Regenerative Medicine Doctor Q&A

Regenerative medicine is an innovative, effective, and emerging branch of medicine that focuses on restoring damaged or dysfunctional cells, tissues, or organs due to injury, trauma, disease, or congenital issues. As such, regenerative medicine differs from traditional clinical strategies that primarily focus on and treat the symptoms of any condition, injury, or illness. In contrast, regenerative medicine focuses on and treats the root cause of any condition, illness, or injury, or as close to the root cause as possible! Regenerative medicine works through technology that harnesses your body’s own healing responses to support cell regrowth in critical areas where your body requires a more robust healing response.

When provided by board-certified physicians and medical professionals, regenerative medicine is entirely safe! However, it is essential to ensure that the clinic offering regenerative medicine is legitimate and employs the necessary medical personnel required to perform regenerative medicine treatments safely.

Golden State Medical Center uses regenerative cell/tissue injection therapies and human cell tissue products (HCTPs). Examples of regenerative medicine include:

• Human cellular and tissue-based products (HCTP)
• Platelet-Rich-Plasma (PRP) Therapy
• Hyaluronic Acid Injections
• Prolotherapy

Human Cell Tissue Products (HCT/P) contains:

• Cytokines – Cytokines are a broad category of small proteins important in cell signaling. Cytokines have been shown to be involved in endocrine, autocrine, and paracrine signaling as immuno-modulating agents (meaning they can help dysfunctioning immune systems).

• Chemokines – Chemokines are a family of small signaling proteins, or cytokines, secreted by cells. Their name comes from their ability to induce directed chemotaxis in nearby responsive cells. Cytokine proteins are classified as chemokines according to behavior, as they act as chemotactic cytokines, and their structural characteristics.

• Mesenchymal stem cells – Mesenchymal stem cells are multipotent adult stem cells that are present in multiple tissues, including the umbilical cord, bone marrow, and fat tissue. Mesenchymal stem cells can self-renew by dividing and can differentiate into multiple tissues including bone, cartilage, muscle and fat cells, and connective tissue.

• Growth factors – Growth factors are a naturally occurring substances capable of stimulating cell growth, wound healing, and occasionally cellular differentiation. Usually, it is a secreted protein or a steroid hormone. Growth factors are essential for regulating a variety of cellular processes.

• Scaffolding agents – Scaffolding agents are proteins and small molecules that have been used to induce tissue repair by undamaged cells at the site of injury. These agents protect localized fibroblasts and adult stem cells and stimulate the migration of these cells into damaged areas, where they proliferate to form new tissue.

• Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) – This plasma contains more than the usual number of platelets typical in blood. Platelets have the ability of healing wounds by clotting blood. They have several proteins called growth factors which play a crucial role in healing injuries. The concentration of platelets in PRP can be up to 5-10 times more concentrated, which means there is a greater concentration of growth factors that are believed to speed up cell growth.

• Hyaluronic Acid Injections – Hyaluronic acid is a naturally occurring substance that works by serving as a lubricant and shock absorber within your joints. Individuals that have osteoarthritis have lost much of their lubrication between the bones causing degeneration. Hyaluronic acid injections have shown to be effective in decreasing the degeneration process and decreasing the pain and disability caused by osteoarthritis.

• Prolotherapy – Prolotherapy, short for proliferation therapy, is a minimally invasive treatment that has the potential to aid in the healing of numerous soft tissue injuries including acute injuries or chronic ligament and muscle sprains and strains. Prolotherapy involves the injection of a solution into an injured or damaged area of the body to repair tissues and restore function. A small amount of solution — often consisting of dextrose, a local anesthetic such as lidocaine, and a sterile water mixture — is injected near painful or damaged areas to induce an inflammatory response in the ligaments, tendons, or joints. These substances initiate the body’s natural healing process after injection, promoting cell growth and regeneration.

Current research studies have shown that HCTPs may help with modulating the immune system, decreasing inflammation, and regenerating damaged tissues. PRP contains growth factors that can help decrease inflammation and promote healing.

Regenerative medicine is at the forefront of the medical field, providing state-of-the-art treatments with potentially revolutionary results!

There are numerous chronic conditions, illnesses, and injuries that regenerative medicine has helped safely and effectively! From sports injuries to chronic pain conditions to congenital disorders, regenerative medicine casts a broad net when it comes to what it can treat. The following is a list of some of the conditions that regenerative medicine has helped with:

• Arthritis
• Hip Pain
• Knee Pain
• Low Back Pain
• Shoulder Pain
• Neck Pain
• Foot/Ankle Pain
• Hand/Wrist Pain
• Mid Back Pain
• Elbow Pain
• Bursitis
• Sprains/Strains