Borderless breakthroughs in Stem Cell therapy

MANILA, Philippines - Stem Cell treatment is the latest buzzword, and with good reason. More and more clinics and hospitals are offering Stem Cell procedures. The popularity of Stem Cell has even reached the billboards. But is everyone buying in on it? The reception has been mixed.

“Stem cell therapy has been considered as the future of medicine as it has been proven to be effective in several medical conditions. However, stem cell therapy is not a cure-all medical treatment,” said Health Secretary Dr. Enrique Ona in speech last month before the Philippine Society for Stem Cell Medicine (PSSCM).

The Philippine College of Physicians isn’t too keen on the hefty price tag of what it perceives to be experimental  medicine, but at the Aivee Aguilar-Teo M.D. Anti-Aging Institute, a new division has been launched and it seems, by far, the most advanced in the realm of Stem Cell therapy in Manila.

Dr. Aivee Teo says, “We should be open to new discoveries in the field of medicine for as long as they’re not dangerous. With anything new, there’s always a lot of skepticism, but there will always be people who are open and willing to go through research.”

The Stem Care Institute Center for Pain and Regenerative Medicine is headed by Aivee’s husband, Dr. Z Teo. He explains, “A lot of medical professionals are taking the stand that you should not be doing this, (that) there’s not enough evidence. It was like that 10 years ago with acupuncture. Everyone was up in arms saying you couldn’t do that! Now you see traditional acupuncture clinics side by side with normal clinics (and) it’s in mainstream hospitals. We should not close our minds to what the possibilities are for medicine.”

Aivee emphasizes, “We don’t want Stem Cell to be something like hearsay, we really want to document it. We do some pre-operation tests and lab work if needed. And we also document post-procedure (to see the improvement).”

The Teos have partnered with Dr. Mark Berman of the California Stem Cell Treatment Center. Berman is co-founder of Cell Surgical Network International (CSN), an organization that provides top-level quality-controlled investigational therapy. CSN makes sure that its physician network such as The Stem Care Institute Center for Pain and Regenerative Medicine undergoes an approved protocol by the Institutional Review Board. The good doctors want to abate this fear of the unknown.

Competition and marketing trends are not what fueled the Teos’ partnership with Berman. They believe it is their duty and responsibility foremost as physicians to stay abreast of and ahead of the times in order to offer the best options for their patients.

“The California Stem Cell Treatment Center has linked centers around the world so cases will go into an online database (and) we can learn from each other what we are doing. As you do more and more Stem Cell (procedures), you realize that no center is an island. We need to know exactly what everybody else is doing. There are different ways of doing it, different technologies and techniques as well. With the tie-up, our surgeons will be able to go for constant training in California every few months. We’ll be updated with new technologies, new machines, new enzymes, new protocols,” highlights Z on the importance of communicating with doctors practicing in this new field.

So what’s the fuss about Stem Cell therapy? Well, ask Karen Davila and she’ll tell you that after undergoing Stem Cell therapy, her son David (who was diagnosed to be within the spectrum of Autism) is talking better and socializing more. Ask the Philippine Volcanoes rugby team captain Harry Morris and he’d tell you that he was able to train and participate in a tournament he otherwise couldn’t have without Stem Cell treatment for his chronic inflammation of the sole. One of the most remarkable cases that Z has tackled is that of a 66-year-old lady who was advised by her doctors here and abroad that her only answer was hip replacement surgery.

“When my team saw the X-ray (of the lady), it was literally bone to bone, no more cartilage. She came here and told us ‘All I ask is for you and your team to alleviate my pain. I can’t even sleep at night.’ She walked very slowly and had a cane. She couldn’t play with her grandkids anymore because she couldn’t keep up with them. We said we would try to regenerate her cartilage.

“The most significant thing we noticed was after the procedure, she was able to walk without a cane. I told her to manage expectations, that it might be the first initial bit. (But after) two weeks, no pain; then one month, two months, still no pain. She’s ecstatic now. She can sleep properly. She can play with her grandkids. She’s travelling now; she’s exercising. Last time I saw her she lost 15 to 20 pounds. Now it’s been about five to six months. (She gets to do) simple things like putting her feet up and tying her shoes, all those small things you take for granted,” Z shares.

And to think that the Teos delved into Stem Cell therapy at the start for anti-aging and aesthetic purposes only! Stem Cells are some kind of an elite special force that just goes in and repairs whatever needs to be repaired in the body. They go into your blood stream and they find things that need to be fixed. These are the first cells, the progenitor cells that will replicate. 

The magic is that when you do Autologous Fat Stem Cell Repair therapy, you also lose fat. Many have gotten more than what they’ve asked for. 

Aivee says with enthusiasm, “What’s great about Dr. Berman is that he’s made it more convenient and easier for the patient. Now, there’s no need for sedation. The patient can come in for Stem Cell therapy for 15 minutes (for fat extraction in unwanted areas like the thighs or stomach). The patient is totally awake. In between (about an hour and a half), the patient can go for lunch, or for coffee or for a facial.” The fat, after being processed in the machine to isolate stem cells, is injected back into the body safe and sound. No adverse effects, just minor bruising like any simple blood extraction.

Berman elaborates on how Stem Cell treatment is better than surgery. He says, “It may provide a non-invasive answer to a variety of complaints, (for instance) knee or hip arthritis, thus preventing more invasive surgery. In other areas, it simply provides a potential treatment where none otherwise exists. Orthopedic conditions are the simplest (to treat with Stem Cell therapy). But, this is a great treatment for a lot of other untreatable conditions (such as) COPD, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s, heart disease, urologic conditions like erectile dysfunction, interstitial cystitis, peyronies, Crohn’s disease, among others.”

Careful not to overpromise, Aivee says, “We’re not saying it’s a cure, but patients have noticed some improvement in their vitality. They feel stronger. Some of them noticed that their blood tests have improved as well. Others noticed general improvement in their well-being, (and even) in their metabolism.”

 Stem Cell therapy is not to be regarded as the new treatment that will wipe out other treatments and make them obsolete. “Patients have to be presented first with standard of treatment, and in many cases, stem cell treatments have to be done in conjunction with other standard modalities of treatment,” Ona also pointed out in his speech before the PSSCM.

In some cases, surgery is necessary and unavoidable. But Stem Cell therapy is proving to be an able complementary treatment, a catalyst for change that once upon a time many patients could only dream of.

(Stem Care Institute, Center for Pain and Regenerative Medicine is located at second floor, East Building, Forbestown Center, Burgos Circle, Bonifacio Global City. For more information, call 403-3245 or 403-1982.)