STEM CELL THERAPY 1-6-25

Dayna Culwell
Feb 14
4 min read

Stem Cell Therapy: Does it work?

Before we get too deep, you may want to know why I chose to dive into this very new, very complex topic. It always starts with a student who has a problem that we need to solve. In this case, I have a male student whose shoulder gets very uncomfortable. Walking the dog (a big dog), working at his desk for many hours a day, and doing yoga all present challenges. The pain is inconsistent but when it hits, it's a zinger!

That being said, let's start with a very basic premise. Surgery can be a game changer for many injuries, but most people want to avoid surgery for as long as possible. The downtime can be 6 weeks to 6 months. The pain is, well, excruciating. Those lovely pain pills wear off way too quickly. Even when all is supposedly healed, range of motion rarely returns to 100%.

My own example is carpal tunnel surgery. It relieved the pain. However, playing guitar now requires that I only use my thumb nail to strum or pick. Why not use a pick? Because it literally falls out of my hand. Dang it!

Hence, what else is out there. The last thing my student wants is surgery, so let's look at a very new and promising alternative.

Stem cell basics (from the National Institute of Health)

Stem cells have the ability to self-renew.

Stem cells have the ability to recreate functional tissues.

Stem cells act like a contractor.

They give instructions for repair and maintenance. They can transform to specialized cells to do whatever is needed for maintenance. The Am J of Sports Medicine says, "It’s a balance between INJURY and the ABILITY TO REPAIR. With time the number of stem cells we produce goes down. That means that repairs don’t keep up with injury.

We can use our own stem cells which come from the hips (adipose tissue) or from the spinal column. The FDA defines stem cells as drug products. Any stem cell product that is designed to treat or cure a condition, is defined as a drug or more precisely, a biologic- a drug that comes from living sources. In the United States there are three ways to gain access to stem cells, called “treatment pathways.” We will look at two.

Which is better? Stem cells from fat tissue in the hip or from bone marrow from the spine? Mesenchymal stem cells, are used for injection type procedures using the patient’s stem cells obtained from fat tissue. They reduce pain and inflammation.

According to Jeffrey Peng, MD Orthopedic Medicine, 19 studies using mesenchymal cells from bone marrow have demonstrated significantly better outcomes than when using stem cells from fat tissue. Locally, in the Austin, TX area, CHARM, the Center for Healing and Regenerative Medicine uses a combination of your own stem cells from Bone Marrow and Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) from your bloodstream to repair tendon tears, ligament damage, joint instability and wear associated with arthritis and degeneration. David Harris, MD, Medical Director, has treated my shoulder, knee, hand, and foot, at one time or another with moderate to excellent success. The injected stem cells then create growth factors that help to coordinate and repair the tissues.

Learn more about CHARM- Click here

But what do the Stem Cells do?

Stem cells have the ability to suppress the immune response and reduce inflammation, which is crucial in the context of tissue repair. They regulate our own immune system. We use what we already have to heal ourselves.

Learn more about Hope Biosciences- Click here

Stem Cells Trial for COVID-19 sufferers

In Sugarland, TX, Hope Biosciences, a biopharmaceutical company, has obtained FDA authorization for 17 clinical studies across 10 disease areas. These clinical trial authorizations include COVID-19 prevention and treatment, Alzheimer's disease, and traumatic brain injuries.

Donna Chang, MD, founder and CEO, decided to research the efficacy of stem cells in treating COVID-19 patients after she witnessed how stem cell therapy reduces inflammation in another clinical trial of rheumatoid arthritis. "We found that being in close proximity to the Texas Medical Center (TMC)—the largest medical complex in the world - is the perfect place to see our products go from the bench to the bedside. All of our current research partnerships are with institutions within the TMC".

“Stem cells have this ability to regulate our own immune system,” Dr. Chang, a leading researcher of the studies said "We saw it in the Phase 1 trial in rheumatoid arthritis. When we gave one shot of their own immune cells, patients improved."

Chang added that there is an inflammation that occurs in COVID-19 patients that dramatically worsens their condition.

“When we first saw coronavirus in Wuhan, China, patients had sudden spurts of inflammation,” Chang said. “The body accelerates that inflammation, and it just skyrockets. We saw it early on, if our stem cells reduce inflammation in arthritis, then maybe it will do the same thing for coronavirus.”

By Alison Medley, Digital Reporter Houston, TX, April 16, 2020

KNEE INJURIES

"The goal with stem cell therapy is to use your own cells to reset the knee to create a healthy and neutral environment", says Dr. Peng, Clinical Assistant Professor (Affiliated) in the Department of Medicine, Division of Primary Care & Population Health at Stanford University School of Medicine.