Category Archives: Arkansas Stem Cells

The Arkansas Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine is providing leadership with the newest techniques in this field of technology using adult stem cells only. Offering therapy to patients with cardiovascular diseases or recent heart attack, orthopedic medicine and COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease). Stem Cell therapy has been widely accepted for over 20 years in the treatment of other diseases in multiple sequences.

Stem cells have the remarkable potential to develop into many different cell types in the body during early life and growth. In addition, in many tissues they serve as an internal repair system, dividing essentially without limit to replenish other cells as long as the person or animal is still alive. When a stem cell divides, each new cell has the potential either to remain a stem cell or become another type of cell with a more specialized function, such as a muscle cell, a red blood cell or a brain cell.

Stem cells are distinguished from other cell types; they are unspecialized cells capable of renewing themselves through cell division, sometimes after long periods of inactivity. Stem Cells can be induced to become tissue or organ specific cells with special functions. In some organs, such as the intestines and bone marrow, stem cells regularly divide to repair and replace worn out or damaged tissues.

Research shows the potential of stem cells to help patients with cardiovascular disease is abundant. The patients own regenerative stem cells can be injected into the veins, arteries, or directly into the heart muscle for the treatment of heart failure, heart attacks and peripheral vascular disease. Our trained nurses, technicians cardiologists and surgeons work as a dedicated team with each patient to review their options.

COMMON NEEDS FOR THERAPY INCLUDE:

CLINICAL MONITORING

Patients undergoing Stem Cell therapy for cardiovascular diseases will also have a series of pre- and post-procedure diagnostic tests to complete during the first monitored year.

The patients own regenerative stem cells are used to treat many types of chronic pain from shoulder, knee, hip and degenerative disk disease. After the harvesting procedure for regenerative cells in the abdominal fat, the surgeon will implant these at the site of injury. Clinical research shows that it is possible to use regenerative cells to effectively restore and repair damaged or aging cells and regenerate tissue in the body.

COMMON NEEDS FOR THERAPY INCLUDE:

CLINICAL MONITORINGPatients undergoing stem cell therapy for degenerative diseases will also have a series of pre- and post-procedure diagnostic tests to complete during the first monitored year.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a relatively common, often debilitating illness, which has a major impact on the people of the world. There are a number of treatments designed to alleviate symptoms, but there is no cure. Stem Cell therapy is designed and has the potential to treat the underlying issue of loss of lung tissue. Our research trial is designed to prove how much Stem Cell therapy improved COPD. Like some of the therapies already mentioned the patients own regenerative stem cells are harvested from the abdominal fat tissue and then injected back into the patient intra-vascularly.

COMMON NEEDS FOR THERAPY INCLUDE:

CLINICAL MONITORING

Pre and Post Procedure; All COPD patients will have a series of pre- and post-procedure lung function measurements collected by their treating physician. Patients will be asked to perform the lung function test at two, six and 12 months post procedure.

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Stem Cell Therapy in Arkansas | Arkansas Heart Hospital

Stem Cell injections are primarily forpainful joints.These injections,provide a (non-surgical) treatment option, to hopefully provide long-lasting relief from chronicjoint pain. The injections are performed under imaging guidance, as needed,to ensure proper placement of the stem cells. The stem cells have two key properties: The ability to self-renew and the ability to differentiate, giving rise to the mature types of cells that make up our organs and tissues.

In general, Stem Cell injections can be helpful in treating moderate osteoarthritis in the hip, knee, shoulder, ankle, or thumb, where there is not complete collapse of the joint space and not bone on bone changes. There are some medical issues (like lymphoma and leukemia) that will preclude you from having a stem cell procedure done.

We most commonly use stem cell injections for larger joints, such as hips and knees but also can be used in smaller joints as well. Stem cell treatment is also an option for chronic tendon issues that have been resistant to other treatments. These are typically in the shoulder, elbow and Achilles tendon.

The final cost of this treatment will ultimately be determined by what particular injections are being done. The cost can vary but is estimated at $4000 to inject one joint and $5000 for two joints. Your physician may also suggest following up with a Platelet Rich Plasma or (PRP) injection which would be an additional cost.

Stem Cell therapy is typically not covered by your insurance company. You will need to pay out of pocket for the treatment at the time of service, but it has the potential to help you either avoid a major surgical procedure or it could help you have a better outcome and/or quicker recovery if it is performed alongside surgery.

Some of our physicians offer stem cell injections at Arkansas Surgical Hospital.

We will schedule a consultation for an appointment to review your X-rays, conduct a physical exam anddetermine if you are a good candidate for these injections or not.

IF you are a good candidate, the doctor will harvest your own stem cells from fat or bone marrow and reinject them into your joint or tendon. This procedure is FDA approved for safety.

