Alabama Doc Treats Athletes With Stem Cells (Biloine Young @ OTW)
An Alabama physician, Jason Williams, M.D., at Precision StemCell of Gulf Shores, Alabama, has been treating a procession of football players and other athletes with image-guided stem cell therapy, according to an April 3 report inPR Newswire. Among his patients has been Oakland Raiders linebacker Rolando McClain.
Bob Hubbard, former University of Alabama assistant basketball coach, saw Williams for the arthritis in his knees. After just one image-guided stem cell therapy treatment, Hubbard reported that he was pain-free for the first time in years. Hubbard had both knees treated in one procedure, and, he says, “My knees have not hurt since the day of the procedure. I have been working out and lifting weights without pain.” Williams says that Hubbard’s MRI, taken two weeks following the procedure, showed significant cartilage growth.
“Stem cell therapy has had some controversy, but its time has come,” said Williams. Stem cell therapy does not have direct approval from the FDA, but the agency allows it if the stem cells are harvested from the patient and re-administered during the same procedure without being significantly altered.
“Harvesting stem cells from the patient’s own fat eliminates the need to culture the cells, as is done in some facilities outside the United States,” explained Williams. He collects the patient’s fat using minimally invasive liposuction. Inside the sterile collection container, he processes the fat to separate and harvest the stem cells, which do not leave the container until he injects them back into the patient. Williams says that he injects them the same day under computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging guidance.
Williams believes stem cells must be injected into the exact location of an injury in order to function properly and that his method’s precision allows him to deliver significantly better outcomes for his patients than they could expect elsewhere.