Medical society announces publication of largest stem cell safety study to date.

Portland, OR, December 17, 2009 – The International Cellular Medicine Society, a physician professional organization dedicated to the advancement of safe and effective adult stem cell therapies as the practice of medicine, announces the publication of the largest adult stem cell therapy safety study to date. The paper, to be published in the March issue of the peer reviewed journal, Current Stem Cell Research and Therapy, is authored by ICMS members who have pioneered the use of autologous stem cells to treat various orthopedic conditions.
In this landmark study, available at the National Library of Medicine's PubMed on-line system, 227 patients who received adult stem cell therapy as part of usual medical practice were tracked via a strict complications tracking protocol. This complications tracking method was developed by ICMS clinicians and is now incorporated into guidelines authored by the ICMS and its physician members. The results of this study found no evidence of significant stem cell related complications in any of the patients treated, providing further medical evidence of the safety and efficacy of these therapies.
“We believe it to be the largest clinical study ever published on stem cell therapy,” stated study author Christopher J. Centeno, M.D. “This study followed 227patients who received injections of their own stem cells for common orthopedic problems such as knee, hip, shoulder, and ankle arthritis.” The stem cells were grown in a state of the art lab to larger numbers as part of a physician practice. This autologous approach, which avoids the safety and ethical issues seen with embryonic stem cells, utilized adult mesenchymal stem cells. These cells are present in all adults and have been shown to repair cartilage, bone, ligaments, and tendons. The cells were isolated with a novel technique that uses the patient's own growth factors obtained from blood platelets to make the cells usable for therapy. This novel adult stem cell technique is used in the Regenexx stem cell procedure, which utilizes culture expansion and re-implantation of stem cells via a needle. This break through medical procedure has helped patients with various orthopedic conditions avoid the need for more invasive orthopedic surgery.
“This paper advances the ICMS's initiative's to promote safe stem cell therapy worldwide” stated David Audley, executive director of ICMS. This initiative, which the ICMS presented to the physicians and scientists at its annual conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, revolves around the world’s first stem cell therapy registry. The ICMS registry provides strict criteria for the long term, comprehensive tracking of stem cell therapies. “The registry is built to protect and inform patients about the safety and efficacy of these therapies. Clinics that participate show that they have embraced best practices and understand the need for making this data available to patients and their peers.”

ICMS is a physician professional, 501(c)(3), independent nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of safe and effective stem cell therapies. The society has authored numerous safety guidelines for stem cell therapy, including clinical practice and cellular laboratory guidelines. The Society also manages a comprehensive re-implantation registry to track the efficacy and long term outcomes of adult stem cell based procedures and therapies, publishes clinical, laboratory and other guidelines written and reviewed by physicians and researchers that define standards of minimal culture and re-implantation of autologous adult stem cells and provides un-biased education to increase awareness of and access to safe stem cell therapies. The society maintains the website, www.cellmedicinesociety.org that is focused on adult stem cell awareness, education and research.

International Cellular Medicine society
2926 Dogwood CT S
Salem, OR 97302
www.cellmedicinesociety.org
Press Contact: David Audley
david@cellmedicinesociety.org
503.884.6590

This release was published on openPR.