There is some limited data suggesting an ability to regenerate cartilage in joints, but it also appears that whether or not the cartilage regenerates has little correlation with relief of pain. If there is significant spurring and significant loss of the joint space, there is little chance of cartilage regeneration.

In our experience most patients have seen moderate relief of pain around 1-2 months post injection. This will hopefully continue to improve for the first 3-6 months after the stem cell procedure. Unfortunately there may be patients who do not see any improvement at all from this procedure. Stem cell and PRP injections are still viewed as an experimental treatment option and research is still being done now to determine what areas this is most effective in and who the best candidates are. Call us today if you are interested!

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Stem Cell Injections | Arkansas Surgical Hospital

My names Diana Pea, and I am a yoga-loving, bicycle-riding, palm oil-avoiding. environmentalist, ingredient list-reading vegan. I get 92.4 percent of my monthly calories from simple foods: rice, beans, tofu, and soybean oil (yes, I calculated it). I calculated the ecological impact of the rice I eat assuming it came from California vs. Arkansas. Essentially, Im a walking stereotype.

The reason why I state these things about myself is because I want to make it clear that I share the same concerns as the rest of the vegan population, particularly an adherence to the central tenant of the vegan philosophy: an optimization of agriculture to minimize suffering and pain of sentient beings. However, regardless of my stereotypically vegan behavior, I, unlike many vegans, am in favor of biotechnology, particularly GMOs, in agriculture, and I think that all vegans should be.

Lets take one simple example first: genetically-engineered wheat and other staples or seeds to produce omega-3 fatty acids. Crops like these could very well be an excellent replacement of fish for omega-3 fatty acids, taking away any excuse for people to continue eating fish. This would reduce the suffering within aquatic ecosystems, and it could be implemented if we got burdensome governments out of the way of innovation. There is no plausible mechanism of harm to such an idea. We know that the staples we eat are safe and that omega-3 fatty acids are safe. Thus, a staple that is engineered to produce omega-3 wouldnt be dangerous.

One might argue that we can simply use flaxseeds instead of GE foods; however, this isnt a very practical idea. First of all, staples are already widely eaten, making it much easier to get people to switch from fish to a staple with GEO-derived oils than to flaxseeds. Additionally, 96 percent of the US flaxseeds are grown in North Dakota. This isnt a coincidence. This is because of the fact that different places have varying soil conditions, climates, and other factors that lead to different yields of different crops.

Farmers want to optimize yields, which is why farmers in Idaho grow lots of potatoes, while those in Arkansas grow lots of rice. If we were to decide to suddenly eat more flaxseed as a nation, then not only would many farmers have to switch to growing these seeds, but yields wouldnt be optimal everywhere. This would mean more land being devoted to agriculture, which would hurt natural ecosystems. These practical limitations make GE staples a much better substitute source for omega-3 than flax seeds.

A vegans view of GE innovations

Many of my fellow vegans might argue whether such an innovation will be vegan at all. They might say that they dont want fish genes in their wheat, ignoring the fact that fish genes dont exist (All humans share many genes in common with fish: are they human genes or fish genes?). There is no need to use genes from an actual fish in the first place. Modern technology, being as cool as it is today, gave us DNA synthesizers that enable the construction of synthetic genes from known genomic templates, making an actual fish totally unnecessary in the process of genetically engineering staple crops to make omega-3. Besides, even if we did need the fish, there would be no need to kill one to get DNA. Youd simply need one cell sample, and you could then use PCR (polymerase chain reaction) to make thousands of copies of the gene in question for R&D. Lets not make the perfect the enemy of the good here. Nonetheless, the genes in question would come from algae since fish dont have them, so the entire debate is moot. Although the point still stands for any crops modified with genes originally found in animals.

Furthermore, yield-preserving traits like Bt and Roundup-Ready allow for crops to beat pests like insects and weeds in a safe, effective way, and there are hundreds of independent studies to prove it. This means less land for agriculture being needed, allowing for more habitats for animals around the world. On top of that, Simplots Innate Potato resists browning and bruising and allows for long-term storage, with a future generation model resisting late blight fungus, all with the FDA seal of approval.

These traits mean fewer fungicides used, less food waste (on the field, in the store, and at home), less land needed to grow the same amount of potatoes, and more affordable crops. All of these traits are good for optimizing agriculture for the environment and consumers, and are just a few examples of traits that could be and are being utilized as we speak. Imagine what more could be done if we stopped hampering this amazing technology with burdensome regulations. We could do a lot of good for the world of agriculture with such beneficial innovation.

