often lead to poor outcomes, unwanted side effects, and complications.
Using fresh stem cells from your own body is a procedure that has been around for more than a decade. It has primarily gained popularity in Europe and Japan. Stem cell treatment is now being performed in some shape or form all over the world. A significant amount of published data have supported many of these treatments. But due to a lack of standardized protocols, these treatment methods have not yet been approved by the FDA and are not currently covered by health insurance. We firmly believe that stem cells will be a major treatment tool in the near future. This book will help separate fact from fiction.
WHAT TO EXPECT
The field of stem cell research is evolving. Different perspectives and ideologies exist. The current lack of standardization further complicates understanding. We hope that the knowledge shared in subsequent chapters will provide a fertile ground to build on. This in turn will help you to make better decisions when seeking stem cell treatment either for yourself or for your loved ones and to become more aware of its potential.
CHAPTER 2
Understanding Disease, Injury, and Aging
First, do no harm.
Breaking It Down
Before we can understand how stem cell therapy works, it is important to know what happens during disease and injury. Now more than ever before, we are starting to look further than just the symptomatic control of conditions. We are trying to identify the root causes. Ideally this should have been done all along with any so-called approved treatments. We are partly to blame, in a society obsessed with fixes that provide immediate satisfaction like fast food. Pharmaceutical companies have thrived on that perception.
Most medications come with serious downsides. Among all the drugs out there, none have done more harm than pain medications. Look at the opioid crisis gripping us all. In the end, we all pay a heavy price directly or indirectly through a ripple effect from this level of immediate gratification.
We are finally investigating what happens in the first place to our cells in disease and injury. How do our cells respond when injury and disease happen? Our hope is that this will point us in the right direction. Some treatments are being developed that are safe and effective and come without much downside.
Stem cell therapy is the latest kid on the block, but it has its own limitations as well. We still need to be careful in developing medications that actually enhance our healing capacity. Surgery should be offered only when its goals and outcomes are well defined. Only then can any treatment be called truly successful. We should all uphold the maxim “First, do no harm.” Only then can we maximize our journey and realize our true potential, individually and as a human race.
When a disease or any other medical condition afflicts us, three important things must be first understood:
1. What caused the disease?
2. What is the impact of the disease on local tissues as well as the remainder of the body?
3. How does your body cope with 1 and 2 above?
Let’s look at these in further detail.
What Triggers Disease?
The disease triggers in any organ system can be broken down into:
• Trauma and injury related to sports, automobile accidents, and extreme temperatures.
• Congenital defects or genetic predispositions. These are conditions we are born with, such as sickle cell anemia and cerebral palsy, or conditions that we have a tendency toward because of family history, such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and certain mental illnesses.
• Environmental influence: pesticides, bacteria, viruses, fungi, alcohol, smoking, drugs, stress.
• Lack of blood flow (arterial blockage) leading to heart attack, stroke.
• Malnutrition, which can cause deficiency (lack of vitamins, protein loss) or excess (obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol).
• Autoimmune responses. The body reacts to its own cells. The most common examples are allergic reactions, rheumatoid arthritis, and lupus.
• Abnormal multiplication of cells due to a variety of factors, some listed above, which results in cancer.
• Aging. As we age, there will be a gradual decline in our ability to renew our cells, although healthy diet and exercise can markedly slow down this decline.
How Disease and Aging Affect Your Cells
Whatever the cause or mechanism of any condition, ultimately it’s the local cells that get affected. When the damage is minimal or reversible, we recover. We get some rest and take minor medications, and we are good to go. Natural regeneration and repair occur, and our body is able to replace the mildly damaged cells, thereby restoring our functional capacity. In fact, that’s how we all survive the rigors of daily life. But when the damage is significant and/or repetitive, inflammation develops among the local cells within the affected organ. This is due to certain chemicals released from the affected cells and buildup of toxins. The toxins and chemicals also attract pro-inflammatory cells to the affected area. A combination of these sends your local cells into “inflammatory shock.” This inflammation does not necessarily mean you see a visible red swollen organ. This inflammation is at the level of your cells. Such inflammation manifesting only at the level of the cells is more sinister and can go undetected for many months to years. Inflammation along with the chemicals released locally by the affected cells causes two main things. One is that it produces symptoms, of which pain is the most common and profound.
Second, inflammation shuts down the local regenerative process through “inflammatory lock.” Our own cells become overwhelmed by the damaged cells. Our ability to self-regenerate and repair is markedly decreased. This sets up a vicious cycle of events that lead to further progression of the disease process and injury, which leads to more symptoms and further diminishes our capacity to function. When this process is not addressed in time, it becomes chronic. With the loss of function, the cells lose their ability to replicate. If left untreated, ultimately cell death follows.
Each organ and its cells have different capacities. Depending on what initiated the disease or injury, cell responses may vary. But the underlying theme is inflammation at the cellular level. That is why anti-inflammatories have worked for so long. But now we are starting to understand their side effects and the overall impact on the body. Cortisone and other steroids are very powerful chemicals that suppress inflammation. But their harmful side effects cause weakening of the very cells that are being treated.
An inescapable event is aging. As we age, our cells do slow down a bit. But our ability to regenerate and repair stays strong. Studies have shown that the ability of stem cells to replicate is not impacted as much by aging as are other cells. However, poor diet, lack of exercise, and stress have been shown to suppress the stem cells’ ability to function. This not only can impact a cell’s capacity to replicate, but also can damage our DNA and shorten chromosomes. This further decreases our cells’ ability to replicate and ultimately shortens our life.
Similarly, chronic inflammation anywhere in the body can make our stem cells run out of steam early, impacting not only the quality of our life but also longevity. This highlights how important it is for us to not let any
