Regenerative Sciences, Inc.

[barbara]

This article appeared today in the Rocky Mountain News. Sam Adams wrote the article and it appeared in the Sports Section. He can be contacted at 303-943-2623 or adamss@RockyRockyMountainNews.com I had no clue that this company was in my own back yard.I am encouraged by its contents because all stem cell news is good news to me, but at the same time saddened that I had to leave the U.S. to receive stem cell therapy for my terminal disease. Here is the article in its entirety:

Curiosity about two words led me to the Denver Athletic Club on Thursday morning. Stem Cells. Denver-based Regenerative Sciences Inc. formally introduced its new nonsurgical Regenexx procedure, which uses stem cells from a patient to regenerate bone and cartilage for painful orthopedic conditions.

Doctors extract stem cells by needle from the patient's hip, grow the cells in culture at a lab and then reimplant them. Currently, the procedure is available only in Colorado.

Even though the focus was on the relief Regenexx can provide the general public, my first thoughts drifted to how the procedure can aid injury recoveries for professional and college athletes.

"In fact, being young and athletic in this particular procedure--very similar to microfracture (surgery)--is an advantage," said Dr. Christopher Centeno, creator of Regenexx. Centeno practices in Denver and Boulder. "I could certainly see that, if you're in a situation where you have an injured cartilage or injured ligament within the knee, this would allow you to have much less downtime, certainly, than some of the bigger procedures where you're not going to be back to your sport for three months or so.

"It's going to introduce a very different concept. Right now, we wait until the part completely wears out, we try to manage it as best we can, and then we replace it. This is going to shift the playing field to very early, at the first sign of an injury."

Mathew Fulton, president of Regenerative Sciences, told me the New York Mets have shown particular interest in stem-cell research for rotator-cuff injuries, which is ongoing at Colorado State University.


You can register to Speak Up! on this topic at Rocky-Mountainnews.com/sports

 

[hlichten]

This is some pretty awesome information.
Thanks so much for sharing it.
While talking to the multitude of places I spoke with about treatments, I was told somewhere that orthopedics was actually the one "loophole" where you could have marrow taken from you and then re-implanted legally in the USA, but I was not aware of anyone actually doing it now for true orthopedic conditions.
What this means, for example is that if you have a real orthopedic need and also, for example have COPD, you can get a marrow treatment in the USA!!
Wow!!!

 

[barbara]

Harv - Since this company is right here where I live (I was totally in the dark about it), I am going to see what all I can find out about it. I couldn't believe it when I read the article tucked away in the sports section. I normally don't have time to read every page in the paper daily, but I had to wait over an hour to pick up one of my dogs from a clinic where he had major surgery. This place had prices that equaled my stem cell therapy! I think my husband and I just bought a new wing for the place. Anyway, I will check this out and report back. Also, I thought you were supposed to be resting. I am so glad to have you back. Are you feeling more energized? This is what happened to me after my therapy. I just felt like someone had given me a huge bolt of energy. I know Rose has mentioned the same thing. She has been cleaning and washing windows (I don't approve of this type of thing Rose. It makes the rest of us who simply can't do those things look bad). HA I still suffer from a serious case of NOVAC.

 

[hlichten]

Harv - Since this company is right here where I live (I was totally in the dark about it), I am going to see what all I can find out about it. I couldn't believe it when I read the article tucked away in the sports section. I normally don't have time to read every page in the paper daily, but I had to wait over an hour to pick up one of my dogs from a clinic where he had major surgery. This place had prices that equaled my stem cell therapy! I think my husband and I just bought a new wing for the place. Anyway, I will check this out and report back. Also, I thought you were supposed to be resting. I am so glad to have you back. Are you feeling more energized? This is what happened to me after my therapy. I just felt like someone had given me a huge bolt of energy. I know Rose has mentioned the same thing. She has been cleaning and washing windows (I don't approve of this type of thing Rose. It makes the rest of us who simply can't do those things look bad). HA I still suffer from a serious case of NOVAC.

My brain is very energized, my body may still be in Cologne, Germany. Not sure yet! But, yes, I certainly feel something different, whether it is the blast of marrow or not I don't know yet. Here is hoping!

I did get some good sleep last night.

