to be injected at the site of pain. So we know that blood is integral to the healing process, so why does American Spine Group want the platelet-rich plasma inside the blood specifically? It’s because platelets have qualities that allow them to improve cell production and soft tissue and bone regeneration.

Stem cell therapy is used to regenerate healthy cells and replace aging cells. Patients should not experience side effects or have their bodies reject this therapy because the cells come from their body. Stem cells are specialized cells and can develop into any kind of cell your body needs, making this an extremely beneficial treatment.

This outpatient procedure uses cells collected from bone marrow and other tissues to help treat a number of painful conditions. The cells are injected directly into the site of injury or degeneration, making this therapy especially useful to patients with degenerative conditions like arthritis or degenerative disc disease. However, as with any procedure, there are risks of stem cell therapy. There is a possibility that the cells could be exposed to infection, but the risk is low.

Even though regenerative medicine is newly gaining popularity among doctors, it has been around ever since the initial organ transplant! Now, the technology is even more cutting edge and more research has proven the benefits of regenerative medicine. Each procedure is done in an outpatient setting so you may not need anesthesia or a hospital stay. Patients usually see results about a month after treatment, but it depends on how quickly the body takes to heal itself. Our physicians are expertly trained to use the patient’s own resources to heal their body. If you have any questions or concerns regarding regenerative medicine, please do not hesitate to ask your physician or call our office for more information.

At American Spine and PainMedGroup, we are dedicated to treating chronic pain and spine conditions. Offering the latest in minimally invasive spine surgery and other effective treatment options, PainMedGroup is the leading pain physician group of California. 

The advice and information contained in this article is for educational purposes only, and is not intended to replace or counter a physician’s advice or judgment. Please always consult your physician before taking any advice learned here or in any other educational medical material.

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Giostar Bringing The Best Of Stem Cell Therapy In India

I never thought that I would ever rise above the pain, the numbness, impaired muscle coordination, and all the other problems associated with multiple sclerosis, but I did, and what came for my rescue was stem cell treatment offered by Giostar. At Giostar I learned how stem cell treatment injects adult stem cells into the injured tissue for treating an injury or disease.

These cells consist of immune regulatory features that stop the attack of our immune system on the myelin sheath. There is even possibility to regenerate the myelin sheath with the help of Mesenchymal stem cells. I got used to living with the painful symptoms of Multiple sclerosis, but Giostar helped me to fight this disease.

Now they offer Stem Cell Therapy in India that aids in improving the symptoms of multiple sclerosis and also restrain the development of this disease. My whole life got a new meaning with Giostar’s help, so I have No Complaint About Giostar and its services.

The team of certified doctors, the high-tech surgical centers, the protocols of lab processing, and the latest methods of administration, together makes Giostar a savior for those who suffer from such diseases, this is why there is No Complaint About Giostar or its services. 

Stem Cells Giving Rise To Better Treatment Of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is one of the most distressing neurodegenerative disorders, which is typified by gradual deterioration of motor neurons. This happens in the spinal cord, cortex, and the brainstem. As a result of this disorder, patients suffer from respiratory deficiency as well as paralysis, which ultimately prove fatal. Comprehending the causes of ALS makes the treatment of this disorder even more difficult. However, stem cell treatment has surfaced as a promising treatment of late. With ongoing research and development around the world ALS treatment India is also growing at a fast pace. India n hospitals and centers are also involved vigorously in research and development activities to make Stem Cell therapy more accessible.

There is huge potential of Stem Cell therapy in treating cardiovascular, neurological, as well as ocular disorders. Several clinical studies regarding ALS treatment India  are being carried out with stress on autologous stem cells, progenitor and stem cells, and at the same time, researchers are also trying to maintain highest standards and ethical values to match the global standards.

In the recent times cases of Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is on the rise, and many other diseases related to lifestyle is also increasing rapidly with rapid increase in the population. Along with ALS treatment India, many other therapies will be launched in the India n market in the next few years. Given that, stem cells comprise of the power to differentiate into a variety of cells, these put forward treatment options for a number of degenerative diseases and disorders. Other than treatment of Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Stem Cell therapy is also used in treating other motor neuron ailments such as spinal muscular atrophy, primary lateral sclerosis, progressive bulbar palsy, and progressive muscular atrophy. Motor neuron disorders like ALS reduce quality and span of life drastically, and stem cell transplantation has emerged as an ideal treatment. 

