by Les Cole, MD & Kathie Gonzales, ARNP-BC

Regenerative medicine to treat joint problems has a long history and has proven to be both safe and effective, often times preventing the need for surgery. For a long time, stem cells were used to regenerate and rehabilitate painful, damaged joints, cartilage, tendons and ligaments—initially with cells from multiple sources—autologous fat and cord blood, to name a few. Over time, however, the FDA restricted the use of stem cells to the point that the only cells currently allowed are mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from the patient’s own bone marrow. This has multiple drawbacks compared to other treatment that is now available to those suffering from painful, damaged or diseased joints.

The main drawbacks of patient-derived bone marrow MSCs that the FDA allows are: there is significant pain in harvesting your bone marrow, and your MSCs are as old as you are and less effective than younger MSCs. In regenerative medicine, age matters!

So what are exosomes? They are very small packets of proteins, RNA, micro RNA, growth factors and other molecules that are produced by cells that are secreted to signal other cells. The way stem cells get done what they do is by secreting these exosomes before they die, thus the way injected MSCs regenerate your painful and damaged joints is by secreting exosomes. Young cells produce much more potent and effective exosomes than older cells.

The question then is, would you prefer having stem cells your age painfully harvested from your bone marrow and injected into your painful or damaged joint that will, over time, produce fewer and less effective exosomes to regenerate and rehabilitate your joint or would you prefer having young exosomes derived from placenta and/or amnion that are concentrated to high numbers and contain many more very effective molecules designed to heal both your inflamed and damaged joint and they go to work immediately?

If you chose the latter (as the FDA appears to), so do we at St. Petersburg Health & Wellness. We can help you with your painful and inflamed or damaged joint, cartilage, tendon or ligaments and possibly even help you avoid surgery.