Are Stem Cells the Fountain of Youth?

Will Stem Cells work for me?

Coming ashore to modern St. Augustine, Ponce de Leon, the Spanish explorer, claimed the territory for the Spanish crown and saw the many flowers in bloom and dubbed the discovery, La Florida, the land of flowers. But what drove him on was his search for rejuvenating waters that would give new life and youth. He was going on the dream of the fabled writings of Alexander the Great and all the many legends over the centuries that followed. Alexander said to have come across a healing “river of paradise”; and since then, stories and legends abound in the years and centuries to come that such healing waters that restored man's youthful vigor exist—"somewhere."

If one were to fast forward from history to modern medicine, we may find that certain procedures do have restorative properties. This is especially true when we talk about stem cell therapy. There seems to be promising results where stem cells help restore torn ligaments and joints like knee and shoulder repair. The jury is still out as to if stem cell treatment will help everybody; however, there are some stunning results and these individuals are more than pleased with the treatment. One case of success follows.

The following paragraphs are taken from WebMD – a April 14, 2017 success story of George Chung-- At 55, George Chung of Los Angeles could keep up with skiers decades younger, taking on difficult slopes for hours and hours. "Skiing was my passion," he says. Then the pain started, and the bad news. He had severe osteoarthritis, the ''wear-and-tear'' type, in both knees. Doctors suggested surgery, but he chose instead an investigational treatment -- injections of stem cells. Two months after the first treatment, he was out of pain. "I had been in pain of various degrees for 6 years," he says. Now, nine treatments and 3 years later, he is back to intense skiing. Last year, he also took up long-distance cycling, completed five double-century cycling rides, and earned the prestigious California Triple Crown cycling award.

Treatments with stem cells—which can grow into different types of cells—are booming in the U.S., with an estimated 500 or more clinics in operation. The remarkable potential of these cells highlights the incredible advances made through modern stem cell research. However, this is just part of the story. While the potential stem cell therapy benefits for joint repair are clear, what I am learning is that stem therapy has the greatest chance of success if a larger volume of them are used. Yes, it's a numbers game. But also equally as relevant is the types of stem cells used.

First, lets make some distinctions. In the case of George Chung the treatment team extracted stem cells from Chung's fat and/or bone marrow. These are from the patient's own body and are referred to as autologous - mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). In the USA, Canada, Australia and most of Europe this is the only type of MSC treatment available. This is because of the regulations that prevent the administration of cultivated MSCs from another donor outside the body. So the volume numbers used in this procedure autologous MSCs are small. The more MSCs the more rapid and complete the repair and healing will be. Again, it is a numbers game. But what if there was a way introduce large numbers MSCs into the body? Yes, that is possible but we have to go to clinics outside of the United States.

Now we need to talk about allogeneic MSCs. This procedure is done in several countries here in North and South America. These stem cells come from a donor. The ideal source is from the umbilical cord and/or placenta tissue following a live, healthy birth. Our bodies will not reject them because MSC lack Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA). These MSCs are not recognized by the immune system. Since they are the youngest tissue possible, they have very little to no immune system interaction. This means they perform the way that they should and help reprogram the receiving patient's immune cells to work properly. These wide-ranging applications, from orthopedic repair to experimental treatments like stem cell therapy for diabetes, demonstrate the regenerative power of these cells. These MSCs replicate the fastest which means more MSCs will be used. I wanted a more in depth understanding, so I asked Joshua Ketner, owner of the Dream Body Clinic in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico about the advantages of using allogeneic MSCs and of course my first question was; what are they? According to Josh:

“You can think of them as the “Mothers of all Cells.” They’re referred to as MSCs and also called Medicinal Signaling Cells. They’re like your own body’s doctor because they target inflammation and guide the healing of the underlying issue. They can guide the regeneration of cartilage, ligaments, muscles, bone and soft tissue. They are part of your natural way of healing. They live on your capillaries as what are called pericytes. These pericytes look like a little octopus wrapped around the capillaries, where they constrict and control blood pressure. When they detect inflammation in the area, they then release and rush to the area to act like the manager on the construction site. They figure out what is causing the inflammation then release signaling proteins, neurotrophic factors and exosomes to guide your body to heal like it did as a little kid. They will guide the removal of scar tissue first which is usually preventing the healing. The scar tissue is like having a bad foundation that your normal healing process can´t build upon. No more scar tissue means your body can finally heal. Whenever there’s a problem, they identify it and decide by themselves what type of tissue is needed to regenerate that part of your body and start guiding the cells that are needed to do the job.”

