“A patient’s diet can have a large effect on their healing ability and their pain. A high inflammatory diet often contributes to a patient’s chronic pain”　　Dr. Damon Noto　　

How anti-inflammatory diet can help the healing of your chronic pain…

Our bodies are such incredible machines that are capable of things we cannot even fathom. Internally, it is constantly hard at work trying to repair us from all the toxins and stress we kindly deliver ever so frequently. Inflammation occurs when the body is trying to heal itself, which is a good thing. This becomes a cause for concern when the body is under a continuous amount of stress and requires an inflammatory response to often, otherwise known as chronic inflammation. As of lately, there has been much talk linking inflammation as a contributor to different diseases like heart disease, inflammatory bowl disease, Alzheimer’s, arthritis, atherosclerosis, diverticulitis and diabetes, chronic pain to name a few.

Like most machines, we need to fuel our bodies appropriately. We need an adequate amount of sleep, plenty of water and healthy food. Inflammation usually develops from oxidative stress, and one of the greatest causes of oxidative stress is the food we eat. So yet again, it becomes apparent that adapting to a diet that consists mainly of fruits and vegetables would be ideal because they are high in inflammation–reducing antioxidants. It is recommended to reduce the amount of high glycemic foods (ie. Sugar and refined flour), and add more non- tropical fruits like berries, grapes, peaches and plums, along with dark leafy greens and root vegetables. The reason behind this is because our bodies function best when our blood sugar is kept constant. When our sugar drops that’s when we begin to become sleepy and hungry. When our blood sugar spikes, the pancreas secretes more insulin to try to bring it back down to normal, but while that is happening, all the extra sugar is being stored in the body as fat. This is precisely why eating high glycemic foods should be avoided. Consuming a diet consisting of high GI foods poses as an even bigger issue to people who suffer from diabetes because they are incapable of producing insulin therefore their sugar rises much higher.

Aside from avoiding simple carbohydrates, the anti-inflammatory diet also focuses on choosing the right fats and proteins. In a study done at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute, researchers examined how the consumption of different fats affected oxidative stress and inflammation in overweight adults. They found that different types of fat do indeed effect inflammation and cause oxidative stress.

Furthermore, with unhealthy foods being so accessible, choosing the right proteins and fats has become something rather difficult to accomplish. Grain fed beef, and processed or cultured meats are sadly of great abundance. This means we are eating a much greater percentage of Omega- 6 fats and not enough omega-3 fats, which provide our body with energy and essential fat. Omega-3 fats have been proven to support functions in the brain, blood vessels, immune system and bone health.

Chronic inflammation can cause calcium to be removed from bones, which then makes them become weaker and shrink. This leads to diseases such as osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis. According to a study done in Pennsylvania University, saturated fatty acids are severely detrimental to bone health because lipid oxidation, calcium absorption, inflammatory processes and osteoblast differentiation cause a reduction in bone mineral density. Through their studies, the researchers found that diets that included more Omega- 3 fatty acids experienced less inflammation and proved to have a positive affect on bone health.

The anti-inflammatory diet also recommends including many different spices and herbs such as; turmeric, oregano, ginger, garlic, cinnamon and green tea because these items are filled with bioflavonoids and polyphenols which help limit inflammation and the formation of free radicals. Through research, ginger and turmeric have shown to be the most popular suggestion because chemically they are similar to anti-inflammatory medications.

By avoiding inflammatory foods such as sugar, red and processed meats, vegetable oils, refined grains and of course alcohol, our bodies will be able to function more effectively. There are simple solutions to decrease the amount of inflammation we cause our bodies to create. Venturing out doors and soaking in the most natural form of vitamin D from sunshine, a little more physical activity, and avoiding foods that have an expiration date that may be six months away are manageable approaches to creating a healthier you.

                                                                                                – Dr. Damon Noto

Regenerative medicine has offered us a glimpse of hope on organ regeneration.  Scientists are able to grow new windpipes and urethras for patients by using their own stem cells.  In Poland, dialysis patients received blood vessels grown from donated skin cells.

Now for the first time, doctors in Sweden have transplanted into the body of a 10-year-old girl a vein grown in the laboratory from her own stem cells.

