Special Announcement - Now Screening for FDA Approved Stem Cell Study
Dr. Mitchell Sheinkop has completed training and is credentialed for an FDA-approved stem cell clinical trial for knee arthritis. Our clinic is now screening patients for this trial. Contact us at 312-475-1893 for details. Click here to learn more.
Stems Cells: Promise and Reality

Stems Cells: Promise and Reality

Saturday evening, we returned from four days of fly fishing for Bone Fish, Permit, Jacks, Tarpon and Snook in Punta Allen, Mexico, three hours south of Cancun. The adventure involves standing on the front of a boat for up to six hours a day, with an occasional break. It becomes arduous and exhausting; but exceedingly gratifying and that’s why we do it year after year. Situated in the Mexican State of Quintana Roo in the Si’an Ka’an biosphere, Punta Allen is a perfect base for the type of fishing we love while allowing us to enjoy the Pelicans, Pink Spoonbills, Frigates, mockingbirds, Flamingoes and occasional crocodile, dolphin and manatee. The beaches on the ocean side are pristine so a 5PM swim after fishing allows the knee and hip rehabilitation to continue.

In anticipation of the physical demands, I underwent an autologous concentrated Platelet, Plasma, and Growth Factor Protein knee and hip intervention two weeks prior. My blood was recovered via a standard blood draw, placed in a centrifuge after which it was processed and filtered. The resulting concentrate was then injected under ultrasound guidance into my knees and hips. While my hips were quite uncomfortable for 72 hours following the injections, by time we arrived in Mexico, I had no limitations or symptoms requiring me to alter my activities.

Let me explain why I chose the blood born option in anticipation of my needs rather than that of Bone Marrow Concentrate or participation in the Adipose Fat based Personalize Stem Cell Clinical Trial.  If I were younger, the Bone Marrow Concentrate option makes a lot of sense as we have scientific outcomes data to support said alternative. Seeing how the number of Adult Mesenchymal Stem cells in bone marrow diminish with age, my eyes are set on the PSC Trial. Science tells us that the number of stem cells in adipose tissue do not diminish with age. My particular issue is that both of my knees are affected by advanced Osteoarthritis so I have to wait for FDA approval of the bilateral Personalized Stem cell Trial. Given my excellent response to the Blood derived Platelets, Plasma and Growth Factor Proteins following the injections two years ago, I elected to take advantage of the opportunity to repeat the interventions while waiting for the FDA approval of the PSC Trial allowing both knees to receive millions of stem cells.

To learn more about your treatment options for an osteoarthritic joint, visit my website at www.sheinkopmd.com. You may call to schedule an appointment or consultation, (312) 475-1893.

For those interested, The Personalized Stem Cell trial web site is www.PersonalizedStemCells.Com.

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Opening Day Coming Soon! For Major League Baseball on March 28; for Golf, Even Sooner

The basic principles behind the golf swing and the swing at home plate are not that much different. While the preferences may vary, when you break down the mechanics, there is similarity. Certainly there are differences between laying down a bunt and a 230-yard drive off the first Tee. The same differences are in play when putting is contrasted to the swing driving a 385-foot home run out of the park. In the several scenarios, the swing should look like one smooth, continuous motion that culminates with you holding a nicely balanced finish as the ball sails through the air. Within that motion however, is a series of techniques that each must be executed properly in order to produce the desired outcome.

Concentrating on golf swing mechanics, there is the Takeaway, Back swing, Transition, Impact, and Follow through. Continuing to explore the swing mechanics, backward movement of the shoulders and arms is followed by backward rotation of the spine, cocking of the hips, cocking of the wrists, timing, rotation of the pelvis, forward rotation of the spine, pushing and pulling of the arms and shoulders, guiding action and follow through.

Even if the physics behind my explanation is not perfect, the point here is that any pain and altered motion caused by injury or arthritis will affect your game. If you haven’t been able to play since last fall, now is the time to head out to the gym to catch up on strength training, stretching, with emphasis on spinal and pelvic rotation. Then there are the golf simulators and indoor driving ranges in and around Chicago. 

If you experience pain in your muscles and joints along with limited motion, recent legislative changes in Illinois allow you direct access to the physical therapist. If after several sessions with the physical therapist, you haven’t realized the improvement you seek, it is time for an evaluation by an orthopedic surgeon. She or he, perhaps me, will complete a medical history and physical examination and review X-ray and MRIs of the effected anatomy. The end result of that intake may be a prescription for further PT, a prescription of pharmacologic management or in my case, a Regenerative Medicine/ Stem Cell procedure; that is a needle and not a knife.  