Additionally, biotechnology could generate synthetic animal products. We already use genetically engineered yeast and bacteria to produce all sorts of valuable substances, from insulin to the vitamins in the tablets I personally use in place of many foods. They are also used in making many common foods, such as almost all of the hard cheese made in the world, and many beersalthough many GMO labeling laws exempt these foods. The rennet used in the cheese-making process used to come from calves, making GE microorganisms a more humane source. There is no reason why we cant use this same biotechnology to produce milk proteins to make cheese free of cows or to accelerate growth in cell cultures to make synthetic meats.

In fact, many groups are working on these sorts of projects, and some dont involve genetic engineering at all. Memphis Meats, New Wave Foods, and many other groups are doing the admirable work of taking animals out of agriculture, while feeding the world more efficiently in the process. Its extremely unfortunate that many of those getting in the way of such goals are vegans, but would rather let their naturalist ideology and dogma supersede their opposition to animal exploitation

Harmless biopsies allow for the collection of cells from donor animals, and these cells can be used to make tons of meat to make millions of burgers. Yes, you read that right. Even if this technology involved the deaths of a few animals to harvest the substrate medium and scaffolding structure for the cultured beef, that doesnt change the fact that this is a net benefit to preventing animal deaths. This technology could lower the death toll from the current unimaginable number (go ahead and try to imagine 10,000,000,000 per year of anything; its literally unimaginable) to a much smaller amount that is a net benefit to livestock. Once again, lets not make the perfect the enemy of the good here. Being purists will only hurt animals.

Other technologies such as induced-pluripotent stem cells (regular cells turned into stem cells) can take what little animal involvement that takes place in cellular agriculture and reduce it even further to almost nothing Scientists are already developing gel-based scaffolding methods to replace the collagen used normally, along with growth media free from fetal bovine serum. Cellular agriculture is progressively lessening its reliance on animals to produce food to feed the world. Its important for vegans to come together to support this technology to back research that could improve it even more. I cannot stress enough the point that being purists will only hurt our cause; we can make cellular agriculture rely as little on animals as possible, which is a net benefit to animals.

Call for vegan action

Unfortunately, people arent choosing to adopt a vegan diet. The reasons are irrelevant, as the end result is still the same: less than 2 percent of the population consists of vegans at any given time. We are never going to convince the large majority of people to adopt a collective vegan diet. Attempting to do so is admirable, but its not working. As unfortunate as that is, we can still do a lot more good for livestock animals with the aforementioned technology. There is no good reason to eschew it and stand in the way of perfectly good solutions through fear mongering and obstruction.

I became a vegan as an extension of my pacifist and environmentalist leanings. Because of this, I would hate to see fellow vegans stand in the way of protecting our fellow earthlings for baseless ideological reasons. Vegans could come together through finances, promotional manpower, and even by becoming researchers and educators to create a new generation of scientists to work on cellular agriculture.

With that being said, I think we should all remember the following: The best argument against the outreach method is a five-minute conversation with the average meat eater.

Im sorry to say that, but its true. People view the animal rights movement negatively, and extremist organizations like PETA have only hardened stereotypes. Organizations like Mercy for Animals utilize proven, effective methods of advocacy, but, while commendable, is not enough.

My goal is the same as that of many ethical vegans: sending the animal-based food industry as close to obsolescence as is practically possible. Im going to side with the winning team to make that goal a reality, and I truly hope that fellow vegans will side with me on that front in principle, participation, and finances. Our fellow earthlings demand it. Please dont let them down.

Diana Pea is an ethical/ecological vegan at Brooklyn College training to educate people about science. A long-time advocate, she promotes biotechnology and other evidence-based agricultural solutions to optimize food production and distribution, feed the world and to finally put an end to animal agriculture. Follow her on Twitter @Inorganic_Vegan.

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'There is no contradiction to being a vegan and eating GMO foods' - Genetic Literacy Project

Treatment for acne scars comes to central Arkansas

Winnie Wright , KTHV 10:58 PM. CDT August 01, 2017

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) - For those with acne scars, there can be a lot of problems. People deal with bigger pores, rosacea, even difficulty sweating, but sometimes find little to no solutions.

But a new treatment has shown up in central Arkansas that is a little unusual.

Acne scars have been an unfortunate part of April Bisbee's life for decades.

"I'm still carrying around things from when I was a teenager," said the 37-year-old. "I didn't really notice how much that affected me as an adult until I started doing something to improve it.

She began those improvements with two micro needling treatments, which are exactly what they sound like. A tool with tiny needles is drawn across the face to break up the scar tissue which helps to heal old wounds.

After seeing the results, she decided to take it a step further. Now she is trying a Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) Facial. The process uses her own blood plasma to heal her scars.

