Recently this cutting edge science has made the news when an elite level athlete made the personal choice to try the young science option of an intriguing but unproven controversial stem cell treatment to help extend his career. Specifically Jimmy Graham opted to use an offshoot of stem cells called extracellular vesicle therapy after sustaining a torn patellar tendon in his right knee, having surgery, but continuing to suffer from chronic pain in his knee. He has turned down many interview requests during team practices, but released an 8 minute testimonial video for the Wellbeing International Foundation clinic that treated him.
Graham facing possibility of another surgery on his knee to address his pain had chosen to explore nonsurgical stem cell based options, even though not yet approved by the FDA. At first the NFL tight end tried having his own stem cells harvested from bone marrow to be used for injections into his knee which yielded minimal benefit.
Looking at other options he heard of a treatment in Europe that deploys stem cell secretions instead of stem cells themselves, and decided to give this option a try in attempt to avoid another surgery. He had fat graft taken from his abdomen, in which stem cells were isolated from and placed in an oxygen deprived environment to induce EV secretion that were multiplied in a lab for several weeks, then infused back into his body intravenously, rather than being injected.
According to Graham even though he was skeptical this treatment would work he thought it was worth trying as a last ditch effort to avoid that surgery. Infusion took about 15 minutes from start to finish, he was able to walk back to his hotel from the clinic, where he watched a movie, then much to his surprise after prolonged sitting he got up and was able to walk pain free for the first time since his injury.
Graham still remained pessimistic thinking the real test would be after the long flight home to be followed by a hard workout, as he was encouraged by the doctors at the clinic to resume full activities immediately. He had been unable to build up strength in his quadriceps as consequence of the knee pain up until now. The pro athlete says that he was able to notice a lot of anti-inflammatory effects during the first few weeks, such as the top of his knee and patella did not hurt anymore, he was able to work out, and was able to go back into rehab to really build his quad back up.
Clearly convinced his treatment has worked he said that his knee has been pain free since treatment, his chronically sore back has also improved, and medical scans have shown that the slight tear in his other patella had healed as well. When Graham shot the video he said the treatment was well worth the cost and was headed back for another EV treatment for the overall well being of his body.
The controversial side to stem cell related treatments which has contentious debate is due to it being such a young science. Many think these treatments haven’t been fully proven effective or safe, at least not enough as of yet, and argue this potentially could be a waste of time and later on may even prove to be dangerous saying it is still too soon. Those are the cautious, which is understandable.
The bold argue in regards to safety of stem cells and EV therapy that they are taken from the patient so there is no risk for rejection, and with IV infusion there is even less risk of further causing more injury to target sites from injections.
Most researchers studying stem cells, even if they support it, will still caution that there may be considerable risks in trying unproven therapies and of the unreliability of single case results, and emphasize stem cells and EVs still need to be studied more thoroughly under regulated standards to fully determine safety and efficacy. Bottom line is that without more scientific study and a better understanding of any possible long term risks of these treatments, it is still wise to use caution.
EV studies are an offshoot of stem cell research that has shown much promise, enough that researchers have established the International Society For Extracellular Vesicles and the Journal of Extracellular Vesicles.
Even the most enthused still caution that this shouldn’t be used on patients unless part of an approved clinical study or for life-threatening illness and no other option. Promising results from researchers in the field will often lead to unproven therapeutic approaches. Currently there aren’t any international standards on how to produce them and how to access quality control, which to some is another reason to err on the side of caution.
Pricing alone puts therapy such as EV type of treatments out of reach for all but the wealthy percentage of people. Some researchers say that EV medicine is probably still at least decade away or more from becoming approved for treatment use. While others say that it is simply taking cells away from a person’s body, manipulating them and putting them back, and is one of the most promising fields of medicine today, and will be available much sooner. For those wealthy and bold enough this next horizon cutting edge medicine, the future of EV is now.
This article is not a cautionary tale, nor is it and endorsement of any kind, it is for better or worse about a promising young growing science trying to emerge from the no-man’s land it’s in right now.
