Regenerative medicine is the new way forward. This means going beyond using treatments to help your system from an outsider’s perspective. It means more than going after diseases or conditions with a hammer. With regenerative medicine, we work to build up the body’s internal systems from the ground up. We do this with stem cells.
What are stem cells, you ask? They’re a blueprint kind of cell. Overall, there are totipotent, pluripotent, and multipotent stem cells. Each type can differentiate into different levels of cells. Totipotent can become any embryonic or adult cell, pluripotent can become any adult cell, and multipotent can become a few adult cells.
When it comes to getting stem cell treatments for yourself, you naturally want the best treatment available. If you nose around the internet for even a second, one of the “best” treatments recommended is the induced pluripotent stem cell.
Now, what are induced pluripotent stem cells? This guide covers everything you need to know:
What are Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells?
Induced pluripotent stem cells (IPSCs) are genetically modified mature cells. Thanks to leaps in IPSC technology, scientists can take mature cells and genetically reprogram them into their embryonic state.
This means you can have access to embryonic stem cells, without the ethical dilemma. Scaled up, this technology can quickly become the norm, allowing us to take any cell in the body and reverting it to this prized pluripotent stem cell.
How Do iPSCs Differ from Pluripotent Cells?
The goal of iPSCs is to create embryonic stem cells without the need to destroy an embryo in the process. The full limits of the treatment, however, are not yet known. That’s why most of the use of these special cells is reserved exclusively for research purposes.
As time goes on, however, this could be very well the go-to stem cell procedure.
Are iPSCs Used in Stem Cell Treatment?
Now that you know a bit more about iPSCs, let’s answer the question: “what are stem cell injections?” Are they full of iPSCs, and if not, what are they?
First up, iPSC technology is very new. This means that the full extent of their effectiveness, as well as long-term side effects, has yet to be established. More to the point, however, is that developing a useful strain of iPSCs is very costly. It’s expected that to use develop a treatment-ready strain would cost around $800,000. Research-grade iPSCs cost significantly less, but they’re exclusively used by cell research projects, and you wouldn’t get a research-grade stem cell injected into your system.
The other big hiccup with iPSCs is the time it takes to develop. You can expect it to take between 9 months and 1.5 years to fully find a donor, screen, test, and reprogram the cells.
So, what do we here at Bioxcellerator use instead?
We use stem cells derived from Wharton’s Jelly. While Wharton’s Jelly Multipotent Stem Cells (WJ-MSC) are technically adult cells, it’s better to view them as juvenile. This is because they lack a few proteins that are common in standard adult cells. As a result, those WJ-MSCs are more readily accepted by recipient’s immune systems, and put to work.
To help ensure that the stem cells we use in our injections have the best chance at success, we screen our donated samples, expand them through a purification process, and then screen them again before storing them in a cell bank. These extra steps are why the stem cell therapy cost can seem so high – but make no mistake, the cost is still nowhere near the price of getting induced pluripotent stem cells IPSCs at the moment.
Want Stem Cell Treatment Now?
As you can see from this guide, you’ll have to wait for induced pluripotent stem cells to become mainstream enough that they become widely available for treatment. That doesn’t mean you need to wait to benefit from stem cell treatments, however.
This is because adult cells can still become other cells. The only difference is we need to be selective about the source. Bone marrow is chosen for those who need new red or white blood cells because it is full of hematopoietic (blood producing) stem cells. The cells found in Wharton’s Jelly, on the other hand, can become tendon or cartilage.
All stem cells also work on reducing inflammation, meaning they’re a very useful tool to helping you manage your condition or even get on top of it.
Could iPSCs be helpful? Yes, because you can use a single type of stem cell and then use it for any condition. With adult cells, you need to choose stem cells from the right source. This minor difference means there’s no reason to wait to finally treat your chronic condition if you can cover the upfront or payment plan costs.
Get in Touch with Our Team
If you want to try out stem cell treatment for yourself, then get in touch with our team today. There are many locations we cover, so if you’re residing in one of our covered areas or are willing to make the trip, get in touch.
Our treatments can help with so many different conditions ranging from:
- Osteoarthritis
- Slipped discs
- Spinal injuries
- Neurological conditions
- Multiple sclerosis
- Gastrointestinal disorders
- Anti-aging
- And more
These adult cells will work just as well as an induced pluripotent cell to help boost your body with the cells it needs to minimize the symptoms or even heal your issue outright. Or course, not everyone is going to be a good fir when it comes to stem cell treatment. We don’t want anyone to have an injection unless we firmly believe there’s a good chance you will see results from it, since it’s paid for out of pocket.
With that in mind, know that before you can begin treatment you always need to go through an in-depth consultation. The good news is that we’ll be happy to go through where your stem cell injection has been sourced from, why, and its benefits, so you know just what you’re getting into when you sign up.
