Category Archives: Stem Cell Treatments

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Stem Cell Breast Augmentation

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Stem cells are a controversial subject and when most people hear the term they think of life threatening diseases such as diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis and the like. While these are issues that are closely linked to stem cells, there are other areas of medicine that can be positively impacted by stem cells. One such area is stem cell breast augmentation.

Many women feel self conscious because their breasts are not as full or as large as they would like. Society puts an emphasis on external beauty and for women much of the concentration falls on the size of a woman’s breast. As such, there are many women who would like to enhancing their breast size and stem cells are a great option.

Breast augmentation has been done for years but a large percentage of women just don’t want to have breast implants done because of the pain of the procedure or even the safety of the implants themselves. The fear of complication is what keeps many women from having the breast augmentation that will allow them to be more comfortable in their own skin.

Luckily, stem cell breast augmentation is a great option for those women who do not want to take the risks associated with implants. It’s true, implants can be dangerous for many women and not to mention that they may cause pain and the process will leave scars that can cause a whole different body imagine issue. The implants are simply not natural and pose an increased cancer risk to those who have them.

Stem cell augmentation is much different. The process includes taking fat out of the patients own body, often from their hips, thighs buttocks or abdomen. This fat is them mixed with stem cells to ensure that the stem cells will not be rejected by the body and will then be injected into the breast tissue of the woman. This procedure achieves a much more natural looking breast.

There are many additional benefits of stem cell breast augmentation in addition to having larger, more natural looking breasts. These benefits include but are not limited to:

Less down time
Much less pain
No incisions or scars
Less fat in the areas where fat was removed

While stem cell breast augmentation is a relatively new technology, it is one that has been very successful and is being adopted by more cosmetic surgeons than ever before. The less painful and traumatic alternative to a traditional breast implant will surely allow this to become even more popular, with improved safety measures in the future. Those who are interested in this cutting edge approach to having large, more natural looking breasts will likely not have to look far for a qualified cosmetic surgeon who is implementing this technique with fantastic results, for a relatively affordable price, making it a reality for a larger percentage of the population. Keep in mind, however, that making medical decisions without asking your doctor for an educated opinion is not recommended.

Stem Cell Face Lift:The New Cosmetic Surgery Option

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Everyone likes to look their best and as we age we are often surprised that we don’t recognize our own reflection in the mirror. The skin is not as tight as it once was and smile lines and wrinkles seem to appear over night. These changes can be unsettling for a large part of the population, with some even becoming depressed or feeling self conscious of their aging body. Many people seek out a face lift, looking to embrace a more youthful look.

People have been getting face lifts for many years and in recent years they have become very high tech and as effective as possible while still achieving realistic results. Yet, many people who wish to look younger are afraid of the side effects, the pain or the results of these face lifts. Any time you “go under the knife” there is a lot of risk and you are relying on the skills of a surgeon that you can only hope understands what you want to look like after.

Because of the many risks associated with traditional face lift, many people are looking at a stem cell face lift, instead. This is a safer option for many because they don’t need to worry about the fillers and the like that are being injected into their own skin. Rather, when a stem cell facelift is done the fat will be take out of one part of the body and then prepared and put into the face, specifically the areas that the patient wishes to improve.

This works because body fat has been shown to have plenty of stem cells to work with. The fat that is withdrawn from the body will be treated with an agent that will ensure that the “transplanted” fat will take to the area and will not leak into unwanted areas. By using the fat and stem cells of the patients own body, the procedure also ensures that the transplanted stem cells will not be rejected by the body, causing a painful allergic reaction.

There are some great benefits to the stem cell face lift. These benefits include but are not limited to:

  • Natural results
  • Less down time
  • Much less pain
  • No incisions or scars
  • Less fat in the areas where fat was removed
  • No allergic reaction

For these reasons, the stem cell face lift is becoming more and more popular all around the globe. The popularity and requests that are coming from men and women from all walks of life have plastic surgeons going out in large numbers to become certified to perform this type of procedure. In addition to all of the benefits listed above, many patients prefer the stem cell face lift because it is also cost effective.

With ever improving technology, the stem cell face lift is sure to become even more refined. There is no need for those who are aging now or in the future, to dislike what they see in the mirror. Instead of aged, down or less than attractive people can use their own bodily fat to get back a piece of their youth.

Stem Cell Treatments for Cancer

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There are so many types of cancer in existence that one article cannot possibly cover the potential stem cell treatments available for all of them. Brain tumors for example are usually fast growing, which does not give much time for stem cell therapy to work. However, simply because some cancers are more difficult to treat then others this does not mean that doctors or researchers have given up the fight to find treatments and cures.

