FAQ's

Stem Cells LA is a regenerative medicine clinic dedicated to providing stem cell therapy and related information to potential patients in the Los Angeles area. Specifically, we focus on allograft stem cell treatment. Unlike some other facilities, we are not a research center.

Why We Don’t Call Our Offices a research facility?

Many clinics label themselves as “research facilities” to publish articles promoting their practices without seeming biased. However, these articles often lack credible sources, which means the information could be speculative.

What Makes Our Blog Different?

At Stem Cells LA, we maintain a patient blog to share valuable information. Importantly, all our articles are sourced from third parties, such as actual scientific research centers or other reliable sources. This practice allows you to verify the accuracy of the information by simply checking the source links provided in the articles. In fact, most of our articles include source links that discuss the efficacy of stem cell therapy for various conditions.

Seminars and webinars can be a great way to learn about a new subject of interest if they are done correctly. Unfortunately, a lot of seminars and webinars are light on the information and heavy on the sales pitch when it comes to stem cell therapy.

Why?

The reason for this is that the owners of these clinics want to cut out the effort required to give each patient individual attention and instead have the seminar or webinar do the work for them. The problem is that stem cell therapy always requires individual attention for a patient to determine if it’s a good choice for them.

While we may refer a potential patient to our FAQ page if it sounds like they have questions that may be answered here, we will always answer questions specific to their condition after they have read this FAQ in its entirety.

The most common kind of stem cells used in treatments that actually work are multipotent stem cells. Multipotent stem cells have the ability to differentiate into multiple cell types. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are the most common multipotent stem cells used by reputable clinics. They can come from many sources including bone marrow and umbilical cords.

The stem cells are extracted from the umbilical cord blood and made into a solution containing between 10-30 million stem cells.

Stem Cells LA uses stem cells extracted from donor umbilical cords (stem cells are extracted from the cord blood).

The stem cell solution is a heterogeneous cell mix, important for healing and regeneration, including:

• MSCs (mesenchymal stem cells)
• HSCs (hematopoietic stem cells)
• HUVECs (human umbilical vein endothelial cells)
• EPCs (endothelial progenitor cells)
• Fibroblasts (biological cells present in all tissue)
• TREGs (Regulatory T Cells, kinds of immune cells)

Stem cell solutions may also contain:

• Exosomes
• Cytokines
• Growth factors such as:
  • FGF-2 (fibroblast growth factor)
  • PDGF (platelet-derived growth factor)
  • TGF-B (tissue growth factor beta)
  • VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor)
  • NGF (nerve growth factor)

Stem cell therapy is not currently covered by insurance. However, we are not aware of any clinics that accept insurance for this treatment at this time.

Stem cell therapy, like any medical treatment, is never guaranteed to work. However, every patient is different, and as such, no outcome is ever guaranteed, nor will we ever imply to a patient that a treatment option will “definitely work” under any circumstances.

Additionally, we will never recommend a procedure unless there is a good chance of success.

Stem cell therapy treatments do not require FDA approval unless they are to treat a systemic condition, meaning a drug or treatment impacts two or more systems in the body. Currently, the only stem cell therapies approved by the FDA use cells from bone marrow or cord blood to treat cancers of the blood and bone marrow.

Also, thanks to many research trials showing the efficacy of stem cell treatment, we believe in the future that stem cell therapy will become more common with more treatment options approved by the FDA.

Clinical Usage

Most clinics utilize stem cell therapies in treating conditions that have previously shown promise in responding to the therapy. The only exception is if you have been made aware of the likelihood of successful treatment and still choose to accept treatment as a ‘trial patient’.

Additionally, we will never recommend a procedure unless there is a good chance of success.

Stem cell therapy treatments do not require FDA approval unless they are to treat a systemic condition (drug or treatment impacts two or more systems in the body). At present, the only stem cell therapies approved by the FDA use cells from bone marrow or cord blood to address cancers of the blood and bone marrow.

In current practice, most clinics offer treatments for the following conditions:

• Hair Loss: Utilizing stem cell-infused PRP (platelet-rich plasma) injections directly to the scalp.
• Neuropathy: Addressing diabetic/peripheral neuropathy with stem cell therapy.
• Orthopedic Conditions/Arthritis: Stem cell and/or PRP therapy may alleviate orthopedic diseases, including arthritis and other related conditions.
• Erectile Dysfunction: Stem cell therapy may offer relief for ED.
• Autoimmune Disease: Certain autoimmune diseases may find relief through stem cell therapy.

For inquiries regarding other conditions such as neurological disease, urologic disease, and anti-aging treatments, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Every person, regardless of health, loses stem cells over the course of their life. At birth, 1 in 10,000 of our body’s cells are stem cells. By age 16-18, only 1 in 100,000 cells are stem cells. By age 50, 1 in 400,000. Between age 70-80, only 1 in 2,000,000 cells are stem cells. These numbers could be even worse when you factor in circumstances such as the current health of the individual.

What This Means:

This means that your ability to use your own stem cells effectively in treating yourself decreases with age. The stem cells you will get from a younger donor will be much more concentrated than those you can get from yourself in virtually all cases. The fact that they come from an outside donor does not impact their effectiveness so long as they are the right kind of stem cells, containing MSCs described earlier, as they have the ability to differentiate into different cell types. For this reason, your body does not ‘reject’ stem cells as we think of a body rejecting an organ transplant if it doesn’t match perfectly.

Transplanted Stem Cells

Transplanted stem cells, such as those from bone marrow, come from your own body and are placed where they are needed to treat a condition. An example would be transplanting stem cells from your bone marrow to your knee to treat an injury there.

Many patients think this is better because it comes from your own body. The reality is that this actually poses many limitations due to the loss of stem cells over the course of your life (see previous question for details) meaning your own stem cell concentrations will be lower than those you could get from an outside donor.

Donor Stem Cells

Donor stem cells come from an outside source. It is important to verify that the stem cells come from an ethical and reliable donor, such as bone marrow or umbilical cord blood, and contain mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). MSCs have the ability to differentiate, meaning they can take on the role of many different cell functions. A body does not “reject” stem cells the same way it could reject an organ that comes from an outside donor and does not match due to the nature of stem cells and particularly the ability of MSCs to differentiate.

Reputable clinics utilize only stem cells ethically extracted from umbilical cords donated at birth. Umbilical cord blood stem cells are a heterogeneous mixture of stem cells including MSCs. Injections include infusions of up to 30 million stem cells in one session.

If you have read this FAQ in its entirety and still have questions, please use the contact form at the bottom of this website. This is usually the fastest and easiest way to get in touch with a consultant of Stem Cells LA.

If you are ready to book a complimentary consultation, please CONTACT US.

You may also call us at 310-281-6160. This line also receives texts. Often texting or using the contact form is faster than waiting to be connected with a representative or leaving a message.

We look forward to working with you!