"The way that I describe it to patients is that the plasma is our own body's liquid gold," said Monica Cooper, a license aesthetician at SeiBella Med Spa. "It is the closest thing that we have to stem cells. It regenerates faster. So as we are doing the micro needling, it's going to heal the wound much faster than anything used as a synthetic."

Bisbee's blood is drawn by a nurse and it is put into a centrifuge to separate the blood from the plasma.

"I'm going to take the first bit of the plasma and I'm just going to wipe it all in the area where we are going to start, at her forehead, Cooper explained.

As the needles break the surface of her skin, it bleeds a little, but Cooper said a little blood is good. That's how she knows she's made it below the scarring.

"It feels a bit like getting a tattoo without the ink," Bisbee said about the process.

If you're not too keen on the idea of having blood plasma rubbed on your face, Cooper said there are other formulas available to make you feel less like a vampire.

"It is still going to give you the scar reduction. It is going to help with aging, fine lines, she said.

Before the PRP facial, many with facial sensitivities had few options. Cooper explained that all patients need to be evaluated to be sure the PRP Facial is a fit. Those who are prone to keloid scars, for example, would not want to undergo this procedure.

In about a week, Bisbee will be fully healed, but even now, she can wear a special SPF makeup and go back to work.

"I'm feeling good. I'm glad I did it, Bisbee said.

She said that already her skin is less red with the treatment than it was with her previous micro needling treatments.

Each PRP Facial treatment is around $700. Cooper said she suggests Bisbee and other patients continue coming back for treatments every few weeks until they no longer see their skin progressing. She also said the results should be permanent unless new acne scars develop.

2017 KTHV-TV

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Unusual treatment for acne scars uses your own plasma - THV 11

As a child, Devin Guillory was not interested in science, which says that she now blames on societal attitudes toward science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, fields. At the time, she was reluctant to pursue a career in any of those areas.

"I feel like, just as a society, we are kind of trained to think that high, in-depth things like chemistry and biology are things you are supposed to not really like growing up," Guillory, a master's student in chemistry at Jackson State University, says.

Guillory wants to use scientific research to better the state and help other Mississippians learn to love science. At JSU, she spurs children's interests in science through activities such as making slime from glue. "Just little things to get them interested, where they think that science is something fun instead of something we are automatically supposed to hate," she says.

The Jackson native attended Holmes Community College from summer 2010 to December 2010 and Hinds Community College from January 2012 until that summer when she transferred to Jackson State University.

Guillory says that when she entered college, her dream career was to become a video-game developer. However, a pre-requisite chemistry class led to the realization that she really loved that subject, as well. Guillory says that even before taking the class, she always enjoyed balancing chemistry equations, which she calls "a puzzle."

Guillory received her bachelor's degree in chemistry from JSU in 2015. Her career trajectory, which she calls "somewhat medical," now involves the research behind what the clinicians are doing. Her research focuses on increasing efficiency in cancer treatment by targeting cancer cells with heat therapy. Unlike cancer treatments such as chemotherapy, which can kill both cancerous and non-cancerous cells, nanoparticles in heat therapy only target the cancerous cells.

After she graduates from JSU with a master's degree this July, Guillory will begin studying neuroscience at the University of Arkansas Medical Science Center in Little Rock for her doctorate degree. She says her ultimate goal once she completes her Ph.D. is to help Mississippians by researching both the positive and negative effects that early childhood trauma have on people later in life.

Through her research, Guillory says that she hopes to create more understanding of mental illness in society, and how things such as drug addiction, alcoholism, abuse and neglect create problems.

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Devin Guillory - Jackson Free Press

By Lindsey BeverThe Washington Post

Jasmin Floyd was on her way to kindergarten in northeastern Connecticut, buckled into the back seat of her mother's car.

On the way, she called out, "Mommy, my neck hurts," her mother, RoJeanne Doege, recently recalled. Doege said she peered through the rearview mirror and tried to reassure her, "Honey, it's probably just how you slept."

But it wasn't and, not long after that, Floyd's father noticed that their 5-year-old's neck was tilted ever so slightly to the side.

It was not the first time the girl and her family had been confronted with troublesome medical questions. Floyd had been born with an unexplained bunion on her big toe, and by the time she was a toddler, she had developed small bumps on her head and her spine. Doctors said the bumps were extra growths of bone, or osteomas, but that they were nothing to worry about, her mother said. Indeed, as Floyd grew, that bone fused and the bumps disappeared.

By January 1999, Floyd was on another quest for answers and, this time, she got one: a diagnosis of fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP), a rare genetic disease that causes muscle tissue and connective tissue to turn into bone gradually forming a second skeleton and making it nearly impossible to move.