Anyhow, I am just dying to know more about this Colorado place!!
It appears to be opening up enormous possibilities.

 

[barbara]

I will be following up. You can count on it.

I will follow up and report to the forum any news I get. My real hope is to be able to visit with someone from Regenerative Sciences, Inc. in person. Harv - It sounds like you are really feeling the effects of your treatment already. This happens to some people and not to others I have noticed. I did speak to a biology professor from the University of Denver fairly soon after I had my treatment and he said my immediate feeling that something was happening was probably due to the fact that my immune system was stimulated and was kicking in. Not knowing whether there was any merit to this or not at the time, I just had to be content with knowing that something was going on and that I wasn't given a cocktail of sugar water! That is one reason that I didn't ever get too enthused about clinical trials. I want a sure thing, not a maybe. Get some rest Harv and continue to get better!

 

[aysen8]

I will follow up and report to the forum any news I get. My real hope is to be able to visit with someone from Regenerative Sciences, Inc. in person. Harv - It sounds like you are really feeling the effects of your treatment already. This happens to some people and not to others I have noticed. I did speak to a biology professor from the University of Denver fairly soon after I had my treatment and he said my immediate feeling that something was happening was probably due to the fact that my immune system was stimulated and was kicking in. Not knowing whether there was any merit to this or not at the time, I just had to be content with knowing that something was going on and that I wasn't given a cocktail of sugar water! That is one reason that I didn't ever get too enthused about clinical trials. I want a sure thing, not a maybe. Get some rest Harv and continue to get better!

Hi Barbara,
I have a torn labrum in my right hip, and I have heard about this regenexx injections about couple of days ago. Did you have any chance to visit the place in person and get treated? If so how was it, I hope you are relieved of pain now. many thanks!

 

[barbara]

Stem cells for orthopedic patients

I suffer from COPD and don't have any orthopedic problems. I live in Colorado however and reported the news. If you are seriously wanting to have treatment there or would like me to go check it out for you, I will. I just haven't gotten around to visiting yet. They were certainly very nice when I called and invited me to take a look. I do have it on my schedule for "Things to Do", but I just haven't done it. The number of major league players and teams that they are attracting says something in my opinion. Where do you live? Are you anywhere near Colorado?

 

[yorkere]

Regenerative Sciences. INC Article

Please allow me to provide a wrtite-up on this company from the Denver Business Journal:

FWIW:

"Startup tries stem cells instead of joint replacements
Denver Business Journal - by Bob Mook Denver Business Journal

by Jim J. Narcy


Regenerative Sciences Inc. has developed a stem-cell procedure that may be an alternative to replacement surgery -- or living with pain -- for those who suffer from knee, hip, elbow or shoulder problems.

The small, Westminster-based company recently launched a patent-pending process called Regenexx, which uses a patient's own stem cells to regenerate bone and cartilage.

In the simple "needle-in, needle-out" process, stem cells are drawn from a patient's marrow, cultivated in a laboratory for two to three weeks and injected back into the damaged area.

Dr. Chris Centeno -- founder, inventor and medical director of Regenerative Sciences -- said that unlike joint-replacement procedures that require weeks of physical therapy and pain medications, patients who go through the Regenexx procedure are back on their feet within one day.

Centeno said the idea behind the procedure came from years of personal frustration as a pain-management physician who deals with patients struggling with joint discomfort.

Regenexx didn't need approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) because it's a medical procedure that doesn't involve medical products, Centeno said. He added that Regenerative Sciences has authored five reports that are being evaluated by peer-review boards.

The procedure, which is available through his Denver practice, has been used on about 50 people in the last two years.

Centeno said seven of 10 patients who went through the procedure reported increased function and dramatic reductions in pain. Centeno said the company is making alterations to the process to improve the results.

Costs for the procedure, which isn't covered by insurance, range from $5,000 to $7,000.

Regenerative Science wants to license the process throughout the country.

Centeno said the company is in negotiations with orthopedic surgery groups in South Florida and Texas. The company also plans to open several small laboratories throughout the country.

A specialist in musculoskeletal, spinal and neurologic injury, Centeno said health insurance companies eventually will cover Regenexx because the process is potentially much cheaper than surgical alternatives. Indeed, Centeno claims that procedures such as Regenexx are the wave of the future.

