Is Mickey Mouse Getting Stem Cell Injections to Stay Young?

A recent study published in Nature Communications and reported on MSNBC's Vitals  illustrates, with rodent Benjamin Buttons, how scientists may one day be able to, if not reverse, then slow the aging process with an injection of adult stem cells.

In the study, mice bred to carry the disease progeria - or, rapid age acceleration - were injected with stem cells. Within days, the rapidly aging mice  (whose normal 2 year lifespan is cut to just 21 days by disease) began looking and acting younger. 

“It was mind boggling.”~ Dr. Johnny Huard, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine (study co-author)

The stem cells did not fully reverse the aging disease - i.e. the progeria-infected, stem-cell injected mice didn’t live as long as normal mice - however the injected mice nevertheless lived three times longer than mice with progeria and no stem cell treatment. 

Adult Stem Cells: A "Fantastic" Cure For Aging?The study authors speculate that additional injections of stem-cells would even further lengthen their lifespans - that more stem cells will provide equal more effect.

Though the stem cell injection was made in the stomach, the stem cell effect was not limited to the gastrointestinal neighborhood. Though the stem cells themselves did not make it to the brain, the stem cells nevertheless improved the health of the brain by increasing the number of blood vessels.  

For scientists, this was the coupe de grace, suggesting as it does that normal stem cells are releasing a protein that spurs the growth of healthy cells.   The study authors note that 'there is a lot of money being spent in the world trying to delay aging' and that the comparative simplicity of the stem cell 'cure' for aging - a treatment that is non-surgical and non-invasive - would be nothing short of 'fantastic' for humans.

Top 10 Adult Stem Cell Treatments

Stem cell treatment to repair damaged hearts, bones and cartilage is currently being conducted by the study's authors.

Although human trials for stem cell treatment are not readily accessible to patients in the United States, leading stem cell researchers in state-of-the-art private hospitals abroad are building open study registries for treatment protocols.

Conditions treated include for congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, joint regeneration and erectile dysfunction.

A number of professional athletes have traveled abroad for stem cell treatment for joint repair, including Cy Young-award winning pitcher Bartolo Colon and Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning.

Stem Cell Awareness Day
Learn more about anti-aging adult stem cell treatments available through programs certified by the nonprofit stem cell treatment oversight organization dedicated to patient safety, the International Cellular Medicine Society  (ICMS).

More reading:  

• Dogs and Horses Gain Quality of Life with Stem Cell Treatments...Will People?

• Are Adult Stem Cells a Miracle Fountain of Youth?

Surprising Science in Fido's Fat:

You read it here first: liposuction for dogs is real, it's out there, and it's happening now.  But far from being a procedure for the canine captives of Paris Hilton, 'puppy liposuction' is a tool for an actual scientific breakthrough - stem cell therapy for dogs provided by, among others, VetStem.  

Vet-Stem, formed in 2002, provides stem cell therapy for dogs as well as horses, most notable Be A Bono, who raced to more than $1 million in prizewinnings after stem cell treatment for a potentially career-ending injury.


If you are one of those who consider stem cell therapy an ostentatious display of spending for a mere pet, the price tag vis a vis contentional medicine might suprise you.  Take the example of the Riha family, whose story appeared on ABC News. When the Riha's beloved golden retriever Hunter was suffering from arthritis so severe he could no longer stand, the Riha's had the choice of a $10,000 doggy hip replacement, or $2,500 for a stem cell transplant. 

Hunter's procedure was simple: first he underwent 'puppy lipo'; the extracted adipose (fat) tissue is the source of the autologous (i.e. self-donated) stem cells, which were then isolated and expanded in the laboratory.  The remaining stem cells  - now in much greater concentration than Hunter's body could accomplish on its own - were then reinjected into the dog's hip. 

Hunter is one of thousands of dogs who have been treated successfully with stem cells; some pet owners are so sold on the treatment they have commissioned it more than once, for example New Yorker Julia Szabo, a fashion editor who was so impresed with the boost in quality of life her dog Sam had in the years after his treatment, she was quick to sign a second pet up fro the treatment when hip dysplasia severely limited his mobility.