"It was the hardest, darkest time of our lives," Doege said. "We were helpless. There was nothing we could do. It was going to take on a life of its own."

Since then, there have been bad mornings when the now-23-year-old from Danielson, Connecticut, has woken up with a tight neck or an elbow locked in place, then slowly but permanently lost the ability to move them.

By the time she was 7 or so, Floyd said, her shoulders had started sticking; gradually, she found herself unable to rotate them. She had to relearn how to ride a bike and soon, how to do simpler tasks, such as switch on lights and turn on water faucets.

She now relies on a "reacher" to pick up things. She uses a long hairbrush to brush her hair and also to help pull on her shirts, laughing about the MacGyver-like skills she has acquired over the years.

"As I got older, I started to learn more about what FOP was," she said. "Now when something happens, I know what's happening and why it's happening."

But it does not make it any easier to live that way.

It was about a year ago, Floyd said, when her jaw started locking, which "has been the most traumatic thing I've ever had to deal with." Now, she said, she can open her mouth about a centimeter.

"I've accepted it the best I can, but it's not something I can put behind me," she said. "I dread brushing my teeth. I never used to have any dietary needs, but now I have to avoid crunchy or chewy foods. My jaw gets tired easily."

She calls each new issue a "new normal."

FOP is a rare and debilitating disorder that plagues about one in 2 million people worldwide, according to data from the National Institutes of Health. It is caused by mutations in a gene called ACVR1, which regulates bone growth and turns cartilage to bone as children grow up.

Frederick Kaplan, Floyd's doctor and head of the Division of Orthopaedic Molecular Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine, said he and his colleagues discovered the FOP gene in 2006. He said FOP patients have an overactive copy of the abnormal gene that sends signals to the body's muscles and soft tissues especially after an injury telling the muscles to repair themselves by forming bone rather than muscle or scar tissue.

"The body thinks the injured muscles are fractures and heals them as if they were fractures," he said. "So the extra bone that forms is normal bone, but it forms in the wrong place and it locks the joints."

Any attempt to surgically remove that extra bone, he said, "leads to catastrophic explosions of new bone formation."

Kaplan said patients with FOP are born with the bunion-like bumps which are not bunions at all but malformations. He said the bumps are not an issue but are "a harbinger of things to come."

Starting in the preschool years, FOP patients usually start to develop severe swellings in the body's skeletal muscles that look like tumors.

These "flare-ups" can be triggered by the mildest injuries, such as bumps and bruises. But about 80 percent of the time, the flare-ups occur for no known reason at all, Kaplan said.

Kaplan explained how it happens: Intense inflammation erupts around the blood vessels in the muscles and destroys muscle tissue. Stem cells harboring the FOP gene are then awakened and start to divide and build a scaffold of sorts from connective tissue. The scaffolding turns to cartilage, on which the new bone begins to grow.

"FOP is a particularly cruel disease because, at a time when children are becoming adolescents and adults, at a time when they're trying to become more independent, their bodies are betraying them because of this mutation and they're becoming more dependent rather than less dependent," he said. "People with FOP have normal minds, but they're trapped in this prison of an extra skeleton.

"The other very difficult part of FOP is that you don't know when the next flare-up is going to occur, how long it's going to last, how painful it's going to feel and how disabling it's going to be."

By 40 or 50, he said, most patients succumb to a restrictive chest wall disease. He said that the extra skeleton severely limits lung capacity and, ultimately, the overworked heart starts to fail.

Floyd, who has chronicled her struggles on her blog, "One Spirit, Two Skeletons," said she has been sharing her story to inspire others and raise awareness about her disease.

At 23, she said, she now stands a bit off-balance and walks with a limp.

When she travels which she likes to do on her own to reclaim some independence she has to use a wheelchair or a scooter to get around, she said. Sometimes, she said, her jaw gets tired and she gets tongue-tied.

She said her greatest fear is the unpredictable and unsparing progression.

"I could wake up and not be able to unbend my leg," she said. "I've had it happen where my elbow will lock at a 90-degree angle."

Floyd said her most sudden flare-up was when she lost mobility in her jaw.

"I had eaten dinner and later that night before bed, I had pain in my jaw. That was it," she said. "It was painful not just physically but also emotionally. It gradually locked throughout the next few months."

But despite her fears, Floyd said, FOP has been a motivation.

"Even though I have fears, I do my best to make things happen so I can experience something," she said. "My motto is to try to as much as I can for as long as I can and not let anything stop me from achieving."

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Woman growing second skeleton, and it's locking her inside her own body - Arkansas News

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - - Opioid use in the U.S. is growing.

According to Stockton Medical Group in Fayetteville, the problem is especially bad in Northwest Arkansas.