Leukemia is one form of cancer that can be cured with the assistance of stem cell transplants. Leukemia is a cancer that starts in blood forming tissue such as the bone marrow and causes large numbers of blood cells to be reproduced and enter the bloodstream. It is cancer of the white blood cells or leukocytes. When leukocytes become cancerous they cannot fight off infection.

Chemotherapy sometimes combined with radiation is used to kill off the cancerous blood cell. Unfortunately chemotherapy is not always effective in destroying all of the abnormal cells. In cases such as this, bone marrow or stem cell transplants are used to replace the patient’s bone marrow with that of a healthy, matching donor.

Metastatic cancers are cancers that have spread through many different places in the body. Normally these cancer patients have less treatment options available to them because they are physically unable to tolerate the doses of treatment they need to kill the tumors. Researchers at St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital have discovered a method called modified neural stem cells which they hope will treat metastatic cancers more effectively.

This process activates and concentrates chemotherapeutic drugs directly at the tumor sites. Concentrating the drugs at the tumor site allows the surrounding normal tissue to remain relatively unharmed. The belief is that this approach can not only improve future treatment options but also the quality of life by minimizing toxic side effects for patients with metastatic cancers.

There are different types of stem cell treatments used for different types of cancer. The two most common methods used are bone marrow transplantation and peripheral blood stem cell transplantations. Both procedures use stem cells to restore the ones that have been destroyed by high doses of chemotherapy or radiation therapy. Most are considered autologous stem cell rescue.

Although doctors performed the first successful bone marrow transplant was back in 1968, however since that time stem cell research has made significant strides and has become much more commonplace. To the recipient, there is nothing common about a stem cell transplant but in the medical world they have become more routine. Doctors have also learned that treating the whole person rather than just the disease gives the patient a much better rate of survival.

Today cancer treatment centers use a combination of stem cell therapy, medication, nutrition programs, spiritual, emotional and mental health support all tailor fit for the patient rather than the one-size fits all treatment plans once so popular.

Stem Cell Treatment for Heart Disease

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Approximately 6 million Americans suffer from heart disease which frequently leads to heart failure. Heart disease is a condition where the heart cannot pump enough blood into the body. When the heart cannot pump blood properly it can damage all of the organs in a person’s body.

In July of 2009, Michael Jones received the first stem cell infusion of his own cardiac stem cells as the result of a study conducted at the University of Louisville. Heart failure had left Michael so weak he could not climb stairs, exercise and could barely walk without significant difficulty.

The stem cell research study included 16 patients. Although it is far too early to definitively state that this revolutionary procedure will work on a larger scale, to date the results have been encouraging.

Four months after receiving stem cell infusions of their own stem cells:

  • 9% of the patients showed improvements in the left ventricular function;
  • 2 patients saw no improvement;
  •  patients saw 20% improvement;
  • no adverse side effects have been reported; and
  • zero patients have rejected the stem cells!

One of the biggest reasons there have been zero rejections and no negative side effects of the infusions is because each patient was infused with their own stem cells and not those of donors.

No one knows for sure if there will be any future side effects from using the stem cells because it is too soon. Yet if this procedure does work out it could have life-altering effects on millions of patients.

  • Potential side effects include but are not limited to:
  • Infection at the site of the catheterization;
  • Increased bleeding (from thinner blood);
  • Heart attack; or
  • Stroke.

The data is especially promising considering that when a patient has a drug-coated stent implanted in the arteries, doctors normally only see a 4% – 5% improvement after a heart attack. The stem cell treatments for heart disease conducted during the U of L study showed a 20% improvement rate.

Standard treatments for heart disease include various types of surgery such as stent placement, medications, heart transplants or heart pumps in an attempt to improve blood flow and extend a patient’s life. None of these treatments can strengthen the heart muscle after it has been damaged, however they can significantly improve a person’s quality of life as well as life span.

Congestive heart failure and heart attacks still remain one of the worst health challenges for doctors to deal with despite all the advances made in cardiovascular medicine. Recent research has shown that both adult and embryonic stem cells may be able to actually help replace and/or repair the damaged heart muscle.

More than 4.8 million people are affected by congestive heart failure, also known as myocardial infarction (or heart attacks). Regardless of what caused the heart attack, more than half of all patients with congestive heart failure die within five years of their initial diagnosis.