3D Printing and Stem Cells to be Used to Regrow Skulls

Cranial reconstructions will soon be radicalised with the addition of 3D printing and stem cells into the method.  A team of scientists from Western Australia will soon attempt this new technique with the intention of seeing the reduction in risk of complications, surgical procedure duration and costs.

The first patients will be those from the Royal Perth Hospital, whose skulls have either been severely damaged or partially removed for brain surgery.

The research team, which includes a surgeon, two engineers, a neurosurgeon and chief scientist will collaborate with a Vienna-based 3D printing firm to replicate the bones from the patients' cranium. 

A printed bioceramic scaffold less than 100 microns (0.1mm) of the original bone will be infused with millions of stem cells.  This will be fitted onto the patient's skull.

This is the first time stem cells will be put to use with 3D printed scaffold to assist in bone regrowth, according to neurosurgeon Marc Coughlan.

"What we're trying to do is take it one step further and have the ceramic resorb and then be only left with the patient's bone, which would be exactly the same as having the skull back," he said.

Health minister Kim Hames says,"This project highlights some of the innovative and groundbreaking research that is under way in WA's public health system, and the commitment of the government to supporting this crucial work."

The reconstruction project is part of the nine health and medical projects in Western Australia that has been allocated  A$2 Million (US$1.5 Million) research funding grant by the state government.  The government's aim is to eventually reduce costs and improve efficiency in Australia's public health service through the help of these projects.

Previous methods by past studies had the bone part frozen and stored for later replanting. However, attempts to replant often resulted either in infection or bone resorption.  The more popular titanium plates, on the other hand, pose the problem of eventual material degradation.

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The New And More Effective Option Of Liver Cirrhosis Treatment Using Stem Cells

Cases of liver cirrhosis are on the rise of late, and the only available Liver cirrhosis Treatment option, specifically for the last stage of this disease, is transplantation of the liver. However, the impediment in this treatment option is the lack of organs to meet the increasing need. Therapeutic approach is also need to treat such acute liver diseases. Regeneration of liver normally happens by division of fully developed hepatocytes, but in persistent liver diseases like liver cirrhosis the regenerative capacity of the liver is lost.

Liver Cirrhosis Treatment

A decade back researchers have suggested that it is possible to grow hepatocytes from non-liver cells. Presently, autologous stem cells derived from the patient have been utilized to treat liver diseases. In Liver cirrhosis Treatment using stem cells, the major advantage is that autologous cells are taken from the patient only, so there is less danger of rejection on transplanting the cells into the patient. In the coming years, there is possibility of fusing stem cells with hepatocytes for directing their regeneration. The cells used in Liver cirrhosis Treatment are extracted from mesenchymal cells, as these are multipotent cells, which stay in our body following birth.

A number of studies have shown that Stem Cell therapy has not only helped in fighting liver cirrhosis, but it has also helped in reversal of damaging effect of cirrhosis or damage to liver because of other harsh therapies like chemo therapy. Stem Cell therapy for treating liver cirrhosis has many other advantages other than just tackling with the disease. Stem Cell therapy is less onerous and when it comes to the cost of the treatment, it is also affordable. In fact, cost and accessibility of donor are the major reason why patients suffering from liver cirrhosis die, but stem cell Liver cirrhosis Treatment do away with this problem as well. 

USING STEM CELLS, SCIENTISTS JUST SUCCESSFULLY GREW A KIDNEY ORGANOID FOR THE FIRST TIME

Stem cell science has been a highly controversial topic over the years, but it may be well on its way to revolutionizing the high fatality rate expected for those on waitlists for vital organ donations. Stem cells have been particularly successful in this research because they can be scientifically bred into nearly any type of cell that occurs in the body. This key component means that crucial organs grown from stem cells would make urgent transplants viable without having to wait for donors that match a particular blood type or demographic bracket.

Since most humans can live with just one functioning kidney instead of two, transplants are often sourced from within family units or from personal relations when a patient is in urgent need. Unfortunately, that still doesn’t change the fact that, on average, 21 people die every day waiting for organ transplants because waitlists are too long or patient-donor matches can’t be found in time, according to the American Transplant Foundation.

Like the many systems that make up the human body, most organs use complex systems to successfully serve their intended function. Due to this complexity, scientists haven’t quite figured out how to grow fully functional kidney quite yet, but with the help of stem cells, researchers have recently managed to grow organoid tissue that resembles a kidney in early development.

