Adult stem cells saved quarterback Peyton Manning’s career following a neck injury that kept him sidelined for the entire 2011-12 National Football League season.
After two earlier surgeries failed to correct a painful bulging disc in his neck, Manning, now a Denver Bronco, traveled to Switzerland where he underwent one or more cutting-edge treatments that involved injecting his own adult stem cells directly into his neck.
Thirty-six-year-old Manning’s amazing recovery and his $18 million first-year Broncos contract, have dramatically increased public interest in the growing field of regenerative medicine. Some of the nation’s best-trained regenerative medicine doctors practice right here in Colorado.
One such expert is Dr. Bernard “Ben” Guiot, a neurosurgeon affiliated with Littleton Adventist Hospital and South Denver Neurosurgery, who this week discussed adult stem cell treatments in an exclusive interview.
Dr. Guiot regularly uses adult stem cells in his surgical practice, which specializes in spinal issues. Moreover, Dr. Guiot helps educate other physicians nationwide about the various cell-based therapies that are now available throughout the United States.
“There are a huge number of patients who suffer from neck pain and from low back pain,” says Dr. Guiot. “While we have a number of non-operative therapies that we do use to try to make these patients better, regrettably, there’s still a large percentage of patients who ultimately require an operation.”
According to a report released today by CBS News, more than 1.2 million Americans undergo spinal surgery each year – 25% of which are spinal fusions. The total is more than triple the number of coronary by-pass surgeries and nearly four times the number of hip replacements. In fact, CBS News says that eight out of ten Americans will experience debilitating back pain sometime in their lives.
Dr. Guiot works to provide relief to back pain sufferers.
The Denver neurosurgeon is coordinating his cutting-edge efforts closely with Celling Biosciences, an Austin, Texas-based biomedical innovator, to provide a surgical treatment – using the patient’s own stem cells – aimed at promoting fusion, the biological process where bone knits together. Standard surgical treatments, using screws, rods and plates often don’t result in the desired outcome.
“Stem cells seem to be a very promising [method]” Dr. Guiot says, adding that he and Celling Biosciences hope to expand cell-based therapies to other spinal applications as well as to orthopedic and non-orthopedic treatments. While Dr. Guiot has already fully integrated stem cells into his practice for fusion-related surgery, he says the future holds the promise of also using Celling Biosciences medical technologies to decrease inflammation of the joint, to regenerate joint services, and to improve function, among other therapies.
James Poser, PhD., Chief Scientific Officer at Celling Biosciences, says, “The body has a remarkable capacity to repair itself.” His company works in partnership with surgeons such as Dr. Guiot to harness “the regenerative, reparative process that is inherent in all of us.”
[Neither Dr. Guiot or Dr. Poser were part of the medical team that treated Peyton Manning.]
As Dr. Poser explains, adult stem cells are found throughout the body, although they are often concentrated in places such as bone marrow and adipose (fat) tissue. When a patient’s own stem cells are correctly selected, processed and re-inserted in bone – following a proprietary process developed by Celling Biosciences – the cells have the capacity to form new bone, cartilage and other tissues that are important to restoring musculo-skeletal health. (News reports indicate that the stem cells Peyton Manning used were drawn from fatty tissue in his abdomen.)
Celling Biosciences not only provides surgeons all of the equipment and advance-training that the physicians require to successfully treat surgical patients, a Celling Biosciences specialist is always on hand to assist the doctor during the actual surgical procedure to ensure optimal performance of its technologies.
Dr. Guiot, who treats patients throughout the Rocky Mountain region, has had a long-standing interest in the use of stem cells, dating back to his fellowship training, which included Adult Neurosurgery (University of Ottawa); Reconstructive Spinal Surgery (University of Florida); and Spinal Deformity (McGill University).
Prior to his arrival in Denver in 2008, Dr. Guiot served as the director of spine surgery in the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of South Florida. He is the founding chairman of Medical BackBone, an initiative backed by physicians and community leaders to highlight and honor the nation’s dedicated medical professionals and institutions.
Physicians and patients who are interested in learning more about adult stem cell treatments and Celling Biosciences can contact Dr. Guiot at South Denver Neurosurgery. Phone: 303-734-8650.
An audio of the interviews featuring Drs. Guiot and Poser discussing adult stem cell treatments and Peyton Manning is available for free download here: http://bunconventional.libsyn.com/webpage/-episode-24-segment-4
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