The science of regenerative medicine is progressing rapidly. Many “bad actors” have co-opted “stem cells” preying on unsuspecting patients and their families. Advertisements for stem cells treatments and patient centered seminars are showing up everywhere, often with claims that are too good to be true. Don’t believe everything you hear about stem cells and don’t be misled by deceptive marketing from unqualified physicians.

How do you know what to believe?

The first step is as a consumer understanding the difference between the various orthobiologic treatments.

Beware of:

Claims that stem cell treatments can treat a wide range of diseases? This is untrue.

• Clinical trials are testing the safety and efficacy of stem cell-based treatments for blindness, spinal cord injury, heart disease and Parkinson’s disease, but the treatments are still unproven for many the diseases being studied
• Our Advice: If interested in regenerative procedures for an orthopedic problem see someone with musculoskeletal, sports or orthopedic training.

Patient testimonials used to validate a particular treatment.

• In orthopedics there is level 1 evidence for platelet rich plasma (PRP) for knee osteoarthritis and elbow tendinopathy. There is level II-IV evidence for many other applications of PRP and stem cells. Make sure your provider can discuss the scientific evidence for the regenerative medicine treatments and not only rely on patient testimonials.
• Our Advice: See a provider who can discuss the scientific evidence for these treatments even when the evidence is limited. Physicians who have published book chapters and peer-reviewed articles is one indication they are up-to-date with the evidence.

How do you know who know your physician has the appropriate medical credentials?

Regenerative medicine is a relatively new field and most physicians receive limited training in orthobiologics. If you have an orthopedic condition, then your physician should not only be comfortable with orthobiologics, but also have specialty training in physical medicine & rehabilitation (PM&R), sports medicine or orthopedics. These specialties understand the musculoskeletal system.

In addition to training in orthobiologics and musculoskeletal medicine, your physician should be skilled in ultrasound or x-ray guided injections. There is the evolving field of Interventional Orthopedics, and your physician should be comfortable with these advanced techniques.

Being skilled with using these advanced guidance techniques is the only way to ensure that the injection is being placed in the correct place. Intravenous or IV injections will not get these cells to the injured tissue and the majority of IV ad cells get trapped in the lungs before they can get to the injured tissue (Fischer et al 2009).

• Our Advice: Whether you choose Boston Sports & Biologics or another reputable clinic you want to:

1. Understand who is going to be performing the procedure and what their experience is with orthobiologics.
2. Understand what they will be injecting.
3. Understand how they will ensure the biologic injection is getting to the right area.

Contact Us At:

info@BSBortho.com

P: (781) 591-7855

20 Walnut St. Suite 14

Wellesley MA 02481

REFERENCES:

Fischer UM, Harting MT, Jimenez F, Monzon-Posadas WO, Xue H, Savitz SI, Laine GA, Cox CS Jr. Pulmonary passage is a major obstacle for intravenous stem cell delivery: the pulmonary first-pass effect. Stem Cells Dev. 2009 Jun;18(5):683-92.

Lai F, Kakudo N, Morimoto N, Taketani S, Hara T, Ogawa T, Kusumoto K. Platelet-rich plasma enhances the proliferation of human adipose stem cells through multiple signaling pathways. Stem Cell Res Ther. 2018 Apr 16;9(1):107.

Oliva A, Passaro I, Di Pasquale R, Di Feo A, Criscuolo M, Zappia V, Della Ragione F, D'Amato S, Annunziata M, Guida L. Ex vivo expansion of bone marrow stromal cells by platelet-rich plasma: a promising strategy in maxillo-facial surgery. Int J Immunopathol Pharmacol. 2005;18:47–53.