I have documented in several recent scientific publications that Regenerative Medicine using either Bone Marrow Concentrate or Micro-fragmented Adipose tissue recovered by Liposuction will allow you to play 18 holes of golf this upcoming season. At times concentrated and then processed Platelets offer an opportunity for a patient afflicted with arthritis or limited by bodily injury to return to an active lifestyle and enjoy a full schedule of outdoor recreational pursuits. Please make note that my regenerative menu of services is based on your own cells and proteins that have been proven to work and meet FDA and FTC guidelines.

The weather forecast is improving and the sun was out today; the opening of both the baseball and golf season is only a about a week or so away.  I say “Play ball.” 

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Patient Online Resources for Biologic Therapies

Patient Online Resources for Biologic Therapies

As interest in biologic therapies for arthritis-a needle, not a knife-continues to expand; patients increasingly are turning to the ads in newspapers or searching the Internet to gather information on this topic. While there is still a lack of scientific consensus on the use of biologics, it is most important for those seeking information not to be misled. My own analysis of resources for patients seeking on line information about biologic therapies for arthritis is that the overall quality is very poor and anything but scientific. Even worse, is a seminar, neither a reliable or credible source of scientific evidence.

Biologic therapies consist of stem cells, platelet rich plasma product and bone marrow aspirate concentrate. New research, I co-authored and that was published last month in The American Journal of Orthopedics:  Safety and Efficacy of Micro-Fractured Adipose Tissue for Knee Arthritis, is indicative of the ever-evolving nature of Regenerative Medicine. Biologic therapies and their use in arthritis or musculoskeletal injury in general are an area of vast research and interest within the medical field. Understanding the information online and the misinformation provided at seminars pertaining to biologics allows me to tailor my conversation and address commonly found inaccuracies.

The use of Biologic Therapies is expected to significantly increase in the coming years as our knowledge advances on the use of such. That initiative will be led by well informed, well-educated Board Certified, and Fellowship trained specialists. Unfortunately owing to the relative lack of oversite at present, every type of charlatan, parasite and camp follower can buy an ad for a seminar or produce a web site on the internet. How then should a patient with pain and limited function from arthritis seek to postpone or avoid surgery without becoming a victim of the cord blood or amniotic fluid hoax?

  1. Your physician must complete a comprehensive medical history, physical examination and review of diagnostic studies.
  2. Explain the disease process and grade of progression,
  3. Discuss possible treatment options,
  4. Present a balanced assessment of the current scientific evidence.

Woe, while writing this Blog, I was just notified about acceptance of yet another scientific article by a peer reviewed medical journal in which I am the senior author: A Specific Protocol of Autologous Bone Marrow Concentrate and Platelet Products Versus Exercise Therapy for Symptomatic Knee Osteoarthritis; a Randomized Control Trial with 2 Year Follow-up.

Hopefully some time soon, a Biologic Arthroplasty will be possible; but until then, a Total Joint Replacement is still a necessary option for those not meeting specified inclusion criteria for biologics. To see what treatments may be possible for your arthritic generated pain call (312) 475-1893 to schedule a consultation. Visit my website www.SheinkopMD.com for additional information. 

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Stem cell intervention or another unsatisfactory knee replacement

Stem cell intervention or another unsatisfactory knee replacement

After reviewing a CT scan of the right knee where a Total Knee Replacement had been done provided by a patient who sought my opinion for stem cell treatment of her arthritic left knee, I called her to discuss the possible reasons that the right Total Knee Replacement that she had undergone over ten years ago was never satisfactory. At the time of the right TKR for arthritis, she had elected for what seemed at the time as a logical intervention for a painful, arthritic, right knee. The outcome was at first complicated by a lot of postoperative swelling and pain; at one-year post-operative, the patient had never been pain-free nor had she ever regained her preoperative range of motion and that adverse outcome has persisted for over ten years. Fast forward a decade and the right knee has continued to be a source of pain and limited motion; so much so that the patient decided to seek consultation for a Stem Cell treatment for her now arthritic left knee.

Her first question was basically “does stem cell therapy for knees work?”. Our data collected on patients treated in this office over the past six years, since I started my practice, is compatible with an 85% patient satisfaction rate. We have not recorded one complication. To be forthright, not every patient has a perfect result; but the vast majority experience marked reduction in pain, increased motion and a significant improvement in functional capacity. Unlike a failed outcome of a Total Knee Replacement, our stem cell injections may be repeated at anytime if the benefits of the initial intervention do not last.

