Kira Grünberger: Are Stem Cells Also Helping in Paraplegia?

The tragic case of Kira Grünberger, an Austrian athlete who got paralyzed after an accident, went through all media. With much courage and optimism she copes with her fate. Recently I met her at the Women of the Year Awards 2015 gala where she received the well-deserved award from Uschi Fellner-Pöttler. I used the opportunity to tell Kira and her boyfriend about an encouraging speech at a stem cell congress I visited in summer 2015 in Cleveland (USA):

After several highly dosed autologous stem cell injections a paralyzed patient was able to walk on crutches again. That was what was told at the congress which was attended by world’s leading physicians and scientists to exchange about the therapeutic benefit of stem cells. In the patient treated an immense regeneration of nerve conduction was shown as a result of the treatment. Indeed it is not yet spoken about a complete cure, however, about a significant alleviation of paralysis symptoms.

It is important to emphasize that very high amounts of stem cell have to be injected over a longer period in numerous injection series before this dramatic improvement was suddenly noticeable.

More than 2 million people are affected by paraplegia worldwide. Paralysis of legs and arms as well as organs occurs as a result. Injuries caused by sport or accidents are frequent causes. The number of new cases increases steadily worldwide, especially due to sport accidents. Damages of the spine are leading to failure of supplying nerves and therewith to absence of muscular activity.

For patients with paralysis it is particularly important to regain flexibility and mobility and thereby enhance quality of life. Stem cells out extracted from autologous fat can apparently contribute to healing of the underlying damage and to reduce symptoms.

For several years successful therapies with stem cells from the patients’ autologous fat are carried out in my clinic. Mesenchymal stem cells extracted from autologous fat are able to regenerate through different mechanisms. Other nervous conditions such as ALS or consequences of diabetes were already treated successfully with stem cells, as well as diseases of joints and cardiovascular problems.

Autologous stem cells needed for the stem cell therapy are normally extracted from of a small amount of the patient’s body fat, which is obtained gently by the means of liposuction with microcannulas. From this fat stem cells are isolated in a complex and elaborate process. Immediately afterwards stem cells are injected either locally in areas concerned or organs, or supplied to the body by the means of infusion. The stem cell treatment is performed on an outpatient basis under gentle local anesthesia.

Although we could basically perform such a stem cell treatment like it was reported in Cleveland on Kira in my clinic in Vienna, I unfortunately had to give her the advice to look for help abroad. Due to prohibitive EU laws which are in force since 2013 we are not allowed to use autologous stem cells expanded in a laboratory, which would be needed for such treatments. From the authority it is argued with “insufficient study situation” and “patient safety”. Despite impressive academic success patients concerned have to travel abroad to gain access to therapies with their own (!) cells.

Of course this is a hurdle difficult to surmount for people concerned and reduced in mobility like Kira to look for cure. However, I feel confident that the pressure from patients and physicians for EU authorities will increase with every further successful study and finally lead to the situation that treatments with autologous stem cells are even allowed when the patient’s own cells are reproduced (= “expanded”) in the laboratory.

Remarkable: The doctors who reported this and other successful studies at the MSC Cleveland have long agreed that the therapy with expanded autologous stem cells is safe.

All the European health authorities, especially Swissmedic and EMA, are thus invoked to give preference to patient interests compared to financial interests of pharma investors! In the end it is nothing less than the right to your own body and that your autologous stem cells can be used for improvement and perhaps even healing of many previously incurable diseases and consequential injuries.

DDr. Heinrich, MD

Hair Loss Treatment: Stem Cells or PRP?

A patient wants to know regarding the problem hair loss in men:

What is better against androgenic alopecia? PRP or stem cell treatments? What is the reason for the price difference between both hair treatments?

Autologous stem cells are more effective, but this treatment also requires greater effort. That’s why it is more expensive. As part of a stem cell treatment PRP (platelet-rich plasma) is mostly given in addition.

For a treatment of hair loss with cell therapy the patient undergoes a liposuction where a small amount of fat is obtained with gentle microcannulas, which is to obtain the stem cells. The stem cells are injected into scalp areas where new hair growth should be initiated immediately after extraction. Stem cells induce the formation of hair follicles by releasing growth-enhancing signals. The treatment is performed on an outpatient basis under local anesthesia and lasts between 30 minutes and 2 hours.