The girl was suffering from a severe vein blockage to her liver.  Treatment options available included a liver transplant, taking a vein graft from the umbilical cord of a donor, or a leg vein transplant from her own leg.  However, the first two options would have led to permanent dependence on autoimmune drugs; the last option is associated with risks of lower limb disorders, and was not a good option due to the girl’s young age.

The doctors took a 9 cm section of vein from a deceased donor and removed all cells until only a hollow tube remained.  The remaining tube was seeded with the girl’s stem cells (endothelial and smooth muscle cells) from the girl’s bone marrow.  It took about 2 weeks of incubation period and the new blood vessel was transplanted into the patient.

Since the stem cells were the girl’s own, there was no adverse immune reaction and no autoimmune drugs needed.  The only drawback is that 9 months after the procedure, the blood flow was decreased and a second lab-grown vein replacement was transplanted.

Scientist at the Yale University School of Medicine also built a heart blood vessel started from scratch in the lab and successfully transplanted it into a 4-year-old girl with a defected heart.

Instead of using a donor vessel, the doctors at Yale started with a tube made of biodegradable material that works as a scaffold to help stem cells grow tissue.  On surgery day, the tube was seeded with the patient’s stem cells, which were taken the same day from the bone marrow in her hip. The stem cell scaffold was then implanted in the heart area where it will continue to grown.  Eventually, the scaffold starts to degrade and new tissue starts to form.

The girl has been doing well after the transplant and since the blood vessel is made from her own cells, there is no problem of rejection.   She will not experience the possible side effects caused by a synthetic graft either.

Another recent breakthrough in tissue engineering is that scientists are now at the beginning of growing a functioning liver.  The researchers used stem cells from human skin cells and placed them on growth plates in a specially designed chemical bath.  After 9 days of incubation, the cells started producing chemicals that a liver cell (hepatocyte) would produce.  Two types of cells were then added into the medium: mesenchymal and endothelial, which are responsible for forming parts of blood vessels and structural tissues within the body.

In just two days, the cells assembled into a 5 mm long, three-dimensional lump, almost identical to an early stage of liver development- a liver bud.  The tissue does not have bile ducts, but it has functional blood vessels when it was transplanted under the skin of a mouse.  It is also able to metabolize some drugs that human livers metabolize but mouse livers normally cannot.  Genetic testing revealed that the liver bud expresses many of the genes expressed in real liver.

This is the first time part of a functional human organ is produced using stem cells from human skin.  Regenerative medicine opens up great possibilities for the organ-donor shortage.

Although future progress is needed before the above medical advancements can be widely adapted, we can certainly see the great promise of stem cell research. With enough dedication, it has the potential to change the world as we know it. Well beyond just extending life expectancy and the removing the need for life insurance.

-Dr. Damon Noto

You may have heard that NBA’s injured center Greg Oden is going to Germany to get the Kobe knee surgery.  He is among a group of high profile athletes that includes Alex Rodriguez, Kobe Bryant, Gilbert Arenas, Vijay Singh and Fred Couples, who seeks IRAP (also known as Orthokine) therapy for their injuries.

IRAP stands for Interleukin-1 Receptor Antagonist Protein and has long been one of the successful developments in the osteoarthritis treatment of million-dollar racehorses.  This therapy now has been available to arthritis sufferers in Europe and many other countries for over 8 years.

When a person’s joints are damaged due to injuries or wear and tear, there is a release of an inflammatory factor into the joint that greatly increases the risk of long term arthritis occurring.  This arthritis-causing factor is called IL-1 (interleukin 1).  IRAP is the natural antagonist anti-inflammatory protein in your body that counteracts the destructive effects of IL-1 within the inflamed joint.  It competes with IL-1 for the same receptor sites in the joints.  Therefore, the more IRAP presents in the system, the less IL-1 harms the joints.  It regulates the reconstruction of degeneration and breakdown of cartilage.

When chronic inflammation exists, the effects of harmful IL-1 can be intensified and the balance of cartilage breakdown and repair is disturbed, favoring the side of degradation.  IRAP interrupts the inflammation cycle, halting joint pain and simultaneously stimulating the regeneration.