I told Josh that I am getting up in my years and I have been worried about my body's ability to repair. It seems like whenever I have had minor injuries they take longer to heal. Then it seemed like other problems were approaching on the horizon. My brother got prostate cancer and got his prostate removed. I have had prostate inflammation and I certainly did not want to get cancer or my prostate removed. These and other little problems in my body just seemed like they were never getting better. So, I asked Josh; do we lose stem cells as the years go by? Does that effect the prostate? He said;

“Unfortunately as you age, your body starts producing less of them and also in lower quality, this is one of the reasons why every medical problem tends to become more difficult to cure as years go by. Your hair thins, your muscles and bones become more fragile and your prostate loses the capacity of regenerating tissue when it’s swollen. Leaving you with lower quality of life, lower quality of erections, lower quality of sleep and painful, frustrating, obnoxious, embarrassing problems that prevent you from urinating normally. We have to remember that over 15 Million Cells Die in Your Body Every Second of Every Day. When you’re young they are replaced...but...in your golden years, your body loses the ability to produce more of these vital cells little by little. If we were living in the 1950’s, 60’s or 70’s you wouldn’t have any choice but to learn to live with the symptoms for the rest of your life and accept your dire destiny. But not anymore! Mesenchymal stem cell research took a huge leap in the 1990’s and scientists discovered they could stimulate the “Mothers of all Cells” to guide regeneration of bone tissue, cartilage tissue, muscle tissue, etc. This meant a huge deal and opened a whole new myriad of possibilities for treating all kinds of diseases and ailments. In 1991, Dr. Arnold I. Caplan published the results of his studies in the Journal of Orthopedic Research (September Issue) and this is what he says. “Mesenchymal stem cells divide, and their progeny become committed to a specific and distinctive phenotypic pathway, a lineage with discrete steps and, finally, end‐stage cells involved with fabrication of a unique tissue type, e.g., cartilage, bone, or muscle.” Your prostate is built with muscle tissue, thus it can be regenerated with mesenchymal stem cells. Years have passed since the roaring 90s. More and more scientists all around the world have conducted studies of their own and all results point at the same place. Mesenchymal Stem Cells Can Be Used to Regenerate and Revitalize Your Body!”

Quite frankly at sixty seven years it has become obvious that I am in the retirement age category. I know people that are older and have gotten MSCs and had a revival and surge of health and enthusiasm. I wanted that too, however I could never afford the treatment that George Chung got to rebuild his knees. Because he did not have the higher numbers of MSCs he returned for many more followup treatments. But that is expensive. For all his procedures his total expenditure was well in the six figure range. Well, that is out of my budget. For several years I have helped my patients go to Costa Rica to get MSCs. Even though I could not afford it myself they got great benefit from the larger numbers of allogenic MSC treatment. Then in August of 2020, I found out about Dream Body Clinic in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. They offered allogenic MSCs in the larger numbers but the cost of their treatments were not only cheaper than the clinic in Costa Rica but it was within my reach and affordability. I immediately made steps in my planning to budget for this break through therapy and start bringing my patients down there as well.

I was excited and really thought long and deep before I made the trip to Mexico. I pondered; could this help reverse and eliminating those aggravating senior moments? I went to Puerto Vallarta and got MSCs for myself for several reasons. One, is I wanted to avoid the dementia situations that have been creeping up on me more and more as each year goes by. Two, I have had prostate issues and the increased swelling had been interfering with normal urinary performance. I wanted the MSCs to lower that inflammation. Three, I have a weaker constitution as each year passes and I wanted that restoration of well being and stamina. Could MSCs really help me? Or; was I like Ponce de Leon, searching for a fountain of youth that really does not exist?

Now after three different treatments of MSCs I am delighted to get my mind and my body back from slipping down hill. Yes, its is really working. My prostate is better and I don't drip in my pants. Just that alone has saved me embarrassment. The relief of not facing these health problems I was facing can not be understated. Whether you are George Chung suffering from knee or shoulder problems or like me with dementia or other senior issues like prostate inflammation you can put those problems behind. The first step to begin that process is to contact the Dream Body Clinic at 833 445 9089 or go to https://dreambody.clinic for more information and get to your fountain of youth today!

Frequently Asked Questions About Stem Cell Research