KNWA looked at what under the radaropioid options are available for pain management... which could save millions of lives.

"I was on pain medication for many years,"Counselor Krystal Sims said.

Sims works at Stockton Medical Group where they offer addiction treatment.

Opioid addiction has risen more than 300-percent in the U.S. since 1999.

It now outpaces car accidents as the leading cause of death.

According to Stockton Medical Group an astounding 75 to 80 percent of their patients started out in pain management.

"I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, and then I broke my wrist and re-broke it about two months later, and a couple of things happened along the way," Sims said.

Doctor Tammy Post of Natural State Chiropractic said chronic use of opioids usually stems from a former injury that is still causing inflammation.

Sometimes she says your mind won't shut off its pain receptors, because of inflammation, so the problem is never really resolved.

"Believe it or not there's some food sensitivity testing that we can do to identify foods that trigger inflammation in the system," Post said.

"We can actually use something called P.R.P. which is stem cells. It's basically drawing your own blood and re-injecting it into areas that have inflammation. I've had patients with back pain for 20 years pain free within two weeks, and it's just not widely known," added Post.

They're options that could save lives.

But Sims says if you're going through withdrawals, there are choices available like the new Butran Patch and Suboxone that provide relief.

Sims said she was in treatment for about five years and was able to taper off the medication.

It may not work for everyone, but Sims says best way to get sober is to want to be sober.

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Non-Opioid Pain Medicine Options Could Save Lives - Story - KNWA

LITTLE ROCK, Ark., April 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Emerging Therapies Act of 2017 was signed into law by Governor Asa Hutchinson today, granting pilot access to State Employees and Teachers to Regenerative Injection Therapies as a treatment of orthopedic conditions on their health care plans. Arkansas now leads the country as the first state to adopt a policy to include these emerging therapies in state employee health insurance.

"This could potentially save the state $100 Million using regenerative medicine as an alternative to surgery or pharmaceuticals for orthopedic conditions," states Morgan Pile, Executive Vice President of Strongside Solutions, who worked with HB2014 sponsors Senator David Sanders, Rep Joe Farrer and Rep Scott Baltz to bring the opportunity to the state. "Regenerative Injection Therapies like Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP), Bone Marrow Aspirate Concentrate (BMAC) and Amniotic tissue have been shown to be effective treatments with up to an 80% savings of surgical costs while virtually absent of complications," Wendell Strickland, founder and managing partner of Strongside Solutions is pleased to be a part of developing programs that prevent fraud, waste and abuse in medical and prescription drug plans for many years. "We have worked with state, county and city governments as well as private employers' self-funded medical plans to reduce cost and maintain viable healthcare programs. Regenerative Medicine in another program we use to help our clients reduce healthcare costs and reach their goals. Employers with self-funded medical and prescription programs turn to Strongside Solutions to deliver these and other programs across the United States," Strickland said.

Representative Scott Baltz has personal experience with these therapies, as his wife was advised that a surgical intervention might not provide more than 2 years' relief of her symptoms, and could ultimately leave her with worse symptoms than she was experiencing. They elected to use Regenerative Injection Therapy (RIT) instead of a surgical procedure, and 4 years later she is still experiencing relief that allows her to raise her grandchildren and live a normal life. Representative Baltz realized that RIT was "something that could help other Arkansans if insurance would cover it." His wife testified to the Employee Benefits Division (EBD) about the merits of this emerging therapy in 2014. In the amended bill, the Employee Benefits Division will conduct a pilot study for state employees and teachers' health plans. The EBD will set up the parameters of the study including assuring that only certified providers, settings and applications will be available for reimbursement under the health plan. At the end of 2018, the full study results will be reviewed with a goal of providing all insured Arkansans access to these therapies.

"Arkansas has always been a leader in medical innovation. This is a major step forward for healthcare in our state," Dr. Christopher Dougherty, orthopedic surgeon at Agility Center Orthopedics in Bentonville said. "The opportunity to offer a non-surgical solutions for an injury that formerly may have required surgery is both a time and money saver for the patient and society as a whole."

"The American Association of Orthopaedic Medicine (AAOM), the world's oldest educational organization dedicated to teaching Interventional Regenerative Orthopedic Medicine (IROM) was also a proponent of this bill passing. The 'Emerging Therapy Act of 2017' in Arkansas, is revolutionary in both vision and scope. Its implementation will forge a new path in healthcare delivery, and we are inspired by as well as committed to its success going forward," Dr. Thomas Bond, President-Elect of AAOM issued in a statement.

