by admin | Apr 15, 2019 | Stem Cell Research, Alzheimer’s Disease, Stem Cell Therapy
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, and though its prevalence is growing, there are currently no medical interventions that are able to reverse or slow the disease. Most current therapies address the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease rather than the underlying cause of the disease.
Stem cells appear to offer a promising opportunity for treating Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders, and a recent review published in Current Alzheimer Research has covered research into the ways stem cells can be applied to these disorders. Specifically, the authors of the review discuss the stem cell sources that may offer the potential to treat neurodegenerative diseases and the mechanisms by which these stem cells may confer benefits to this set of patients.
According to data collected so far, stem cells may be both safe and effective in treating neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s disease, but the mechanism by which they produce benefits for those with these disorders is not entirely clear. There are some data that show that the replacement of degenerated tissue with new proliferative stem cells accounts for stem cell benefits in models of neurodegenerative disorders, while other data show that stem cells can lead to advantageous enhancements in the expression of synaptic proteins.
Evidence from other studies, however, suggest that stem cells help with neurodegenerative disease through the release of neurotrophic factors that lead to paracrine benefits. Additional studies point to modulation of the immune system as the way that stem cells may help those with neurodegenerative disorders.
Future research will help to elucidate the specific mechanisms by which stem cells can provide effective therapy for people with neurodegenerative disorders. It may be the case that a variety of stem cell types used in multiple ways can be helpful for neurodegenerative disease therapy, and research will help to delineate the different ways stem cells can be used and inform the therapies that are developed.
Reference: Bali, P, et al. (2017). Potential for stem cells therapy in Alzheimer’s disease: Do neurotrophic factors play a critical role? Current Alzheimer Research, 14(2), 208-220.
by admin | Apr 9, 2019 | Alzheimer’s Disease, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, Stem Cell Therapy
Alzheimer’s disease causes patients to have difficulty recalling memories and performing tasks. Alzheimer’s disease is progressive, which means it gets worse over time. Once Alzheimer’s disease begins, patients either stay the same or get worse. Most people notice symptoms getting worse over a period of 10 years. However, some people with Alzheimer’s disease will get worse very rapidly, over the course of a few years.
Because Alzheimer’s disease is discussed frequently in popular media, many people know that part of the disease process is the accumulation of abnormal proteins in the brain, namely beta-amyloid plaques and tau neurofibrillary tangles. One less well-known effect of Alzheimer’s disease is that it interferes with blood flow in the brain. This decreased blood flow is so common, in fact, that doctors can detect low brain activity using positron emission tomography (PET), which can help make the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.
Between 2002 and 2012, researchers tested 244 treatments for Alzheimer’s disease, and only one medication was approved by the FDA. After all this time, there is still no cure for Alzheimer’s disease. In fact, the drugs used to treat Alzheimer’s disease are mostly ineffective. At best, they slow the progression of the disease for several months to a few years.
This lack of success has prompted several research groups to focus on other treatments for Alzheimer’s disease. One experimental treatment for Alzheimer’s disease is hyperbaric oxygen therapy. In hyperbaric oxygen therapy, patients rest in a specialized chamber while they experience oxygen at a slightly higher pressure than they would in the outside world.
Researchers wanted to determine whether hyperbaric oxygen therapy could improve the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, but also whether they could see those brain changes using PET. To do this, Drs. Harch and Fogarty enrolled a woman with rapidly deteriorating Alzheimer’s disease in their clinical study. She was exhibiting the characteristic signs of Alzheimer’s disease and reduced brain activity and blood flow in her brain. They treated her with a series of hyperbaric oxygen therapy treatments (1.15 atmospheres, 40 minutes, 5 days per week over 66 days).
After 21 treatments, the woman had increased energy, her mood was better, she was better able to perform activities of daily living, and she was actually performing crossword puzzles. After 40 hyperbaric oxygen treatments, she had better memory and concentration, she was sleeping better, her appetite had improved, she was able to hold conversations and able to use a computer.
Interestingly, when the researchers performed follow-up PET study after hyperbaric oxygen therapy, blood flow and brain activity improved as much as 38% compared to the PET study before treatment.
