Del Mar Integrative Medicine & Med Spa
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What Is Stem Cell Therapy?
The most revolutionary regenerative medicine therapies now being offered include amniotic and umbilical stem cell tissue. These are FDA regulated and contain growth factors, hyaluronic acid, cytokines, and stem cells.
Over the past several years, umbilical cord stem cell therapy has become extremely popular. Several biological components combine to make up regenerative therapy with these "products of conception," including:
First of all, it should be noted that these products DO NOT contain embryonic stem cells or involve aborted fetuses. That would be both unethical and illegal. All of R3 Stem Cell’s Centers of Excellence only use products that are obtained ethically and processed at FDA Certified labs.
In the same fashion that the umbilical cord, placenta, and amniotic fluid protect the growing baby and help it thrive, these biological cells have shown to be instrumental in helping repair and regenerate damaged tissues in the body. It’s been very exciting to see the outstanding outcomes achieved with the usage of umbilical cord materials!
Regenerative medicine refers to therapies that are able to repair, restore, and regenerate damaged tissues in the body. These therapies represent a significant advancement from traditional ones that only offer symptom relief as a proverbial "band-aid.
Regenerative procedures come in two forms. Those that require a biologic harvest from the patient (bone marrow or adipose tissue) or those that come from an external source (e.g., PRP Therapy, amniotic fluid/membrane, and umbilical cord blood/tissue).
Significant myths and misinformation have been propagated regarding the external source of regenerative biologics. Many of these myths are disseminated by industry competitors who have presented biased and manipulated data to confuse prospective patients.
What Do They Contain?
Known as the "products of conception," the regenerative materials from amniotic and umbilical tissue include the following:
The amniotic and umbilical cord tissues are obtained from healthy, consenting donors under the age of 35 and undergoing a scheduled c-section. The FDA strictly regulates the process of how these tissues are acquired, tested, processed, and stored to ensure the highest level of patient safety.
During a regular, scheduled c-section, the products of conception are normally discarded. This includes the amniotic fluid, placenta, umbilical cord, and accompanying materials. In this case, the products of conception are donated by the mother, with the baby being fine. The materials are placed in a sterile container and taken to the nearby FDA-registered, certified laboratory right away.
Are there any ethical issues with these biologics?
No, there are not. None of the biological materials come from "aborted fetuses." During the biological acquisition, the babies are fine, and the material donated and used is normally discarded.
In addition, no embryonic stem cells are legally used in the US anymore. There is no fetal tissue or cloning, and all donors are consented to and screened according to FDA regulations.
This means there are NO ethical concerns with the materials being used from the products of conception.
Difference Between PRP & Stem Cells
PRP stands for platelet-rich plasma and involves a simple blood draw from the patient. This blood is placed into a kit and spun quickly for 10-15 minutes in a centrifuge machine, thus separating the blood into several layers.
The middle layer is termed the “buffy coat” and contains concentrated platelets, white blood cells, and 8-12 growth factors. There are minimal stem cells in PRP, if any, so it is a very helpful regenerative biologic but not a stem cell therapy.
Amniotic and umbilical cord materials contain over 80 growth factors along with an extensive amount of cytokines, mRNA, exosomes, secretomes, and additional biologic elements, including stem cells. The amount of these elements varies depending on the lab that processes the material and the amount of preservative and radiation, among others.
Are all amniotic and umbilical cord products the same?
The short answer is no. While the actual biological material from the donor is extremely similar, the processing can vary. All donors are heavily screened for diseases and are under the age of 35. The DNA factors are removed to prevent rejection, making the biological material immunologically privileged.
The main differences occur when the material is processed at the FDA-certified lab. While the FDA is strict about how the materials are processed, there are some significant differences that can take place. For instance, some labs will radiate the biologic, which essentially kills all the cells. Others will use a lot of preservatives, which will kill all the cells instead of preserving them.
Suffice it to say that not all of these products are the same once processing is complete. So it is critical to receive treatment from an expert provider who is using a quality product. R3 Stem Cell has vetted the materials used extensively, which is just one reason why over 10,000 patients have received treatment at our Centers of Excellence over the past six years.
No harvest
Safe
Consistent
Excellent outcomes
How Many Treatments Will It Require?
It is improper for ANYONE to provide an unrealistic expectation of what these therapies can do. Using the words "heal" or "cure" is inappropriate and propagates distrust among patients. No study shows 100% effectiveness; more likely than not, patients will see improvement and relief, but NOT a cure. We get asked all the time if our affiliated providers offer a "Guarantee." The answer is no because medical procedures are never foolproof. More reasonable words to use are "facilitate," "mitigate," or "improve." The biological elements in these materials work together to repair damaged tissue and facilitate one's own body to assist in the process. Just how much improvement is achieved will vary since people are UNIQUE AND DIFFERENT!
The father of modern stem cell therapy is Dr. Arnold Caplan, a researcher at Case Western Reserve University. His extensive work has shown that the regenerative materials used predominantly act as signals to one's body, telling the body to "get to work" and repair itself. He recommends changing the abbreviation of MSCs, which usually stands for Mesenchymal Stem Cells, to Medicinal Signaling Cells. The goal is to "more accurately reflect the fact that these cells home in on sites of injury or disease and secrete bioactive factors that are immunomodulatory and trophic (regenerative), meaning that these cells make therapeutic drugs in situ that are medicinal." He continues, "It is, indeed, the patient's own site-specific and tissue-specific resident stem cells that construct the new tissue as stimulated by the bioactive factors secreted by the exogenously supplied MSCs.
"I was diagnosed with spinal stenosis at a very early age and suffered greatly for over 50 years. Epidurals, surgeries, acupuncture, and other treatments were ineffective or only gave me relief for a limited time. In June of 2019, I sow Dr. Kremer for a stem-cell procedure and it changed my life. I had a second treatment in December of 2019, and since that time, I have been 100% PAIN-FREE. At 72, my back is now the best it has ever been. Dr. Kremer's treatment gave me my life back...and I can not thank him enough!!!!"
-Johnnie J.