Dr. David L. Harshfield, Jr. is a pioneer in regenerative cellular therapy. "Regenerative Medicine moves away from the allopathic medicine (M.D.) model, where a physician matches a diagnosis to only a binary, pharmaceutical or surgical solution, and focuses instead on the "correction of medicine". The State of Arkansas will now give patients a choice beyond drugs or surgery. "We are not man-made, and no 'man' can heal us. Physicians must admit to patients that we only 'men' and as such, we can only help patients heal themselves. With Regenerative Medicine, physicians can help patients restore their health by utilizing the natural healing responses found within the body," said Harshfield. Dr. Harshfield, an Interventional Radiologist with specialization in musculoskeletal radiology and cellular medicine, has been exploring autologous (patient's own) adult stem cells since graduating from UAMS with Honors in 1981 and has become a leader in cellular restoration. Dr. Harshfield brings his expertise in cellular therapy to treat a variety of conditions without expensive, often dangerous surgery and pharmaceuticals to improve outcomes while reducing recovery and rehabilitation time. And unlike pharmaceutical and surgical options, there has never been a serious adverse event (SAE) associated with regenerative therapies when administered by credentialed physicians utilizing certified protocols.

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Governor Signs "Emerging Therapies Act of 2017" With Strongside ... - Yahoo Finance

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Top, from left: Alex Khang, Larissa Markwardt, Kelly McKenzie; Bottom: Madeline Meier and Jordana Thibado

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. Three University of Arkansas undergraduate students and three recent graduates have received National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships for the upcoming academic year. The highly competitive awards are made to students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics and recognize academic excellence and the potential contribution that they will make to their field and to society at large.

The NSF Graduate Research Fellows are:

The sixth student, a recent graduate, has asked not to be named at this time.

Each fellowship is worth $34,000 per year and can be renewed for up to three years. Along with the renewable stipend, each students institution will receive $12,000 per year to offset tuition costs, bringing the total amount of funding awarded in these six fellowships to more than $800,000.

In addition to the Fellows, seven more U of A students received honorable mentions: undergraduates Christian Goodnow, David Jacobson and Christopher Matthews; current U of A graduate students Haley Brown, Hillary Fischer and Ashly Romero; and recent U of A graduate Michaela Mertz.

When our students receive highly competitive awards like the NSF Graduate Research Fellowships, I am reminded just how remarkable University of Arkansas students are. Not only are they intellectually curious and academically ambitious, but they also want to give back to their communities, said U of A Chancellor Joseph Steinmetz. The National Science Foundation recognizes outstanding students who are going to pursue research careers in a STEM field, but it also looks for those researchers who have an interest in the broader impacts of the work they do. These six University of Arkansas recipients are both stellar scientists and really great people, who are going to make differences in their fields and in our communities.

NSF FELLOWSHIP RECIPIENTS

Alex Khang graduated in 2016 with an honors degree in biomedical engineering from the College of Engineering. While an undergraduate, he researched Janus-type, polymer-protein nanofibers under the direction of Kartik Balachandran, assistant professor of biomedical engineering. Khang is currently pursuing a doctorate in biomedical engineering at the University of Texas at Austin.

Larissa Markwardt is a senior honors physics major in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. Her undergraduate research mentor is Bret Lehmer, assistant professor of physics. Markwardts undergraduate research focuses on X-ray binaries in nearby, face-on, spiral galaxies.

Kelly McKenzie is a senior honors electrical engineering and physics double major in the College of Engineering and Fulbright College. Her undergraduate research mentor is Morgan Ware, assistant professor of electrical engineering. In her research, she studies indium gallium nitride intermediate-band solar cells.

Madeline Meier is a senior honors chemistry major in Fulbright College. In her current research under David Paul, associate professor of chemistry, she studies biosensors. Their work resulted in a recent publication in the Journal of the Electrochemical Society, with Meier as a second author. She was also recently named a finalist for the National Institutes of Health Oxford-Cambridge Fellowship.

Jordana Thibado graduated in 2016 with an honors degree in chemistry from Fulbright College. Under the guidance of her mentor Roger Koeppe, distinguished professor of chemistry and biochemistry, she published a paper based on her undergraduate research in biochemistry as first author. She is currently pursuing a doctorate in physiology, biophysics, and systems biology at Weill Medical College of Cornell University in New York City.

The College of Engineering is extremely proud of Alex Khang and Kelly McKenzie, said John English, dean of the College of Engineering. The NSF Graduate Research Fellowships are highly sought after, very competitive awards. Both of these exceptional students have been very active in research, and talented faculty have supported their efforts every step of the way. Its a winning combination.

What is so striking about these amazing Fulbright College students who have been selected to receive these awards is the breadth of their studies, which range from biosensors to solar cells to neurodegenerative diseases to X-ray binaries in spiral galaxies, said Todd Shields, dean of Fulbright College. They are asking big questions in big fields, and the answers are already leading to publications in major journals. I am pleased and not surprised that these very capable students have been selected for this national recognition.