The new stem cell treatments for heart disease conducted in these and other studies give any person with heart disease fresh hope for a long, healthy life!

Stem Cell Treatment for Multiple Sclerosis

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Multiple Sclerosis [MS] is caused when the hyperactive immune cells target and attack the myelin sheath of a person’s nerves. The myelin sheath acts as an insulator for neurons which allows them to “talk to” each other by transmitting electrical signals. In layman terms this means that a patient’s immune cells will attack their own central nervous system. When the central nervous system begins to shut down a person can lose their cognitive abilities, vision, balance and coordination.

Approximately 400,000 Americans and more than 2.5 million people worldwide are affected by MS.

Stem cell treatment for multiple sclerosis is more widely used in foreign countries such as China, Japan and the United Kingdom [UK] then here in the United States. However, the research and trials being conducted in the US have proven to be more effective when the patients are first diagnosed or have what is called relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis or RRMS.

In Jan of 2009, Bloomberg reported that according to researchers at Northwestern University in Chicago patients who were given their own stem cells “re-set” the malfunctioning immune system in patients with early stage RRMS and for the first time ever, reversed their disability.

21 patients in the study had RRMS;

After 3 years 17 of the patients had improved on tests of their symptoms;

16 patients had experienced no relapse of their symptoms; and

none had deteriorated.

It was the first study of its kind to actually show reversal of disability. The lead author of the study published in the British journal, the Lancet Neurology, stated that some people had shown complete disappearance of all symptoms. Up until publication only adult stem cells were used in the study. The same group was granted U.S. regulatory approval to conduct the first human studies using embryonic stem cells. Embryonic stem cells have the potential to form into any of the cell types found within the human body.

As part of a study being conducted in the UK, more than 400 MS patients worldwide were transplanted with autologous stem cells. The hope was that the bone marrow cells would re-set the immune system, however the mortality rate within the trials remained at 1-2%. As a result hematopoietic stem cell therapy can only be considered a “rescue therapy” for the most aggressive forms of MS.

Currently there are no treatments that target the specific abnormal immune response in patients with MS, however that has not stopped the research. There is hope that another type of stem cell, the mesenchymal stem cell, which has immune regulatory properties may help stop the immune attack on the myelin sheath. Autologous mesenchymal stem cells are currently being tested in the UK, Israel and Germany. Clinical trials are also being conducted using mesenchymal stem cells for treatment of MS at the University of Cambridge.

Recent discoveries and the allowance of embryonic stem cell research has given MS patients new hope. No one is willing to accept defeat in the battle against curing MS for future generations!

Stem Cell Treatments for Parkinson’s disease

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Parkinson’s disease is a well recognized name for a disease that millions are suffering from, including some well known people such as actor Michael J. Fox. Many people have heard of the disease and may know of a friend or family member of a friend or family member that is suffering but so many of us don’t know what actually causes the disease. To understand how stem cell treatments for Parkinson’s disease could benefit those suffering with it, you must understand what causes the disease.

Parkinson’s disease is the result of dopamine producing cells in the brain degenerating. When these cells don’t work the way they are supposed to, Parkinson’s disease develops, along with the symptoms that the disease is perhaps most well known for such as impairing a patients motor skills, speech, writing and other functions. It can be a catastrophic diagnosis because it is usually progressive and degenerative, totally changing the course of a patient’s life.

The hopes of those who are suffering with Parkinson’s disease have long been supported by the possibility of stem cell treatments for Parkinson’s disease that would be available to the masses. The purpose of the stem cells would be to replace diseased or dead cells with new healthy ones. The stem cells would be programmed to form cells that are needed specifically for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease or the area of the brain where Parkinson’s disease is causing damage.

Through research into stem cell treatments for Parkinson’s disease it has been found that there are two specific genes that will play a critical part in the formation of cerebral dopamine cells, which would be those that are damaged by the disease. These genes have been found by Johan Ericson and Thomas Perlmann at Karolinksa Institute and are known as Lmx1a and Msx1.

Clinical trials have proven that stem cell treatments for Parkinson’s disease do work. Not only does it stop the progress of the disease, it actually reverses it, giving patients back the abilities that they have long since lost. Many different clinical trials are underway and all of them are reporting great successes that give patients, researchers and doctors the hope that they are well on their way to curing Parkinson’s disease so that another generation doesn’t know what suffering with this disease is like.