The alternative which also relies on a completely natural mechanism, PRP (platelet-rich plasma), is based on tissue hormones, so-called “growth factors”, which source from the patients autologous blood plasma. At the first step of the treatment a sample of blood is taken from the patient. After that precious blood platelets are isolated from the blood sample and injected into the scalp. The important difference compared to a stem cell therapy lies in a shorter duration of action of PRP treatment. It has to be repeated once a year.

Both treatments, whether if performed separated or combined, are in many cases a natural alternative to elaborate and often problematic hair transplantation and contribute to the regeneration of thick and vital hair.

DDr. Heinrich, MD

Stem Cell Therapy for Hair Loss: Study Confirms Effect

As you know as a reader of my blog we are working with stem cell therapies to treat hair loss in our clinic in Vienna for quite some time and could therewith already achieve very encouraging results.

A new study from the US now confirms that men and women with thin hair can nourish hope with good reason. The study proves the positive effect of stem cells on hair growth. Genetically caused hair loss (alopecia) was up to now a big challenge from the medical point of view. Many patients who suffer from hair loss can waive elaborate hair transplantations like they were used to be performed in standard alopecia situations in the future.

Stem cells can, among other therapeutic effects, induce new hair growth because of their manifold therapeutic properties. Stem cells were obtained from the patients’ fat tissue. In the context of the US study in 9 of 10 patients exceedingly satisfying results could be achieved through injections of stem cells into areas concerned: In the course of a half year it leads to an increase of hair volume from 17 to 29 percent depending on the stage of alopecia. Persons concerned could receive gentle help through such injection therapies.

We also treat patients by doing a liposuction by the means of tissue-conserving micro-cannulas to obtain a small amount of fat in the first step. The stem cells which are obtained immediately afterwards are then injected into affected scalp areas. Stem cells cause a regeneration of hair follicles by emitting growth-stimulating signals. The procedure which takes 30 minutes to two hours is performed on an outpatient basis and under local anesthesia.

A further way to treat hair loss is platelet-rich plasma (PRP) obtained from the patient’s own blood. With the regenerating power of blood platelets (thrombocytes) and growth factors from blood hair growth can be stimulated. This treatment is substantially easier than the stem cell therapy, but not that effective. Therefore it should be repeated once a year.

Mostly we do a combination of both treatments, because it has shown that PRP is stimulating the activity of the injected stem cells. This therapeutic synergy causes thicker and more sustainable hair growth.

DDr. Heinrich, MD

Thick Eyebrows and Full Hair with Growth Factors and Stem Cells

Bushy brows à la Cara Delevingne: Treatment with growth factors and stem cells stimulates hair growth

Vienna (2015-11-18) — Up to now it was considered to be particularly feminine to pluck eyebrows and keep them as thin as possible. Now top model Cara Delevingne sets a trend with her bushy eyebrows. Those who plucked their eyebrows for years often realize that their brows now only grow back thin. There are different new types of treatments to provide eyebrows and hair thickness again: Hair follicle growth factors (HFGF), platelet-rich plasma (PRP), prostaglandins, and stem cells extracted from the patient’s own fat tissue.

“Stem cells from fat tissue and growth factors, such as can be extracted from blood, for example, support hair regeneration and have the potential to help thin eyebrows and hair to regrow,” says DDr. Karl-Georg Heinrich, physician from Vienna who is working in the field of regenerative and aesthetic medicine. In his Clinic DDr. Heinrich® growth factors and stem cells from autologous fat are also used for skin regeneration and treatment of wrinkles.

Platelet-rich plasma, a concentrate consisting of growth factors and thrombocytes (blood platelets), can be obtained from the patient’s blood. The growth factors are injected with micro-needles into the areas where they should activate stem cells and enhance hair growth.

Stem cells from body fat have considerable biological abilities, which can be used for hair growth therapy as well. The required stem cells are extracted from a small amount of fat that is harvested by liposuction with microcannulas on an outpatient basis. Afterwards stem cells are injected into the scalp or into the area of the eyebrows. Thereby existing hair can be strengthened and growth of new hair along the hair line can be stimulated.