Since 1952, the National Science Foundation has awarded the highly competitive Graduate Research Fellowship to around 50,000 students in the STEM fields. The graduate fellowship program is one of the NSFs oldest and most highly competitive, with roots in the foundations original 1950 charter. Each year, approximately 2,000 applicants are selected through a rigorous NSF peer-review process. Each grant supports graduate study that leads to a research-based masters or doctoral degree. NSF Graduate Research Fellows are promising young mathematicians, scientists and engineers who are expected to pursue lifelong careers marked by significant contributions to research, teaching and industrial applications in science, mathematics and engineering. This group of fellowship recipients raises the total number of awardees from the U of A to 128.

U of A students and recent alumni interested in applying for scholarships and fellowships such as the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship should contact the Office of Nationally Competitive Awards at awards@uark.edu or 479-575-3771. More information is available at awards.uark.edu.

About the University of Arkansas: The U of A provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the U of A comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.

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Six U of A Students or Alumni Selected as NSF Graduate Research ... - University of Arkansas Newswire

JOBESBORO, Ark. Popeye isnt the only one reaping the benefits of spinach. Arkansas State University researcher Fabricio Medina-Bolivar said spinach might also be used in the future to repair damaged hearts.

The use of spinach to bioengineer human cell tissues is the result of work between scientists at three universities to study human tissue regeneration to treat diseases or traumatic injuries.

It began when researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, attempting to reproduce human tissues, particularly heart tissues, had trouble creating a vascular system to deliver blood deep into developing tissue.

They finally turned to nature to find a solution and asked Arkansas State researchers at the Arkansas Biosciences Institute for help.

The Jonesboro scientists, known for their plant research, joined the team roughly two years ago.

Taking an interdisciplinary approach, researchers from Arkansas State, WPI and the University of Wisconsin-Madison began discussing whether they could use plants as a scaffold, or platform, to create blood vessels.

WPI has a way to remove the cells from human tissues. Why dont we take that approach and use that in plants? Medina-Bolivar said. It worked. So, we were able to remove everything that was inside the roots, or the cells, and then what remains is a scaffold or surface that can be seeded with human cells.

The beauty of the system is that we can re-create now using the veins that exist in the leaf or the remineralization that you see, for example, in the roots so we can use this as a potential blood vessel that can then be planted in a heart that has been damaged.

Joshua Gershlak, a WPI graduate student, developed the process for removing plant cells from spinach leaves by streaming a detergent solution through the leaves veins.

I had done decellularization work on human hearts before, Gershlak said in a news release, and when I looked at the spinach leaf its stem reminded me of an aorta. So I thought, lets perfuse right through the stem. We werent sure it would work, but it turned out to be pretty easy and replicable.

The scaffold is a framework made primarily of cellulose, a natural substance that is not harmful to people and has already been used in a wide variety of regenerative medicine applications.

The team has since also successfully removed cells from parsley, sweet wormwood and peanut hairy roots. The technique is hoped to work with other plant species that could be adapted for specialized tissue regeneration studies.

For example, the spinach leaf might be better suited for cardiac tissue, while the jewelweed may be better suited for an arterial graft and the vascular columns of wood for use in bone engineering, according to a paper published on the teams initial findings.

Medina-Bolivar said these systems could be used to make a patch out of either the leaves or the roots to repair areas of a heart damaged by a heart attack.

By exploiting the benign chemistry of plant tissue scaffolds, the researchers wrote in their paper, we could address the many limitations and high costs of synthetic, complex composite materials. Plants can be easily grown using good agricultural practices and under controlled environments.

That actually happening is still years away; more work is needed. Medina-Bolivar said they need to find what root systems are most amenable and to study additional ways the systems could be used.

At WPI, Glenn Gaudette, a professor of biomedical engineering, said in a news release that studies continue for ways to optimize the decellularization process and further characterize how various human cell types grow while they are attached to and are potentially nourished by plant-based scaffolds.

They are also looking at engineering a secondary vascular network for the outflow of blood and fluids from human tissue.

The continuation of this type of research will take several million dollars with the team working off grants and continuously looking for new funding opportunities.

We have a lot more work to do, but so far this is very promising, Gaudette said. Adapting abundant plants that farmers have been cultivating for thousands of years for use in tissue engineering could solve a host of problems limiting the field.

Medina-Bolivar admits he has already started receiving emails from people who never thought it was possible. He said the beauty of looking in nature for answers is that nature has all types of plants that can be used for different kinds of applications.

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Three universities research spinach to bioengineer cell tissues - Indiana Gazette