Stem Cell Clinic

State medical board revokes license of stem cell doctor Zannos Grekos

DEERFIELD BEACH _ The Florida Board of Medicine revoked the license of Dr. Zannos Grekos on Friday, accepting a judges finding that he committed medical malpractice in performing an unproven stem cell therapy on a patient who later died.

The medical boards vote was unanimous and without discussion.

The Bonita Springs cardiologist and his attorney said they will appeal to a state appellate court.

While we are disappointed, we are not totally surprised, said Richard Ozelie, Grekos attorney.

Ozelie said the board was predisposed to accepting the findings of an administrative law judge. The board rejected more than a dozen objections he raised about the judges findings, and Ozelie described the proceeding Friday as an exercise in futility.

Grekos had developed a following among patients with debilitating conditions, such as heart and lung failure, with his stem cell therapy. It involved sending a sample of the patients blood to Israel for cultivating the stem cells and sending it to the Dominican Republic. The patient would travel to the Dominican Republic and Grekos partner would inject the stem cells into the patients damaged heart muscle, lungs or circulatory system.

Grekos, 47, who didnt address the panel Friday, showed no reaction to the boards decision.

The decision comes three years after the April 4, 2010, death of Domenica Fitzgerald, a 69-year-old woman who went to Grekos for his stem cell treatment.

She suffered from numbness and tingling in her legs as a side-effect from chemotherapy for breast cancer treatment earlier. She was hoping the stem cell therapy could help.

She suffered a stroke after the treatment, was hospitalized and was taken off life support. The state Department of Health restricted Grekos license in 2011 and told him not to do anything with stem cells. He violated that order in March 2012 and did a similar procedure with another patient, who also died. The state then suspended Grekos license.

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State medical board revokes license of stem cell doctor Zannos Grekos

Creation of adult stem cell center at KU Med sent to Brownback for consideration

By SCOTT ROTHSCHILD, The Lawrence Journal-World

The creation of an adult stem cell research and treatment center at Kansas University Medical Center requires only the signature of Gov. Sam Brownback, who has indicated he supports the venture.

The House and Senate on Friday sent the legislation to Brownback even though KU Med didnt ask for the measure, and there is no funding in the proposal to start what would be called the Midwest Stem Cell Therapy Center.

The proposal was championed by abortion opponents who say that adult stem cell research has the potential to establish new cures and therapies.

The bill would prohibit the center from using embryonic stem cells or cells taken from aborted fetal tissue. Abortion opponents oppose human embryonic stem cell research because it involves the destruction of the embryo.

But opponents of the bill said the startup of a research center requires a lengthy planning process that brings experts together before approaching the Legislature.

The Legislature has no business inserting itself into this sort of operation at the Medical Center, said Sen. Laura Kelly, D-Topeka. We have no qualifications to do this.

Kelly also said the advisory board set up for the center would have too many political appointees.

Under the proposal, KU would appoint a director of the center who would be responsible for oversight of patient treatment and research. The center would require $1.1 million to renovate a lab and hire staff and $750,000 annually after that, according to a state fiscal note. But the funding has not been provided by the Legislature.

Supporters of the bill said KU could solicit grants, gifts and contributions.

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Creation of adult stem cell center at KU Med sent to Brownback for consideration

Are stem cell facelifts REALLY worth the $20,000 price tag?

By Catherine Townsend

PUBLISHED: 17:14 EST, 4 April 2013 | UPDATED: 04:43 EST, 5 April 2013

First it was the liquid facelift; then the vampire facelift. In recent years, nonsurgical options to turn back the clock have multiplied as quickly as the catchy nicknames.

Now, as women pay up to $20,000 for stem cell facelifts, the treatment is being hailed as the new Botox.

But according to The New York Times, the technology may not be that cutting-edge.

Miracle treatment? Stem cell facelifts have been hailed as the new Botox, but some experts question whether they are worth the five-figure price tag (posed by model)

While embryonic skin cells can transform into any type of cell, adult stem cells can only regenerate the types of the organ from which they originate.

So in a stem cell facelift - not to be confused with the stem cell facial that uses sheep placenta - doctors take stem cell-enriched tissue from fatty areas like the stomach or inner thigh and inject it back into the face. They may also use a centrifuge to separate the cells and add them back into the fat before grafting.

Practitioners claim that this process produces better results. Since there are already stem cells present in fatty tissue, however, some experts claim that this is just another name for fat grafting - a technique that has been around for years.

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Are stem cell facelifts REALLY worth the $20,000 price tag?