Like PRP (platelet-rich plasma) treatment, IRAP is derived from a patient’s own blood.  About 20 cc blood is drawn using a syringe containing specially treated glass beads.  During the incubation period, blood cells interact with bead surfaces, stimulating white blood cells to produce high levels of IRAP and other anti-inflammatory compounds.  The blood is then spun down and the substance is injected into the affected sites the same way as PRP.

IRAP helps restoring mobility and comfort to patients suffering from osteoarthritis.  It has shown great results in delaying or completely avoiding joint replacement or spinal surgery.  It is especially effective when IRAP treatment is used in the early stages of osteoarthritis before the cartilage has been severely damaged.

Unlike conventional short-term treatment, such as anti-inflammatory drugs and steroids, IRAP promotes the body’s own natural healing ability with no side effects and health dangers that conventional drugs may cause.  It is also far less invasive and dangerous comparing to joint replacement and back surgery.  It is an outpatient procedure and requires no rehab time.

IRAP is not currently available in the U.S. and Canada, but hopefully will be soon.

Doctor Damon Noto appears on ESPN Radio talking about the shoulder injury affecting Indianapolis Colts superstar quarterback Peyton Manning and how stem cell therapy could possibly accelerate his recovery.

DOCTOR NOTO ON ESPN RADIO 2-12 (click here to listen)

After over ten years, Suzanne Somers finally found what she was looking for.  After being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2001 and losing the majority of her right breast, Somers declined conventional reconstruction methods with the notion that something better would eventually come along.  This past August, her hopes of using a more natural reconstruction method finally came true.  Along the way, Somers has helped pave the way for this new procedure to finally be used on women in the United States.

The breakthrough that Somers was looking for began its development in 2003 when a professor and surgeon at the University of Tokoyo in Japan began testing a new procedure called cell-assisted lipotransfer.  Katoro Yoshimura, MD, developed a method in which stem cells derived from one’s own fat cells are injected with other fat cells to plump up or replace tissue.  Yoshimura’s innovative use of a higher concentration of stem cells helped to prevent the normal problems associated with transporting fat alone.  Stem cells allow for the preservation of fat cells that would normally have a risk of hardening after a transplant procedure.  They also allow fat cells to regenerate as they stimulate the growth of blood vessels.

Although body fat already contains stem cells, Yoshimura needed a way to increase the concentration of these cells in the body fat to reduce post-operative atrophy. To do this, he used liposuction to remove fat from another part of the body.  After isolating the stem cells from this fat, he combined them with the reserved fats to create a natural cosmetic filler that has been used in this procedure on over 400 women.  Advantages of this method of breast reconstruction include no scarring and no implant being used.

After deciding to move forward with this surgery in 2008, Suzanne Somers had a big challenge ahead of her.  Since no trials were underway in the United States, she would have to either leave the country for surgery or receive approval from an Institutional Review Board to have the procedure done stateside.  Since she wanted to pave the way for other American women to have this procedure done, Somers decided to go through the necessary steps to have trial procedures approved in Los Angeles.  After three years of struggling to get the procedure approved, the first official cell-assisted lipotransfer trial was launched and in August 2011, Suzanne Somers became the first of 100 participants to take part in the trial.

According to Somers the surgery was a success.  Somers says she couldn’t be happier with the outcome of her procedure. The procedure took less than two hours to complete with the actual breast reconstruction taking around only ten minutes.

Cell-assisted lipotransfer is a valuable alternative to conventional breast reconstruction and shows one of the many benefits of stem cell usage.

To read more about the innovative procedure and Suzanne Somers’ story, click here.

Dr. Pericles Lantz, anti-aging specialist at Spine & Joint Center & AALMA was interviewed on WRNJ Radio about stem cell therapy for aesthetics.   Tune in and learn about how you can use your own body’s cells to make you feel better and look younger!

Click the following link to listen to this exciting treatment!

Dr_Pericles_Lantz_INTERVIEW on stem cells therapy

The more we learn about stem cells, the more we are amazed by their ability to heal the human body.  We once believed that dead heart muscle can never grow back, but by using cardiac stem cells, we can now regenerate healthy heart tissue. It is the biggest advancement in cardiology.

                                 - Dr. Damon Noto

It was once known that if you had a major heart attack, the damaged heart cells were gone forever.  Whatever you do: living a healthy life style, taking standard maintenance medications, or placing a stent to physically widen the artery, nothing can regrow new heart tissues.  As a result, patients who suffer severe hart attacks are prone to future damage, because the weakened heart tries to overcompensate until the end result is heart failure.