Additional clinical studies with larger groups of Alzheimer’s disease patients are needed to determine how effective hyperbaric oxygen therapy is, what pressure to use, and how many treatments are needed, etc. Nonetheless, the impressive changes reported in this case study are promising, and should spark additional clinical research.
Contact a Stemedix Care Coordinator for more information on Regenerative Medince Therapy combined with Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) for Alzheimer’s Disease.
Reference: Harch et al. (2019). Hyperbaric oxygen therapy for Alzheimer’s dementia with positron emission tomography imaging: a case report. Medical Gas Research. 2019 Jan 9;8(4):181-184.
by admin | Apr 8, 2019 | Stem Cell Research, Stem Cell Therapy, Umbilical Stem Cell
Much of the initial excitement surrounding stem cells was that they have the potential to become other types of cells. Add cardiac stem cells to a heart damaged by a heart attack, for example, and perhaps those stem cells will become new heart cells and restore heart function. While this does occur—stem cells differentiated mature into adult cells—a fascinating and potentially more exciting use of stem cells is for what they secrete rather than what they become.
Over the past few years, researchers have become increasingly interested in the beneficial substances that stem cells secrete. Researchers refer to the collection of substances that stem cell secretes as its secretome. Stem cell researchers grow various kinds of stem cells in the laboratory and then measure the substances that the stem cells secrete to identify its secretome.
Dr. Hsieh and coauthors discovered that stem cells taken from human umbilical cord secrete an astounding number of helpful molecules. The scientists collected mesenchymal stem cells from Wharton’s jelly (which is a substance found in the human umbilical cord that is normally thrown away as medical waste). They then compared those mesenchymal stem cells with stem cells taken from bone marrow. The researchers found that the umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells produced molecules that help protect nerve cells, helps nerve cells grow, and help blood vessels grow. The effects were much greater than from cells taken from bone marrow.
One interesting result from their scientific study was the effect of umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells on injured nerve cells. The researchers deprived brain cells of sugar and oxygen to mimic what the cells would experience during a stroke. The substances secreted by stem cells protected the nerve cells during this harsh treatment. This effect was much stronger in the umbilical cord stem cells compared to the bone marrow stem cells.
Another interesting result from this research was that umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells helped blood vessel cells organize and form new blood vessels (“tubes”). This could be very important for establishing blood flow to damaged tissue from burns, frostbite, heart attack, or stroke.
These results show that mesenchymal stem cells taken from umbilical cord tissue (Wharton’s jelly) have a unique secretome, which is more potent than similar cells taken from bone marrow. This research is particularly important for patients who have suffered an ischemic stroke or heart attack, as it may provide a clue for a way to treat these conditions in the future.
Reference: Hsieh et al. (2013). Mesenchymal Stem Cells from Human Umbilical Cord Express Preferentially Secreted Factors Related to Neuroprotection, Neurogenesis, and Angiogenesis. PLOS One.2013; 8(8): e72604.
by admin | Mar 23, 2019 | Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, Parkinson's Disease, Stem Cell Therapy, Studies
Parkinson’s disease is widely known as a neurological condition that causes motor symptoms. Typically, patients with Parkinson’s disease have pill-rolling tremor, cogwheel rigidity, and a shuffling gait. However, about half of all patients with Parkinson’s disease also have psychiatric symptoms such as anxiety and depression. It can be challenging for patients and caregivers to deal with Parkinson’s disease, but if anxiety and depression are also present, it can make matters worse. When psychiatric symptoms occur, they can make Parkinson’s disease more difficult to treat, increase the burden on caregivers, and greatly reduce quality-of-life for patients.
One of the things that make psychiatric symptoms so difficult to treat in patients with Parkinson’s disease is that doctors have limited treatment options. The antidepressants that they would normally use to treat depression and anxiety can make motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease worse. People with Parkinson’s disease often struggle with sleep disturbances, and typical antidepressants can make sleep problems worse, too. Not surprisingly, many patients with Parkinson’s disease suffer from depression and anxiety and never find adequate treatment.