Of course, much of the holdback associated with stem cell treatments for Parkinson’s disease being made available to the masses is the controversy that has been ongoing. There are some that believe that the use of stem cells just isn’t morally correct and as such, government funding has ceased. Hopefully, this controversy can be cleared up in the near future so that Parkinson’s disease will soon be a disease of the past

Stem Cell Treatments for Diabetes

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Diabetes is an oft used term that is not understood by a vast majority of the population. Diabetes is a term that refers to a small group of diseases that results from insulin not being produced by the pancreas or not enough insulin being produced by the pancreas. The result is that the glucose levels in the body can go dangerously high, causing a wide variety of life threatening and life changing consequences. Currently, there is not a treatment for diabetes despite the fact that more than 16 million people in the United States alone have diabetes and the number is continuing to grow.

Stem cell treatments for diabetes have been on the horizon for ages. Those who are suffering with the disease have long hoped that stem cell treatments would be approved and would be in wide use so the disease could be stopped in its tracks. And, controlled research has found that not only can stem cell treatments for diabetes slow the progress of the disease, it can reverse it.

The reason that stem cell treatments for diabetes can be so dramatic is because the pancreas is damaged. Diabetes is a disease of the immune system. For unknown reasons, the body targets islet cells in the body, which are responsible for producing insulin. The body sees these cells as invaders and destroys them, as well as the body’s ability to make insulin, requiring synthetic insulin injections for the remainder of the patient’s life.

With injections of stem cells within the body, the process could be stopped in its tracks. Stem cells will travel to damaged parts of the body, including the pancreas. They are able to take on the characteristics of islet cells and will start producing insulin again. In short, the stem cells would take away the need of the patient to take insulin or other diabetes medications because the body would again be able to produce its own insulin and control blood glucose levels effectively.

Of course, because diabetes is a disease of the immune system, if stem cell treatments for diabetes are approved and are made available to the masses, it will need to go hand in hand with other treatments. This is because the immune system will likely see that the new insulin producing cells are “invaders” and will kill them off once again. So, the stem cell treatments for diabetes would likely need to go hand in hand with immune system suppressant medications to keep the immune system from killing off the newly formed islet cells that will once again produce insulin.

The hold back is, of course, the controversy surrounding the use of stem cells for any reason. For those who are fighting the disease and the doctors that are helping them, the hope is that stem cell treatments for diabetes will be approved sooner rather than later, in conjunction with any other immuno-suppressant medication so that those who have diabetes can once again be diabetes free.

Stem Cell Treatments for Autism

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Autism is a well recognized word but many people simply don’t know what it is or what it means, let alone how stem cell treatments for autism could change the course of the disorders. Autism is a very generalized term that is used to describe a wide variety of complex developmental brain disorders.

These brain disorders are known as pervasive developmental disorders as well as pervasive development disorder not otherwise specified. The term autism is well recognized because one in 110 children will be diagnosed with autism, making it more common than childhood cancer, Type 1 diabetes and pediatric AIDS combined. 1.5 million people in the United States as well as tens of millions around the world have autism.

Stem cell treatments for autism have proven to be an area worth focusing on, as there is some indication that stem cells could help those affected by autism overcome their brain disorders. Research has shown that those who have autism have damage in specific parts of the brain that could be bettered with stem cell treatment.

Stem cell treatments for autism involve injecting stem cells to improve blood flow to the brain. The idea is that the injections will replace the damaged neurons and promote the growth of new blood vessels. The stem cells that are injected will travel to the parts of the body that are identified as being damaged and will being to take on the actions of the cells around them and then begin to multiply. Where autism is concerned, the stem cells would promote the growth of both gray and white matter in the brain. Many times the stem cell treatments for autism are paired with detoxification processes that will remove metals and pollutants from the human body.

Once the stem cells are injected into the patient with autism it is just a matter of wait and see. Doctors overseeing the injections will simply monitor the progress of the patient, as well as watch the white and gray matter of the brain show new and improved growth. Unfortunately, stem cell treatments for autism are not currently available to those who live in the United States. The use of stem cells has proven to be very controversial in the United States as well as many other areas of the world. As such, patients from the US and other areas are often referred abroad to try these stem cell treatments for autism. The hope of many who are impacted by autism is that in the near future stem cell treatments will not only be legal but easily accessible.

It has been shown through a variety of research that stem cells have the ability to take on the characteristics of just about any type of cell in the body. This is why stem cell treatments for autism hold a lot of hope for those who do suffer from the disorder, because as of now there is no cure and stem cells may very well be the key that will fit into the lock that is autism.