• Listen to an interview with Julia Szabo about her pet stem cell treatments on MedicalTravelTalk 
• Julia Szabo on the Today show here

Not Ready for Prime Time: Stem Cells For Humans?
Just as research in the adult autologous stem cell treatment arena ha proliferated (there are currently more than 50,000 adult stem cell papers registered at the libraries of the National Institutes of Health), so too has the commercialization of stem cell treatment undergone a similar explosion. 


While a few companies in the United States have  begun clinical trials with stem cells derived from the adipose tissue of humans, treatments are available for a number of orthopedic, cardiac and neurodegenerative disease conditions, among others, for the intrepid patient willing to travel abroad.


Conditions treated with adult stem cells include Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Alzheimer's, and even breast regrowth after mastectomy.   Although there are no protocols specifically treating stroke, like my dear friend Annie had, this treatment is undoubtedly awaiting us in the future.


In the United States, medical device manufacturer BioHeart has identified the first of six planned Stem Cell Centers of Excellence at Hospital Angeles in Tijuana.  In a press release, BioHeart's President and CEO Mike Tomas stated,

"We are extremely excited about the Center of Excellence established (at Hospital Angeles) in Mexico...and the preliminary results are very promising.  We look forward to providing novel therapies and regenerative medicine to additional heart failure patients whose options are currently limited."

Major League baseball pitcher Bartolo Colon had his now famous stem cell treatment in the Dominican Republic through a doctor associated with the Yankees (see: Athletes and Stem Cells: Miracle Fountain of Youth or Banned Performance Enhancer?).  However, stem cell therapy is not only for dogs, horses and the rich and famous.  A quick internet search will turn up dozens of treatment centers around the world providing adult stem cell therapy.  

And that's a problem, according to Dr. Arthur Caplan, who recently wrote on this topic in an op ed appearing on the MSNBC website entitled "Stem Cells Clinics Ripping Off Patients and Bullying Scientists."

Caplan (whose honorific is for a Ph.D, not an MD) insists (without citing any scientific or other expert sources)

"Stem cell transplants of any sort -- outside of bone marrow transplants and a few other rarely used treatments -- are not anywhere close to being ready for therapeutic use...You would never know this if you looked at the nonsense that is all over the Internet about the power of stem cell "cures".

Caplan has some reason to be suspicious.  As the 60 Minutes  program 21st Century Snake Oil made clear, the efficacy and safety of adult autologous stem cell treatment does not extend to all stem cell treatment providers.  In the 60 Minutes story, reporter Scott Pelley uses hidden cameras to expose medical con men (working without a medical license) that prey on dying patients by using pitches that capitalize on the promise of stem cells.

Caveat Emptor and ICMS
In response to the proliferation of providers and the Wild West nature of the internet, where credibility verification can be difficult, oversight and regulatory bodies are beginning to exert their muscle.  Non-profit International Cellular Medicine Society (ICMS) began an offshore registry of stem cell treatment providers, and oversees an accreditation program ensuring all adult stem cell treatment centers have legitimate, science-based, registered clinical protocols as well as patient safety and efficacy measures in place.

The ICMS acts as a kind of industry watchdog for adult stem cell treatment , issuing this open letter addressing stem cell treatment proliferation, as well as publishing online patient guides like this Stem Cells 101 resource, and working directly with the health officials of countries where hospitals are providing treatment.

Among some of the recommendations given to patients: work with JCI-accredited medical facilities, work with treatment centers that have US medical research/university affiliations (for example, the Regenerative Medicine Institute at Hospital Angeles is voluntarily monitored by an Academic Advisory Committee that includes surgeons and research scientists from Duke University's Clinical Research Institute, Columbia University, and BioHeart), and ensure all treatments are administered by a board-certified specialist.

Related Articles

• Adult Stem Cell Treatment for Chronic Disease: Why and How It Works
• Free Adult Stem Cell Therapy for Chronic Disease Live Medical Webcast 
• Talk to a Health Travel Guide today about stem cell treatment through the ICMS accreditation program, just click on the Case Manager card:

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