Physicians recently reported their experience with a patient with Parkinson’s disease who they treated with hyperbaric oxygen. The man had struggled with Parkinson’s disease for 1.5 years and had slipped into a severe depression. He had lost interest in pleasurable activities, was only sleeping about 2 to 3 hours each night, unintentionally lost over 40 pounds, and was having thoughts of suicide. He also had significant anxiety issues that made his life very difficult. Regular drug and psychotherapy treatments for anxiety and depression did not work for this man, so physicians were left with few options.
The man with Parkinson’s disease, severe depression, and anxiety underwent 30 days of hyperbaric oxygen treatments. He inhaled pure oxygen in a hyperbaric chamber for 40 minutes per session at 2 atm of pressure. In as little as four days of hyperbaric oxygen treatment, the man was sleeping better and longer than he did before treatment. His mood has also improved.
After 30 days of hyperbaric oxygen treatments, the man was able to sleep for 8 to 10 hours a night. Not only did his psychiatric symptoms improve, but his Parkinson’s disease symptoms also improved. While he still had Parkinson’s disease symptoms after hyperbaric oxygen treatment, the symptoms had improved substantially.
When physicians followed up one month after treatment had ended, the patient was still sleeping through the night, his mood was good, and he did not need assistance with his activities of daily living.
It is important to remember that this is a case study, the results of a single patient. Nevertheless, the improvements in both Parkinson’s disease and severe symptoms of anxiety and depression are incredibly impressive. For this man, at least, hyperbaric oxygen therapy had a substantial positive effect in his life where other treatments had failed.
Patients can also combine Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy with Regenerative Medicine. Regenerative Medicine is an alternative option to help manage the symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease. The stem cells have the potential to replicate and repair numerous cells of the body, including those damaged by Parkinson’s. These advancements in the treatment of Parkinson’s Disease work to fully regenerate missing or damaged tissue that the body would not ordinarily regrow.
Call your dedicated Care Coordinator at 800-531-0831 for more information.
Reference: Xu, Jin-Jin et al. (2018). Hyperbaric oxygen treatment for Parkinson’s disease with severe depression and anxiety. Medicine. 2018 Mar; 97(9): e0029.
by admin | Mar 22, 2019 | Stem Cell Research, Cannabinoid, Stem Cell Therapy
Over 1 million patients worldwide have been treated with adult stem cells and have benefited from them. And nearly 20 000 adult stem cell transplants were performed in the United States in 2014 alone! How is that possible? What are stem cells? What do they do to your body? And why are so many benefiting from them? We take a look at these important questions surrounding the benefits of stem cells, as well as how CBD can help you get the most benefits from stem cells.
What Are Stem Cells?
Stem cells are a very special kind of human cells. They are cells of the body and are therefore somatic cells, found in your bone marrow and fat cells. They are a part of your body’s natural repair process. But why are they so special? Well, they have the ability to develop into many different cell types. This can range from anything from muscle, cartilage and even bone! Stem cells can divide and become differentiated, and are therefore used as a therapy called stem cell therapy. Stem cell therapy involves using a patient’s own stem cells to repair damaged tissues. When an organism grows, the stem cells specialize and take on specific functions, including skin, nerves, blood, muscle, and liver.
Because of their magical transformative powers, they have the potential to treat a number of diseases, including diabetes, Parkinson’s and even cancer. They also have the potential to treat a number of serious injuries, from a damaged knee, to even treating spinal cord injury! Eventually, they may even be used to regenerate entire organs, decreasing the need for organ transplants. Now that we know what stem cells are and how they work, let’s have a look at five of their biggest benefits.
1. Avoid Invasive Surgery and Related Risks
One of the biggest benefits of stem cells and using them in stem cell therapy is that it allows patients who would possibly have required heavy surgery to not have any such invasive surgery. Stem cell therapy uses material already in the patient’s body, which makes it minimally invasive and also cuts out the need for an overly stressful, invasive surgical procedure. Most stem cell therapy is performed as an outpatient procedure, i.e. you can just have it done in the doctor’s office! No need for an overnight hospital stay and those ridiculously high associated medical costs.