Neural Stem Cell Transplants May One Day Help Parkinson’s Patients, Others (preview)

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Neurodegenerative disorders devastate the brain, but doctors hope one day to replace lost cells

By Ferris Jabr

BRAIN GROWTH: To replace brain cells lost to neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease, some researchers are experimenting with grafts of fetal brain tissue and injections of young neurons grown from stem cells in the lab. Image: Bryan Christie

Inside the human brain, branching neurons grow beside, around and on top of one another like trees in a dense forest. Scientists used to think that any neurons that wilted and died from injury or disease were gone forever because the brain had no way to replace those cells. By the 1990s, however, most neuroscientists had accepted that the adult brain cultivates small gardens of stem cells that can turn into mature neurons.

This article was originally published with the title Replanting the Brain's Forest.

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Neural Stem Cell Transplants May One Day Help Parkinson's Patients, Others (preview)

Stem Cell Orthopedic Applauds New Study Promoting Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy

Stem Cell Orthopedic Applauds New Study Showing Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy Significantly Improving Clinical Results in Patients with Tennis Elbow.

(PRWEB) April 06, 2013

The analysis, from the Rothman Institute at Jefferson, included a multi-center randomized prospective study to research the clinical value of PRP. The study utilized 230 patients with chronic tennis elbow, where virtually one half was treated with PRP and the other half was the control group. The PRP group received single PRP injections into their extensor tendon.

Both groups were studied for up to 24 weeks. By week 12, the PRP group reported a 55% improvement in pain, versus 47% for the control group. Concurrently, at week 12, the PRP group reported 37.4% significant elbow tenderness, compared to 48% from the control group. By the end of 24 weeks, the PRP group reported an outstanding 29% significant tenderness rating, versus 54% from the control.

The results of this study present some of the most compelling evidence to date of the efficacy of platelet rich plasma therapy and its significance in the medical community at large.

The study was recently presented at the annual meeting of the American Association of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS) in Chicago.

As leading stem cell treatment practitioners, the Institute of Regenerative and Molecular Orthopaedics applauds the findings of this latest PRP therapy study. Headed by the world-renowned stem cell treatment pioneer, Dr. Joseph Purita, the IRMO are one of the very few orthopedic practices in the world that utilizes PRP stem cell therapy with orthopedic surgery.

About Stem Cell Orthopedic

The Institute of Regenerative and Molecular Orthopaedics (IRMO) is a world-class orthopedic practice and stem cell facility staffed with seasoned board certified orthopedic surgeons. They differ from most orthopedic practices because they offer stem cells and platelet rich plasma (PRP) therapy in conjunction with surgery or as alternative to surgical procedures. They utilize state-of-the-art technology and the latest in stem cell research to best treat their patients. IRMO uses hematopoietic stem cells (HSC), which are found circulating in blood, fat, and bone marrow, to help repair the body. They are headed by Medical Director, Dr. Joseph Purita, a world-renowned pioneer in laser orthopedic surgery and graduate of the esteemed Georgetown University Medical School. For more information, visit http://www.stemcellorthopedic.com/ or follow them on Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube.

Contact Us IRMO 561-300-1840 Email Information

Continued here:
Stem Cell Orthopedic Applauds New Study Promoting Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy

They are expensive, unregulated and potentially dangerous . . . Are stem cell facials REALLY worth the $20,000 price …

By Catherine Townsend

PUBLISHED: 17:14 EST, 4 April 2013 | UPDATED: 17:25 EST, 4 April 2013

First it was the liquid facelift; then the vampire facelift. In recent years, nonsurgical options to turn back the clock have multiplied as quickly as the catchy nicknames.

Now, as women pay up to $20,000 for stem cell facelifts, the treatment is being hailed as the new Botox.

But according to The New York Times, the technology may not be that cutting-edge.

Miracle treatment? Stem cell facelifts have been hailed as the new Botox, but some experts question whether they are worth the five-figure price tag (posed by model)

While embryonic skin cells can transform into any type of cell, adult stem cells can only regenerate the types of the organ from which they originate.

So in a stem cell facelift - not to be confused with the stem cell facial that uses sheep placenta - doctors take stem cell-enriched tissue from fatty areas like the stomach or inner thigh and inject it back into the face. They may also use a centrifuge to separate the cells and add them back into the fat before grafting.

Practitioners claim that this process produces better results. Since there are already stem cells present in fatty tissue, however, some experts claim that this is just another name for fat grafting - a technique that has been around for years.

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They are expensive, unregulated and potentially dangerous . . . Are stem cell facials REALLY worth the $20,000 price ...