Stem cells for treatment purposes can be classified into three categories, autologous (meaning coming from the patient), Allogeneic (coming from a birthing mother after the delivery of a child) and embryonic (which has not be shown to be very effective and coming from unborn fetus very controversial). We have a long history with bone marrow stem cells (BMAC) coming from harvesting bone marrow, primarily coming from the iliac crest, and processing it to isolate the stem cells and platelets, giving us a concentration of stem cells and platelets. Many wonderful outcomes with this type of treatment injected into joints tendons ligament and spine . Adipose from your abdominal area, contains high concentrations of MSCs but in order to release them, a form of processing called stromal vascular fraction (using enzymes to release the stem cells from the fat/adipose) has been determined to be a drug by the FDA and practitioners have until November 2020 to stop doing this type of procedure or get a drug designation. Allogeneic Stem cells can come from the Amnion fluid or layer in the placenta, Umbilical Cord Blood or Wharton’s Jelly. The problem is if the processing protocol involves a preservative call DMSO and Cryo preservation, studies have shown that the stem cells are dead or dying. However, this doesn’t make these Allografts ineffective. We have seen these therapies numerous times reduce pain increase function of many patients but there might not be many live stem cells . This type of therapy should be called Extra Cellular Matrix with growth factors or biologic allographs . Exosomes are signaling extra cellular vesicles that can come from any cell in your body. The ones for treatment come from two areas (with the most popular sources) the bone marrow stem cells of young male donors and one from the placenta that come from young females. The extra cellular vesicles from bone marrow have been show to be very effective in joint injections and hair restoration. The extra cellular vesicles from placentas have been shown to be very effective in
many types of treatments. All of the above treatments, whether autologous or allogeneic, are still in their infancy and the outcomes can really depend on how we prepare our bodies for treatment. Detoxing from smoking , heavy metals , getting the right kinds of food, taking the right supplements for your body, proper hydration , cutting out sugar and white flour, getting natural sun light, moderate exercising (yoga , swimming weight training ), having the good hormone levels, getting off NSAIDS for at least two weeks before treatment, getting concentrated vitamins (doctor directed) five days before treatment, using nitric oxide supplements like Arginine or beet root powder . These recommendations can prepare the body and enhance the outcomes of your treatment. Also we utilize ozone therapy for areas of the body that my have less vascularization like joints and disc space of spine .