Fran Foster, The Newsweekly 1:01 a.m. ET March 8, 2017

Regenerative Biologics Institute (RBI) Managing Director Jason Griffeth in the procedure room where he performs advanced regenerative medicine treatments. He has been studying the science of stem cells for nearly 20 years.(Photo: Fran Foster)

Whenever their bodies are ailing, people usually look for a magical solution or an easy-to-swallow pill to make things better. Turns out, in some situations, that sought-for remedy may be in your own fat cells.

Beth Darraugh, 50, lives here in Vero Beach as well as in New York City. She has been active all of her life from volleyball in her youth to walking along the beach in Mexico. Shes experienced plenty of aches and pains but, as she has gotten older, she realized she wasnt recovering as quickly.

I had already had some orthopedic problems with my knee and was told I was probably going to have to succumb to surgery, she says. I wasnt ready for that and started researching about other techniques. While in Mexico, walking with my mom, something didnt feel right and I knew I had to do something. (Living) part time in New York City requires a lot of walking and it was getting harder and harder.

This is where Regenerative Biologics Institute, located here in Vero Beach, entered Darraughs life. RBI provides an option for treating orthopedic conditions and pain besides pills, cortisone shots, arthroscopic surgery or total joint replacements, which can all have significant drawbacks.

Many people are not aware that they can harness and concentrate their own bodys natural healing ability in the form of stem cells and platelets, said RBI Managing Director Jason Griffeth. There are safe and effective options that are treating these conditions through regenerative medicine.

Basically stem cells are the bodys natural repair cells, from which all other cells are derived. According to multiple research sources, stem cells can regenerate and heal injured tissue, as well as decrease inflammation. As we age, the amount of stem cells in our body declines as does our bodys ability to repair an injury.

RBIs Managing Director Jason Griffeth with Medical Director Dr. Brett Haake at their office across from Indian River Medical Center in Vero Beach(Photo: Fran Foster)

We found out that fat tissue is one of the richest sources of stem cell in the body and it works really well to unlock our bodies as a natural way of healing itself, Griffeth said, joking that Its not that bad to carry around a little extra fat.

The science behind it has been around since 1981 but has received more attention since money started pouring into the research. Professional athletes such as Mets pitcher Bartolo Colon and tennis star Rafael Nadal have reportedly used regenerative therapy to speed up injury recovery time.

In 2013, Harvard Medical School received a 10-year, multimillion grant from the National Football League Players Association for an initiative to prevent, treat and study football-related injuries.

The Mayo Clinic calls the therapy a "game-changing area of medicine," offering effective therapy for people whose conditions seem beyond repair.

Griffeth, a University of Florida masters graduate, studied biotechnology and cell science. He became fascinated with the human anatomy and its ability to help itself when he was working in Fort Lauderdale, in 2009, doing clinical studies with patients with damaged heart tissue.

RBI, located in Vero Beach, is committed to using stem cells for regenerative healing therapies once available only to professional athletes.(Photo: Fran Foster)

We would take a muscle biopsy from the thigh muscle, isolate the stem cells from that, then culture and expand them for about three weeks in our laboratory, he explained. Then we would use those cells to inject directly into the heart wall to help the damaged heart tissue. Of those studies, about a third of patients were significantly better, another third somewhat and the last third stayed the same but thats not necessarily a bad thing considering they didnt decline.

Currently, RBI is working on orthopedic conditions: arthritis, knee and other sport injuries.

Regenerative medicine is also not without its detractors. The FDA has approved just a handful of procedures (mainly for blood diseases such as leukemia) and insurance doesnt cover the treatment which can run into the thousands of dollars.

However, there are very few known side effects and very little recovery time. Plus, it's a treatment that addresses the underlying cause degenerating tissue as opposed to just treating symptoms.

Darragh said the only discomfort she had was when the cells were discharged into her knee there really wasnt a lot of room in there.

The guys (at RBI) laughed at me and said, You are only the second person that has complained about that. The other was a CrossFit athlete with little to no body fat especially around her joints.

Nevertheless, she walked out just fine, the same day.

RBI Medical Director Dr. Brett Haake believes there are a lot of misunderstandings about what regenerative medicine can do, as well as the science behind it.

The first way the public came to know about stem cells was through the embryonic stem cell research debate, where you are potentially destroying embryos, and the politics that come around that discussion, he said.

Haake explains, Its a simple process. We make a small incision, which doesnt even require stitches, go in and retract the fatty tissues. In about 45 minutes, we can isolate and concentrate on stem cells, combine them with your own highly concentrated platelets, which have a ton of growth factors, and inject them back to the area needed perhaps an elbow, a knee or an ankle.

Darragh says she researched treatments extensively and recommends others do the same.

Having this regenerative therapy is one of the best three things Ive done for myself. I had no idea it was available, although its very prominent in Europe and a lot of athletes use it, she says. The procedure makes perfect sense to me in that my body is healing itself. Im not introducing foreign objects, putting it through surgical trauma, taking pain medications. Its literally taking cells from one area to help heal another area. Your own body is healing your own body.

In regards to the procedure being ineligible for insurance coverage, she said that her insurance deductible was just as high, if not higher.

And the procedure only took a few hours. She loved the fact that the staff at RBI explained the entire process with enthusiasm and really believe in the work they are doing.

I have to say it lived up to exactly what they said it would do. I was in and out of the office the same day and was moving around right away, she said. Eight weeks later, its better than it has been for the past five years. Im planning on going back this December to have them work on my shoulder next.

Regenerative Biologics Institute (RBI) is located at 3755 Seventh Terrace, Suite 102 in Vero Beach. Visit their website at http://www.rbistemcell.com or call 772-492-6973.

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Regenerative therapy is new frontier in injury recovery - TCPalm