Your doctor will first conduct a bone marrow aspiration, in which he removes stem cells from an area of the body, such as the hipbone, through a long needle. These cells are then delivered to the area of injury. Once there they work their magic to create healthy new tissue to replace a damaged muscle, tendon, ligament, cartilage or bone. They become healthy new cells that your body desperately needs.
2. Minimal Procedure & Recovery Time
One of the greatest stem cell benefits is the minimal amount of time involved in the whole therapy, from the actual procedure to the recovery time required afterward. Procedures generally last from two to five hours, depending on the type of cell treatment being performed. After the minor procedure, your activity level may be a bit limited for the first week. This is merely to let the stem cell therapy process to work uninterrupted and without any possible inflammation. After just seven days you should be able to return to your normal activity! Your treatment will include some monitoring after the treatment, to ensure everything is working as it should.
3. Can Offer Pain Relief
Stem cell therapy is highly sought out by patients who experience chronic pain. As it should be! Because of stem cells’ ability to restore and regenerate, being used in pain management is a logical step. The use of stem cell therapy is being studied for a number of chronic pain conditions, particularly pain in the knees, hips, elbows, and back. Stem cell therapy can offer pain relief in the way that it reduces the inflammation which causes chronic pain. It also helps to heal regenerative conditions that lead to pain, such as arthritis. Promising results have been found in research into the use of stem cells to reduce arthritis pain. As every patient and their condition is different, long-lasting pain relief can never be guaranteed by any doctor.
4. No Risk of Rejection
When you receive stem cells from a donor, there’s always the risk that your body will reject them. Because the stems are coming from another person’s body, many complications can arise. The most common complication is called graft-versus-host disease. This is when blood cells formed from the donor’s stem cells believe your own cells are foreign and attack them. On the other hand, harvesting stem cells extracted from your own body to generate new cells and tissues means there is no risk of rejection!
5. Potential to Discover New Treatments
Because of the nature of stem cells, the possibilities for treating new diseases and finding new cures is endless. Stem cell therapy research provides great potential for discovering treatments and cures to a variety of diseases. Advanced research is going as far as limbs and organs being grown in a lab from stem cells, which are then used in transplants. With stem cells, scientists are able to test millions of potential drugs and medicine, without the use of animal or human testers.
How Can CBD Help with Stem Cell Treatment?
We’ve seen how amazing stem cells are. Now let’s have a look at how much more amazing they can be when combined with the effects of CBD! According to results from multiple trials, cannabidiol, or CBD, can help increase the number of stem cells growing within the body. CBD has even shown to positively contribute to the movement of the stem cells within the body. They can then do what they do best – help heal the body and reduce pain.
Nearly 20% of those who went through hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) used cannabis. Not only was it used to treat their physical and emotional pain, but it was also used in the hope that it will contribute to the replacement of bone marrow that has been destroyed by cancer. Because both CBD and stem cells have been seen to reduce pain, combined the possibilities for better treatments are endless.
How Can I Experience the Benefits of Stem Cells?
You’ve heard about the many benefits of stem cells. You’ve heard how popular it is. And you’ve heard the vast amount of injuries, diseases, and pain that it can treat. Perhaps it’s about time you had a look at it as a treatment for your condition. Whether you’re looking for an alternative treatment to your sports injury, your multiple sclerosis or your chronic fatigue syndrome, we’re here to help you along the way.
Get in touch with us to see if you are a candidate for Stem Cell Therapy. Also, check out our website shop to see available products.
by admin | Mar 22, 2019 | Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, Stem Cell Therapy
As 15 million Americans struggle with a chronic respiratory disease, it’s clear that breathing is difficult for many people for a variety of reasons. When you’re dealing with a chronic disease or trying to recover from an illness, hyperbaric treatment is a great way to get enough oxygen to your body. You can even experience a detox treatment with the help of hyperbaric oxygen treatment as oxygen assists in all the body’s processes.
Here are five reasons you should try hyperbaric oxygen treatment when you’re struggling with many physical afflictions.