"You're going to see a lot less major surgeries and a lot more needle-based, low-intervention procedures," he said. Centeno said coronary bypass surgeries have declined 90 percent in the past 15 years. In recent years, doctors have used cardiac catheterization to get inside coronary arteries as an option to invasive surgery. "Everything is done with X-rays and stents," he said.

Regenerative Sciences plans to market Regenexx directly to consumers through advertising -- an approach that's become controversial in medical circles.

"As a doctor, I found it frustrating at first," Centeno said of advertising procedures and medication. "Oftentimes, patients knew more than I did. But I've come to embrace it."

Pixie Greenmeier, a nurse at The Children's Hospital, said the Regenexx procedure worked for her. Greenmeier, 47, underwent the procedure last January to repair a damaged knee. "I couldn't get up without grabbing onto something else," she said. "Now I can get up from a squat." Greenmeier said a grant covered the cost of her Regenexx procedure and her insurance company paid for the lab work.

Regenerative Sciences has raised about $1.7 million in financing since it was founded two years ago.

Besides Centeno, other owners include Dr. John Schultz (who practices anesthesiology and pain medicine in Greenwood Village), John Kisiday, assistant professor of equine orthopedic research at Colorado State University, and Matt Fulton, former CEO of Saint Anthony Hospitals.


All contents of this site ? American City Business Journals Inc. All rights reserved."

 

[barbara]

Still not front page news

Thank you for posting this article. I was really a little appalled that this clinic was mentioned in the sports section of a Denver newspaper and not as some major news for Denver which I think it is. Since their procedure does entail several weeks, I do know they are hoping to open clinics in other states for the patients' convenience. If anyone has been to the clinic, I am sure that forum members would enjoy hearing about the experience.

 

[terry42]

Hello.

I am a new member. I hope it is okay for me to post here -- I do not have COPD. I am a 47 year old male with a knee injury. I have a full thickness focal fissure in the lateral facet of my patella.

I discovered the Stem Cell Pioneers website when searching for information on Regenexx (Regenerative Sciences Inc.). I was very excited to find this forum, and this thread about Regenexx in particular. As you know, Regenerative Sciences claim that they can regrow articular cartilage.

The Regenexx procedure sounds fantastic. No invasive surgery. But I have some concerns. One is that the procedure is not currently FDA approved, so it is not covered by health insurance. Another concern is that, being a relatively new procedure, there is not much information available.

Personally, the cost would not prevent me from having this procedure done if I was fairly certain that the procedure really works. There are a few positive testimonials on www.youtube.com. But I would prefer to hear from "regular" people that have had this procedure done.

So is there anybody out there that has had the Regenexx procedure done? I would love to hear all about your experience! Post here, or send me an email.

Thanks

Terry42

 

[barbara]

Welcome to the forum! I have read good things about Regenexx and was told that they are working with many professional sports teams dealing with sports injuries. I live in Denver and contacted them the first time, many months ago. Then, last spring, I received an e-mail from someone at the clinic that was so excited about our forum and wanted the clinic to be able to participate. I exchanged several e-mails with this person and was even invited to tour the new clinic that would open last June 30. Everything seemed to be fine and I thought the opportunity would be a good one because I could report to the forum what they were doing and what successes they were having. I have not a clue what happened, but suddenly the person no longer returned my e-mails or phone calls when I tried to set up a date to tour the clinic. It would have been alright to simply tell me that they had decided not to allow a tour, but I got no response whatsoever and found this very, very strange. I unfortunately, cannot give you any information about them, but maybe someone else can. I know that I am not impressed with the way they dealt with me. I was not the one who initiated the contact the second time and that is what made it so odd.

 

[terry42]

Thanks Barbara

Barbara:

I'm trying to find as much information about the Regenexx procedure as I can. The info on the Regenexx website and press releases are very intriguing. But I would like to hear from actual people that have been treated with Regenexx, or are in the process of being treated.

I'm sorry to hear that the Regenerative Sciences people did not stay in contact with you. Perhaps they are getting overwhelmed with inquiries. I know that this Regenexx procedure has generated a lot of interest on the KneeGuru bulletin board, which is where I first heard about it.

Anyway, thanks for your response.

Thanks,
Terry