What Are Stem Cells?

Stem cells are fundamental to the human healing process

Stem cells are some of the very first cells that form at conception. Initially, they have no specific function, so they are called unspecialized cells. However, they do have their own very specific role in healthy development. Your original stem cells have the ability to divide either into more stem cells, called daughter cells, or into cells with specialized functions, such as blood cells, lung tissue cells, hair follicle cells, or nerve cells, etc. The daughter cells are unspecialized stem cells, part of your body’s reservoir of stem cells.

What Are Stem Cells Used For?

The body uses the new specialized cells, however, to build and repair your body as it grows. It is this ability to become any type of specialized cell that makes stem cells beneficial for therapy at Regenesis.

No other cell in the body has this same regenerative capacity. Stem cells are uniquely able to differentiate, or to form into every cell type your body needs for growth and repair: cells that form the walls of your arteries, cells that build the cartilage padding your knee joint, cells that build your hamstring muscle, or even cells that line your organs with a protective layer of fat. With this particular ability for differentiation, stem cells are responsible for repairing your body on a daily basis. Your cells are in a constant cycle of growth, damage, death, repair, and regeneration, and your stem cells are at the heart of that cycle. At Regenesis, our therapies leverage your body’s process for repair and regeneration to activate healing using your own cells.

Your own internal repair system includes a process that regenerates and replaces cells that have been damaged by normal wear and tear, disease, or injury. Although they can be dormant without dividing for periods of time, when stem cells are activated, they can migrate and differentiate into specialized cells such as your joints’ connective tissue or bone that we target as part of our stem cell therapy at Regenesis.

While there are different types of potentially live stem cells that could come from umbilical cord tissue or amniotic fluid/tissue, these would require lab cultivation as drugs and drug approval by the FDA after rigorous testing to assure safety, dosing, and effectiveness. To date, there is no living stem cell product available from these tissues other than blood for bone marrow transplants. Any birth tissue illegally sold as “stem cell” products from another person (allogeneic) contains only dead cells. This fraudulent business discredits legitimate cellular practices, the field of regenerative medicine and deprives its victims of an opportunity to benefit from true regenerative medicine.

What Are Adult Stem Cells?

At Regenesis, we exclusively use your own (autologous) bone marrow cells, which include one type of adult stem cell known as mesenchymal stem cells (MSC). MSC’s are particularly effective at healing the musculoskeletal system. As an adult, you have literally billions of readily available stem cells in your bone marrow. The entire entourage of stem cells in that bone marrow is incredibly important in the healing process. The cells are interdependent and can change types. Your own fresh, live stem cells are your best option for stem cell therapy in the United States today, which is why we extract and minimally process them in our own lab at Regenesis to use for your cellular therapy.

Regenesis uses stem cell therapy for many musculoskeletal and orthopedic conditions including:

• Osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis
• Knee problems – collateral ligament sprains, meniscus tears, cruciate ligament tears, baker’s cyst, and especially arthritis
• Shoulder problems – rotator cuff and labrum tears, tendinopathy, impingement syndromes, bursitis, and severe arthritis
• Hip disorders- bursitis, early aseptic necrosis, and arthritis
• Ankle and foot injuries – plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendonitis, and arthritis
• Elbow, wrist, and hand problems – tennis and golfers elbow, as well as arthritis
• Neck and back pain
• Muscle and tendon injuries – pulled hamstring, bicep, pectoralis, etc.
• Migraine and cluster headaches