When it comes to the cost of a stem cell intervention, while the Total Joint Replacement is more often than not covered by some type of insurance, our fee schedule is in keeping in line with the deductible a patient has to pay out of pocket for the major surgery. If you do the math and additionally compare the risks and benefits of a stem cell intervention with a total knee replacement, you will note:

  1. Remote to little risk of complication with a stem cell procedure
  2. Comparable cost comparing my charges for a stem cell intervention with the inherent deductible obligation for a Total Joint Replacement
  3. Rapid recovery with a stem cell intervention versus the risks of an adverse outcome as experienced by the patient seeking consultation for stem cells

To seek consultation call (312) 475-1893.  You may visit my website at WWW.sheinkopmd.com

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The why behind different charges for regenerative medicine procedures

Last week, I assessed three different patients for Cellular Orthopedic joint restoration; and each patient asked about the reason behind my fee schedules? One patient had told me of a friend who had attended a seminar by the Stem Cell Institutes of America and who was quoted a fee somewhat lower than my charges. As I have previously emphasized, the Stem cell Institutes of America use Amniotic Fluid that is concentrated and once processed and thawed, has no viable stem cells or regenerative potential. There may be proteins that survive but basically, a patient receives an injection of hyaluronic acid that cushions the joint for up to six months at best and for which there is no supportive outcomes data.

The second patient had been quoted a fee for cord blood. The latter is provided in frozen form and much of the value is lost during the thawing process. While significantly less costly than a bone marrow concentrate and growth factor concentrate intervention, there is no outcomes data to support usage. The FDA has warned against the use of “stem Cells” derived from anyone or anything other than your own (autologous). So if amniotic fluid and cord blood did deliver viable stem cells, their use would be contrary to FDA guidelines; but let’s move on since neither has living cells when thawed.

Then there are the adipose derived globules, notice I didn’t use the term stem cells. Fat globules are prepared after liposuction and the fat is mechanically broken down but the stem cells aren’t released. In order to release stem cells from the fat, the tissue has to be treated with collagenase. The FDA prohibits use of collagenase in fat unless it is for a cosmetic indication.

My knowledge base is the result of first having completed three clinical trials using Amniotic Fluid for arthritis and in each trial, the outcomes were not satisfactory after six months. I next traveled to Southern California to investigate cord blood. I was skeptical at best but tried the product in three knees, all with very unsatisfactory results. Two years ago, I completed a clinical trial on a mechanically derived adipose based product; the manuscript for that study was accepted by highly regarded orthopedic journal and will be published later this year.

When all is said and done, you may save money with the bottom feeders who advertise and market without data or outcomes to support their claims or you can avail yourself of my knowledge, expertise and statically proven outcomes. To schedule a consultation, call 847 390 7666. You may visit my web site at WWW.SheinkopMD.com

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Looking back to see the future of Cellular Orthopedics

My regenerative and restorative Cellular Orthopedics practice is for the most part, evidence based. By that I mean, the outcomes data collected over these past five years regarding the several thousand patients with skeletomuscular afflictions that I have treated with a selection of alternatives using a needle and not a knife is generally based on regenerative and restorative interventions. While not everyone has experienced a dramatic change in symptom relief and functional improvement, many have. The statistical outcomes evidence follows a bell shaped curve with some experiencing immediate improvement as I have in both my hips and knees, while most take several weeks or longer with a continuing improvement up to 18 months post intervention. While it is true that five percent of patients are not satisfied after several years and have gone on to a joint replacement, 95% of my patients are well satisfied and have returned to, or never quit doing what they love.

At the onset of my cellular orthopedic initiative, the interventions were solely based on Platelet Rich Plasma options and Bone Marrow Concentrate; today, our menu of services can be customized so as to meet the needs of all seeking to improve the quality of life and avoid a major surgical procedure. Not only can I concentrate PRP as needed, I can customize the concentration to meet a patient’s particular needs using hemo-analysis. Bone Marrow Concentrate rich in Adult Mesenchymal Stem cells, Platelets, Growth Factors and Precursor Cells is still the foundation of my practice, however for the past year, I am able to offer a Platelet Concentrate derived Growth Factor and Protein Solution option when indicated.

Then there are those whose co-morbidity or prescription medication dependency excludes them from the aforementioned autologous choice of options. As of this upcoming Tuesday, I have acquired an intervention technology that will help patients seeking to a void a total joint replacement who are not candidates for existing regenerative medial offerings. There are many reasons to explain a 5% failure rate including genetic cartilaginous variations, any bell shaped curve will have a small number who don’t pass the final examination. Incidentally, if and when such occurs, I offer another intervention frequently at no charge or certainly at a discounted rate.

Should you want to learn more or schedule a consultation, call
(312) 475-1896. You may visit my web site where you will find the webinar at www.Ilcellulartherapy.com.

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