Australian Football League granted approval for use of stem cells for ortho injuries

Claire

New member
Sydney, Aug 27, 2014 (ABN Newswire) - Regeneus Ltd (ASX:RGS) announced today that the Australian Football League (AFL) has granted caseby-case approval for the use of its innovative stem cell therapy, HiQCell(R) as a treatment option for injured AFL players, typically including impact related osteoarthritis and tendonitis.

Regeneus' Commercial Development Director for Human Health, Steve Barbera, said, "It's pleasing that HiQCell has been approved under the new AFL Prohibited Treatments List released in March 2014. HiQCell also received clearance as an approved therapy from the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) for use with athletes who participate in sporting competitions subject to the WADA Anti-Doping Code, including the AFL. This recent decision by the AFL demonstrates a further level of compliance, specifically for players within that sporting code".

HiQCell is the only stem cell treatment for osteoarthritis that has undergone the highest level of clinical scrutiny - a double blind placebo-controlled safety trial. The clinical trial demonstrated that HiQCell is safe and treatment reduces pain and halts cartilage degradation in arthritic joints. In addition to the placebocontrolled trial, the ongoing effect of HiQCell is being tracked in over 380 patients in an independent ethics approved registry. A recent registry update demonstrates that patients are maintaining significant improvements at 2 years post-treatment.

Regeneus is encouraged that elite sports patients are able to accelerate their return from hard to treat injuries and continue their playing careers after receiving the innovative HiQCell therapy. HiQCell has also been used to treat a number of elite and high-profile athletes across several sporting codes, including the NRL, as announced on 7 May 2014.

Dr Phil Bloom, a Melbourne based Specialist Sports and Exercise Physician and HiQCell treating medical practitioner, said, "permission from the AFL for HiQCell treatment is a positive progression as it allows for an additional option for players with conditions that are unresponsive to existing treatments".

The HiQCell treatment involves harvesting a small amount of a patient's own stem cells from their adipose (fat) tissue and after separating and concentrating the regenerative cells these are re-injected in osteoarthritic-affected joints such as knees, hips and ankles. The HiQCell treatment, which aims to reduce inflammation and repair damaged tissue is carried out under the supervision of the treating medical practitioner.
 

barbara

Pioneer Founding member
Interesting that the AFL in Australia is giving its blessing to stem cell therapies while Drs. Oz and Roizen just joined the paternalistic naysayers in the U.S. claiming that stem cells are unproven and that patients "cannot be certain of what the injections contain or their side effects." They even state that Peyton Manning's stem cell treatments didn't work and that he opted for major surgery and intense rehab done in secret after his stem cell injections. I guess if they are mentioning it, it's not much of a secret, but they need to cite their sources for this information. Here's the article:

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The Denver Post
8-26-14
Drs. Oz and Roizen

Stem-cell therapy for tendon injuries unproven
By Michael Roizen, M.D., and Mehmet Oz, M.D.
King Features Syndicate


Q: My daughter plays college soccer and ruptured her ACL. The coaches mentioned stem-cell injections that some big-name athletes have used to recover from injuries. Should we consider them?— Paige R., Chicago

A: Professional athletes are always looking for the fastest way to heal their injuries. In 2010, Yankees pitcher Bartolo Colon was treated for a torn rotator cuff with injections of fat and bone-marrow adult stem cells; he's playing for the Mets this season.

And in 2011, Denver Broncos' Peyton Manning opted for injections of his own fat stem cells to try to get over a neck injury. Two years later, he had a record-breaking season and took the Broncos to the Super Bowl. But does this mean the injections worked? Nope.

Colon's agent attributes the pitcher's career turnaround to a rededication to the game, not the injections, and Manning followed up his stem-cell treatment with major surgery and intense rehab (done in secret).

There's just no solid evidence — yet — that injections of adult bone marrow (or fat) stem cells effectively regenerate and repair damaged tendons or ligaments, and you cannot be certain of what the injections contain or their side effects. They often are delivered in an unregulated environment and aren't FDA-approved.

We suspect your daughter is headed for reconstructive surgery and six months of rehab. Then she needs to learn new ways to move so she reduces stress on her knees. One metastudy found that two ACL-injury-prevention regimens were effective: Sportsmetrics promotes leg and core strength, increases vertical-jump height and may improve speed and agility; the Prevent Injury and Enhance Performance, or PEP, program, makes a big difference in the flexion strength of the knee. Both improve athletic performance tests and reduce injury rates. Rehab is tough, and there are no shortcuts, but we bet your daughter has the grit to do it!
 

Claire

New member
The typical US doc's response to these injuries is barbaric!!! Our own, bone marrow derived, stem cells are proven safe and effective for orthopedic injuries!!!
 

pink7

New member
Australian AFL and stem cell treatment for Osteoarthritis

Regeneus has done a lot of research and clinical trials with Autologous stem cells for osteoarthritis in Australia.The trials have shown that it is safe and it reduces the pain. They are doing great work.
 

SammyJo

Member
Approval like this in the sports field will help push us closer to full approval and insurance coverage for everyone that needs #stemcell therapy. This approach used adipose derived stem cells to treat orthopedic injuries.
 
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