Depending on the initial situation optimal results can be achieved through combination of growth factors and stem cells. It is possible to repeat the hair growth treatment after several months if required. “In many cases treatments with stem cells and growth factors can spare patients an elaborate hair transplantation,” concludes DDr. Heinrich.

Further information: https://stemcelltherapy.cc/

Contact:
Clinic DDr. Heinrich®
Contact: Herfried Wagner
E-mail: info@ddrheinrich.com
Web: http://ddrheinrich.com/
Phone: +43 1 532 18 01

How Are the Stem Cells Used for Many Therapies Obtained?

A patient asks regarding therapies with stem cells:

I am interested in a stem cell treatment. Can you please tell me how the stem cells are obtained?

Stem cells needed for our treatments are isolated from the patient’s own fat. At the beginning of the desired treatment it is therefore necessary to do a liposuction, which differs from a conventional one in the use of microcannulas, which make the procedure much more tissue-conserving. There is no need of artificial expansion of cells because fat tissue in general has a high content of stem cells.

In the therapy of degenerative diseases and for regeneration of skin and hair stem cells are either administered intravenously or injected locally into desired areas. Due to their high biological potential stem cells extracted from body fat have many areas of therapeutic application: Joint problems like osteoarthritis or injuries, various organic diseases, nervous diseases, and cardiovascular disorders.

If new volume should be added to a body region or lacking substance rebuilt, such as in case of a breast augmentation, breast reconstruction, or buttock augmentation, stem cells are mixed with autologous fat prior the injection. Stem cell-enriched autologous fat is a living part of the body and feels completely natural.

DDr. Heinrich, MD

Top Athletes Benefit from Stem Cells

Stem cells from fat tissue as a new therapy for sports injuries

Vienna (2015-10-20) — After a serious sports injury consisting of a rotator cuff rupture and an ailing elbow doctors prognosticated the end of the career for a professional baseball player. The result of a stem cell therapy even surprised the treating physician – because only afterwards the top athlete reached the height of his career in terms of performance.

Presently, treatments with autologous stem cells are becoming increasingly important, also in the sports sector. By targeted administration of stem cells into areas concerned they can not only be used for prevention and regeneration of sports-induced degenerative damages, but also for the cure of already existing injuries.

Sporting bests put high physical strain on the body and thus often entail serious consequences. In many cases surgical treatments are not satisfactory and by the way connected with pain and complex rehabilitation. A treatment with stem cells thus provides a gentler alternative with the objective of regeneration both for professional and amateur athletes and enables a quicker healing process.

“Therapies with stem cells extracted from autologous fat can obviously give back joints, ligaments, and muscles their original functionality,” says DDr. Karl-Georg Heinrich, physician from Vienna who is working in the field of regenerative and aesthetic medicine. In his Clinic DDr. Heinrich® stem cells from the patient’s own fat are used for therapy of degenerative diseases, circulatory disorders, osteoarthritis, nervous conditions, and for skin regeneration.

Treatments of joint problems with stem cells are performed on an outpatient basis under local anesthesia. After a gentle liposuction with microcannulas stem cells are extracted from the harvested fat in a complex process and subsequently injected into the joint concerned, or systematically administered by means of infusion. In case of intravenous administration stem cells are able to find their way to the place where repair is needed. If required, it is useful to repeat the treatment.

The use of stem cells from autologous fat tissue has the advantage over stem cells taken from bone marrow that they are available in the human body in huge amounts and therefore an artificial cell expansion in the laboratory is superfluous.

“If stem cell therapy of degenerative damages, whether in the area of joints, cartilage, or muscular tissue, is performed in time, some surgeries and tedious rehabilitation therapies can perhaps someday be spared,” says DDr. Heinrich. “Nevertheless, there are many more studies necessary, for instance to show why this therapy is especially successful in some patients, while in others it is less.”

Further information: https://stemcelltherapy.cc/

Contact:
Clinic DDr. Heinrich®
Contact: Herfried Wagner
E-mail: info@ddrheinrich.com
Web: http://ddrheinrich.com/
Phone: +43 1 532 18 01

Which Stem Cell Therapies Are Allowed Within the EU?