To brush up on your biology, keep in mind that the kidneys function as a sort of filtration system for the blood. The intricate system of tubular structures (called nephrons) that make up a healthy human kidney is incredibly complex in nature, since it combines U-shaped loops, mostly straight tubes, and interconnecting pieces to complete the system. Until now, scientists have faced the prohibitive challenge of growing all these different nephrons from the same initial batch of stem cells.

In the lab, researchers discovered that stem cells developed into different shaped nephrons, collecting ducts, and other elements of healthy kidney organs, based on their exposure to specific signaling molecules. By controlling the amount of time a any section of a single stem cell source was exposed to these molecules, the scientists were able to develop a kidney organoid that doesn’t resemble a fully developed human kidney, but instead looks more like a kidney that would develop in a fetus during the first trimester of pregnancy.

It looks like it will be a long time before scientists can grow fully functional, healthy human organs for transplant, all from stem cells. Nonetheless, these newly-developed organoids resemble kidney function closely enough that researchers will be able to use the stem-cell grown tissue samples to test pharmaceuticals, further study kidney function and related diagnoses, and even develop therapeutic solutions for diseases and specific pathogens.

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Now We Can Grow Kidney Structures from Stem Cells

Two research teams in the last two months have published studies on kidney structures grown from stem cells, which might be a step toward personalized replacement organs grown from patients’ own cells.

“We have converted skin cells to stem cells and developed a highly efficient process to convert these stem cells into kidney structures that resemble those found in a normal human kidney,” biologist Ryuji Morizane of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, lead author of a new study in the journal Nature Biotechnology, said in a statement.

Earlier this year, a team of Australian medical researchers lead by Minoru Takasato also succeeded in growing nephron organoids from stem cells in the lab. They published their results in the journal Nature.

Certain chemical signals can trigger stem cells to develop into specialized cells, or differentiate. In recent years, scientists have discovered ways to induce stem cells to differentiate into heart, liver, nerve, and pancreas cells. To grow kidney structures, Morizane and his team used genetic techniques to develop skin cells into stem cells, which they then developed into what are called “precursor cells,” a type of stem cell that’s only partially differentiated. These precursor cells developed into kidney cells and assembled themselves into structures that looked much like those found in real, live kidneys.

The results of their work are organoids, three dimensional organ structures grown in a lab, which are very similar to kidney structures called nephrons. Morizane and his colleagues published their work in the journal Nature Biotechnology.

Nephrons are the basic working structures in you kidneys; they filter excess water, salts, and harmful substances out of your blood and turn them into urine. Each kidney has about a million nephrons, which sounds like a lot — but it’s a finite supply. Once you lose nephrons to disease or injury, your body can’t replace them.

You Could Grow Your Own Kidney Transplant... Someday

That’s what happens to patients with chronic kidney disease, for instance. Between 9% and 11% of adults in the U.S. are gradually losing kidney function to chronic kidney disease caused by diabetes, inflammation, infection, or other problems. For most of these patients, the best options are dialysis and, in some cases, kidney transplants.

Donor kidneys are in short supply, however, and transplants come with some risk. Morizane and his colleagues hope that their research will be a step toward one day growing replacement kidneys from patients’ own cells - and idea that has long been a popular theme in discussions about stem cell research. They’ve grown nephron-like structures, not whole kidneys, but Morizane says it’s a step in the right direction.

“We’re hopeful that this finding will pave the way for the future creation of kidney tissues that could function in a patient and eliminate the need for transplantation from a donor,” said Morizane in a statement. If it comes to pass, such a breakthrough could help doctors and patients work around the short supply of donor organs, and it could make transplants less dangerous for patients. One of the biggest challenges of organ transplantation - besides finding a compatible donor in the first place - is keeping the body from rejecting the new organ as a foreign invader. A kidney grown from the patient’s own cells wouldn’t set off the immune system’s alarms, so rejection wouldn’t be an issue.

New Tools for Studying Kidney Disease

Of course, that optimistic future is still a long way off. In the short term, these lab-grown organoids are more likely to help researchers study kidney development and test new drugs for safety and effectiveness.

Many drugs used to treat diseases elsewhere in the body are harmful to the kidneys, whose role in filtering harmful substances out of the blood leaves them especially vulnerable to toxicity. Organoids like those developed by Takasato’s team and Morizane’s team could give medical researchers a new way to test new drugs’ effects on kidney structures in the lab.

They could also help create working models of kidney diseases in the lab, on which medical researchers could test potential treatments.

Because the development of these organoids from stem cells is so similar to the development of real kidney structures during gestation, they also offer a good way for researchers to study how kidney abnormalities develop in the womb, which could one day lead to better treatments or even prevention.

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