The Future in Now in Stem Cell Therapy In San Antonio

THE STEM CELL ORTHOPEDIC INSTITUTE OF TEXAS at the medical center in San Antonio offers STEM CELL and PLATELET RICH PLASMA (PRP) Therapies to help individuals suffering from joint pain, joint and tendon degeneration, and soft tissue injuries.  STEM CELL injections are a great alternative to prevent or delay elective orthopedic surgery, which may involve joint replacement or fusion.

With Stem Cell therapy, patients may be able to avoid a lengthy post-operative period, an invasive procedure, and a lengthy rehabilitation as well as risks associated with surgery.

Our doctors, specifically Drs. Hirsch and Hall, have made tremendous advances to make tissue regeneration with Adult Stem Cells a reality. Through what we call, “Regenerative Medicine,” a patient can take advantage of their body’s ability to heal itself by using their own ADULT STEM CELLS that are found throughout the body. STEM CELLS can restore lost, damaged or aging cells and effectively regenerate tissue in the body. This treatment may provide the patient with an alternative to surgery for certain treatments.

Regenerative therapies involving autologous ADULT STEM CELLS are beginning to show promise in Orthopedic Medicine, Pain Medicine, Rheumatology and nerve regeneration.  Drs. Hirsch and Hall completed an in-house, 15-patient unpublished study with STEM CELLS and the results are very promising for patients who received pain relief and a return to the activities of daily living.

Is STEM CELL Therapy Right for You?

You may be a candidate for STEM CELL Therapy. Call (210) 293-3136 today to schedule your medical evaluation. Courteous Patient Advocates will answer your questions.

Autologous ADULT STEM CELLS are used to treat many types of chronic pain and orthopedic injuries to joints, bones, muscles, tendons and ligaments.

THE STEM CELL ORTHOPEDIC INSTITUTE OF TEXAS offers Regenerative Medicine treatments for specific degenerative and inflammatory conditions of the:

1. Hip
2. Knee
3. Shoulder
4. Low Back
5. Hand/Wrist.
6. Foot/Ankle.

WHAT IS PLATELET RICH PLASMA (PRP)?

PRP Therapy uses a portion of the patient’s own blood having a platelet concentration above baseline to promote healing of injured tendons, ligaments, muscles, and joints, can be applied to various musculoskeletal problems.

The platelets are best known for their importance in clotting blood. However, platelets also contain hundreds of proteins called growth factors which are very important in the healing of injuries. PRP is plasma with many more platelets than what is typically found in blood.

PRP injections are prepared from one to a few tubes of the patient’s own blood with strict aseptic technique. After being centrifuged, the activated platelets are injected into the abnormal tissue, releasing growth factors that recruit and increase the proliferation of reparative cells. Ultrasound imaging may or may not be used to guide the injection.

Several clinical studies have demonstrated that PRP injections have improved function and decreased pain to various maladies, including – but not limited to – elbow, wrist, shoulder, hip, knee, and ankle tendonosis. Early work is also showing promise for osteoarthritis.

Because the patient’s own blood is used, there are very few side effects. Drs. Hirsh and Hall have used PRP injections to successfully treat many patients.

Would you benefit from Stem Cell Therapy or PRP Injections ? Call (210) 293-3136 today to schedule your medical evaluation.

This Article Originally Appeared on stemcellorthopedicinstituteoftexas.com

Damaged Brains Regenerated Thanks To Stem Cells

Regenerative medicine, especially stem cell treatments, give patients an opportunity to recover from injuries that were previously considered permanent. There are common stem cell procedures that can repair knee, hip, spine, and shoulder pains. These are well-researched and readily available for anyone who qualifies for the treatments.

However, researchers are still investigating the question of whether or not stem cells can improve a patient’s health after suffering from Alzheimer’s disease or from a stroke. These are serious, potentially life-changing questions that patients need answered so they can make informed decisions about the stem cell procedures available to them.

Stem cell therapy may very well become a valuable treatment option for patients who have brain damage. Researchers at Stanford wanted to see what effects stem cells would have when injected into a stroke patient’s brain. This study consisted of 18 patients and was designed primarily to look at the safety of such procedure, not its effectiveness. However, they were more than just surprised by what they saw. The researchers were absolutely stunned by the amount of motor functions the patient’s gained after the stem cell procedure was performed. This study has created a significant amount of attention in the neuroscience community due to the fact that the results contradict a core belief about brain damage. The consensus, up until now, has been that brain damage is permanent and irreversible. Scientists will need to reassess prior assumptions about the human brain in light of these results.

There have to be more studies conducted in order for multiple researchers and doctors to confirm that stem cell procedures can perform such miracle. The potential is exciting! If researchers find that stem cells can consistently create these kind of results, then it gives medical science a strong push to explore regenerative medicine’s capacity to repair a patient’s brain after it has suffered from other brain diseases. Stem cell treatment options will dramatically increase their potential if a medical breakthrough allowed them to treat or cure a patient who suffered from Alzheimer’s or other similar diseases.

The study from Stanford included patients who suffered from brain damage for more than six months and others who had strokes and were significantly impaired in moving their arms or legs. There were a few patients that had suffered from a stroke three to five years before the experimental treatment. The majority of these patients were left in terrible conditions, which led the researchers to believe that it might be possible for the stem cells to produce some kind of improvement.

The procedure itself was fairly straightforward. The surgeon’s strategy was to drill holes into the study’s participants’ skull and injecting stem cells around the areas damaged by the stroke. The stem cells were harvested from the bone marrow of adult donors. The surgeries were performed well, the patients were conscious throughout the procedure, and they were able to go home the same day. A few patients experienced minor adverse effects such as temporary headaches, nausea and vomiting. The volunteers were tested one month, six and 12 months after they had surgery. The doctors used brain imaging and several standard scales that look at vision, motor ability, and other aspects of daily functioning.

Gary Steinberg, the study’s lead author and chair of neurosurgery at Stanford didn’t want to oversell the results from the study. Although he couldn’t ignore the fact that seven out of 18 patients experienced significant improvement in their abilities following treatment. Steinberg went on to mention that the patient’s recoveries weren’t just minimal. They were life changing. One 71-year-old patient no longer needed his wheelchair and was able to walk again. Another patient, age 39, who was two years post-stroke had difficulties walking and talking. She was embarrassed of marrying her boyfriend because she wouldn’t be able to walk down the aisle like other people can. After treatment, she is walking and talking better than before and is married and pregnant.

Others, such as Sean Savitz, a professor of neurosurgery at the University of Texas, have been encouraged by this study. He said there are more studies that need to be done in order to confirm the results and figure out the mechanism for the reaction. Nicholas Boulis, a neurosurgeon and researcher at Emory University, commented that the study appears to support the idea that there may be latent pathways in the brain that can be reactivated. This sort of theory has been working its way to the surface over the past few years.

Stanford’s study about stem cell treatment has proven a long belief about brain damage wrong, while also significantly changing the lives of others. Just when some of these patients thought there was no chance of curing their brain damages, the stem cell treatment gave them a reason to think otherwise.

The medical community still has many steps it needs to take before any commercially available treatments can be made based on this research. However, there are other types of stem cell treatments available today. Click this link for information on what conditions can be treated with stem cells today.

This Article originally appeared on stemcellorthopedicinstituteoftexas.com