Great For Detoxing
If you want to help foster your body’s natural cleansing abilities, then hyperbaric oxygen treatment is the way to go. The first benefits you notice is how much cleaner your body feels and how it helps your immune system. Oxygen therapy has long been recognized as a way to help clean and detox your body. As more people move to urban environments, they’re exposed to all manner of pollutants and environmental problems. When you try out oxygen treatments, you’ll feel like you just spent a week out in nature.
Detoxing the body from the poisons that we absorb is a challenge. The heavy metal poisoning that an increased number of people deal with is hard for the body to detox itself from. However, as more oxygen moves throughout your body and brain, you immediately feel healthier. Your brain needs all the help it can get to regulate and repair tissues. This helps to boost your immune system and your overall health. You’ll notice the difference almost immediately.
Boost Your Immune System
Our immune systems are fragile, especially during winter months when it seems like colds and flu strains are on every surface. When you boost your immune system with the help of hyperbaric oxygen, you’ll be able to keep bad bacteria from growing. If that bacteria can’t get ahold of your immune system, you’ll stay healthier all throughout the year. The growth of yeast and certain viruses is kept at bay with the help of hyperbaric oxygen. There are lots of diseases that have been stifled with hyperbaric oxygen.
Those diseases that take a toll on your immune system, from hepatitis to shingles and Lyme disease are held at arm’s length with hyperbaric oxygen. If you suffer from any of these ailments, you’ll notice the symptoms will be limited. Using this oxygen treatment, you can ensure that your systems are reduced dramatically so long as you keep your treatments up.
Heal Quicker
If you’re dealing with any wounds or have been through major surgery, it’s hard to recover quickly. When you’re weak, your body tends to heal more quickly and when you’re healing, you’re weaker. It’s a lose-lose situation without the help of the right treatment.
Thankfully, oxygen therapy is able to help to heal wounds that range from diabetic problems, skin grafts, or even traumatic injuries. By moving oxygen around your body and controlling your body’s supply of blood you get help where you need it and heal more efficiently. It’s even been shown to help with injuries related to MS, dementia, Parkinson’s, and epilepsy. Our brain is sensitive to having too little oxygen. It’s even triggered by having access to too much, which can make us feel lightheaded. When you increase the oxygen under controlled conditions, you’ll notice that your problems will be alleviated more quickly than ever.
Deal with Nerve Problems
When you’re struggling with nerve issues, it’s hard to find relief. Nerve pain gets under the skin and tears at your psyche in some respects. If you can’t get relief, then you’re going to have painful attacks that feel like they have no end. For people who have scar tissue, getting feeling back or helping alleviate pain is their focus. Some types of neuropathy can be helped with hyperbaric oxygen. For sufferers of fibromyalgia, a deeply painful nerve condition, hyperbaric oxygen treatment is a way out of that discomfort.
By stimulating conductive fibers on nerves, the body regulates its pain. When you use oxygen to help take care of that, then you’re able to treat it on your conditions. You’ll feel better quickly and be free of unnecessary discomfort that comes with dealing with a nerve problem.
Increase Your Energy
During a vigorous workout, it’s possible to feel less stressed or sore after if you have enough oxygen. When lots of oxygen is pumped into the room or when the person exercising wears a hyperbaric device, they’ll find they can move faster for longer. Oxygen therapy has taken this concept somewhere that works for everyday life. When people leave hyperbaric oxygen therapy, they report feeling more refreshed and awake than before. They note that their mind and body feel more comfortable and sharper. They’ll be alert and awake, with more energy than they had before the treatment. An increasing number of spas offer this treatment as a way to relax and to relieve stress. If you try this after a massage or in addition to other treatments, you could find drastic changes to your energy.
Some people report that they feel more focused after treatment. Because oxygen is vital for brain function and cellular growth, our minds are sharper, more focused, and functioning at a higher level. Reaction times drop and our bodies feel much more connected to the tasks at hand rather than fatigued or removed.
Hyperbaric Treatment Has So Many Benefits
If you haven’t considered hyperbaric treatment for getting oxygen to the essential parts of your body and brain that need it. Hyperbaric oxygen treatment has given so many people the ability to feel better, more energetic, and to heal from afflictions that you should try it ASAP.
To learn more about the potential for hyperbaric treatment to help you, check out our latest posts.
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