A patient asks about therapies with stem cells:

I have heard from the media that not all of the theoretically possible types of stem cell therapies are allowed or permitted in Germany, is that right?

Yes, this information is correct. Within the EU – and therewith also in Germany – there are only treatments allowed in which the patient’s stem cells are isolated and immediately afterwards injected again into body parts of the same person, for example through local injections into affected tissues and organs or systematically by the means of infusion.

In our clinic we only perform these permitted types of stem cell therapies for treatments of joint problems, organic diseases, cardiovascular diseases, in specific nervous disorders, and for regeneration of tissue, skin, and hair. Stem cells needed for these therapies are obtained from a small amount of the patient’s own body fat. These treatments are performed on an outpatient basis under local anesthesia.

Other types of stem cell therapy bring along legal obstacles within the EU. These therapies include, among others, treatments with donated stem cells or embryonic stem cells (ES cells), but also modification of autologous cells or stem cells through reprogramming, for example induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) or artificial expansion of the cells. These therapies are only allowed to be performed in some countries outside the EU.

DDr. Heinrich, MD

Can Stem Cells Help in Hallux or Hammer Toe?

A patient with problems with her big toe sends us the following question:

I suffer from hallux rigidus in the final stadium. Are stem cells able to help at all in this condition? In addition, I am 55 years old. Can cartilage regenerate in this age?

As a general rule stem cells can help in all ages and disease stages. The extent of this improvement of course depends on progress of the disease and its stage.

Hallux rigidus is about osteoarthritis of the big toe joint, whereas the so-called hallux valgus refers to a deformity of the big toe. The hammer toe – also called claw toe – consists in a permanent flexed position of the toe affected. These joint diseases are especially caused by inappropriate footwear and often restrict mobility massively due to associated pain.

In a recent scientific study about treatment of joint diseases with autologous stem cells extracted from fat tissue pain reduction, increased mobility, and therewith an improvement of quality of life could be achieved. A possible regeneration of cartilage resulting from stem cell treatment is discussed.

Joint diseases like those mentioned above are up to now – depending on the cause – treated with weight loss, physiotherapy, special training, and in very advanced stages often through implantation of an artificial joint, which is never able to fully replace a natural one.

The joint treatments with stem cells we offer in our clinic can lead to symptom relief and could possibly also treat the reason due to cartilage regeneration in the joint.

Stem cells needed for the therapy are obtained from the patient’s own fat, which is harvested gently with microcannulas. Immediately after extraction stem cells are injected in the area of the joint concerned or administered by infusion. The treatment is performed on an outpatient basis under local anesthesia. Thus the patient is mobile after the procedure and an inpatient stay is superfluous.

DDr. Heinrich, MD

Scar Revision of Acne Scars with Stem Cells

An Arabian patient with skin problems asks us by e-mail:

I am having severe acne scarring on both cheeks and the last doctor I visited said that my skin is of very poor quality and it is not recommended to have surgery or strong laser therapy like CO2. He said that the only possible solution is therapy with stem cells from the abdomen area (result either 0 % or 80 % as it is a new technique and results are not guaranteed).

The results of stem cell treatment of acne scars will also depend on the way the stem cells are administered. In heavy scarring other ways are to be used than in skin rejuvenation of normal aging skin. Acne scars can often be treated with local injections of autologous stem cells extracted from fat tissue. In case of isolated larger scars and formation of unsightly scar tissue the scar has to be cut out and the subsequent wound healing process is supported by application of stem cells. In addition, the stem cells can also be administered systemically by infusion.

The skin quality can also be improved by intake of collagen and hyaluronic acid, which are the essential components of our skin, via food.

DDr. Heinrich, MD

Conceiving a Child with Yourself by Using Stem Cells?

Scientists recently have generated human Primordial Germ Cells (PGCs) out of stem cells. Thereby what has been just possible in mice is put in reach for humans: Implanting PGCs, from which egg or sperm cells can develop.

Thus in future men with men, women with women, or both with themselves could conceive a child. In the actual experiment of Israeli and British scientists artificially modified stem cells, so-called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) were used to obtain the germ cells.

Autologous stem cells could thus also revolutionize reproductive medicine and solve the problem of decreasing fertility in the Western world! We keep you informed.

DDr. Heinrich, MD