Not any more.  Researchers have found a way to regenerate heart tissues by using stem cells.

The heart contains cardiac stem cell (CSCs) that can develop into either heart muscle or blood vessel components, whatever the heart requires at the time. The problem for heart disease patients is that there aren’t enough of the repair cells waiting around to heal the damaged tissue.

In two separate studies published in 2011, doctors have found encouraging ways to treat heart failure caused by ischaemic heart disease (a blocking of the heart blood vessels causing death of heart muscle tissue) by using CSCs.

The first study lead by Dr. Roberto Bolli used purified CSCs, harvested during patients’ bypass surgery.  It means more than 90% of the infusion was actual cardiac stem cells.   At a mean time of 4 months after their coronary artery bypass grafting, 16 patients with severe heart failure received purified CSCs infusion and within a year, their heart function markedly improved.

The method to evaluate the heart’s pumping efficiency is through “Left Ventricle Ejection Fraction,” which measures the amount of blood the heart pumps with each contraction.  Anything less than 40% is considered as severe heart failure.  In the treatment group, the patients’ LVEF increased from 30.3% to 38.5% at 4 months after infusion.  In the control group (7 patients, received standard care but no CSCs infusion), no improvement of the LVEF was noted.

Most importantly, at one-year follow-up in 8 patients in the CSCs group, the LVEF increased by 12.3% (from 30.2% before CSCs to 42.5%).  In the seven treated patients in whom cardiac MRI could be done, the size of the dead tissue (infarct) decreased from 32.6 g by 7.8 g (24%) at 4 months and 9·8 g (30%) at 1 year.

In a second study at Cedars-Sinai, 17 patients (six weeks after suffering a moderate to major heart attack) received stem cell infusion that contained a mixture of cardiac stem cells and other types of cells extracted from the patient’s heart.  Not only did scar tissue retreat (between 30% and 47% in test subjects), healthy heart muscle also increased.  The results suggested that regeneration of cardiac tissue had taken place.

Most importantly, these procedures are safe and feasible.  No treated patient in either study suffered a significant health setback.

It turns out the secret to heal the heart is in itself.

If you think endurance exercise only helps you loose a few pounds, think again!  When you lace up your running shoes or go to a spin class, you are telling your stem cells what to do to make you healthier.

- Dr. Damon Noto 

Researchers have found that endurance exercises, such as jogging, spinning class, or swimming, can trigger influential stem cells to become bone instead of fat.

Exercise significantly increases blood cells in the marrow and in circulation.  The number of muscle stem cells are also increased while their ability to rejuvenate old muscles greatly enhanced.

Our body produces something called mesenchymal stem cells that can be differentiated into bone cells, or fat cells.  When researchers looked at treadmill-trained mice (at progressive speeds, 3 times a week, over a 10-wk period), they found that endurance exercise makes the stem cells preferentially mature into bone cells in the bone marrow cavity which increases the productivity of blood stem cells.In sedentary mice, the same stem cells were more likely to become fat in the bone marrow cavities which makes blood cells become less productive and can result in conditions such as anemia.

We all know exercise increases muscle mass, but how about muscle stem cells?

In another study, which also looked at treadmill-trained mice (20 minutes a day for 13 weeks), discovered that exercise increased the number of satellite cells (muscle stem cells).  Satellite cells normally declines as we age and this contributes to the age-associated deterioration in muscle mass and muscle repair capacity.

Interestingly, the older rats benefit more than the younger rats.  The younger rats showed a 20% to 35% increase in the average number of stem cells per muscle fiber retained  and older rats exhibiting a 33% to 47% increase in stem cells.

So next time if you need one more reason to put on the tennis shoes, think about your stem cells.  Your effort will be greatly appreciated.

To view the first paper, click here.

To view the second paper, click here.

To find out information about other treatments by Dr Noto, such as minimally invasive disc surgery in New Jersey, click here!

To download the PDF file, please click AQ Fall 2011

To get more information regarding stem cell therapy in Long Island contact Dr Noto!

To find out more information regarding stem cell therapy in Long Island click here!