pain therapy Archives - Dr. Michael A. Castillo, MD

06 Nov 2017

Nerve cell therapy restores motor function

Chronic Pain News, Nerve Pain, Therapies & Treatmentschronic pain, nerve cell, pain therapy

Regenerative therapy using millions of nerve cells, derived from human embryonic stem cells, restored two or more motor levels on at least one side, in four out of six patients with paralyzing spinal cord injuries, according to researchers at the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. In a press release, the medical center reported the 67% recovery rate is “more than double” the rates previously reported in matched historical controls and in published data in a similar population — patients who had lost all motor function below the location of their spinal injury. “Having worked on this research for more…

Stem Cells for Personalized Pain Therapy Testing

Chronic Pain News, Regenerative medicinechronic pain, pain management, pain therapy, stem cell therapy, stem cells

Using patient-derived stem cells, researchers create laboratory neuron models that reflect a patient’s response to a pain drug. Pain can be tough to take, and it’s also difficult to study: rodent models for pain do not necessarily translate to human pain conditions and expression of disease-causing mutations in cell lines may not precisely mimic the physiology of human pain disorders. Now, researchers have developed a new way to test pain—and, potentially, other sensory-targeting medications. Edward Stevens and James Bilsland of the Pfizer’s U.K.-based neuroscience and pain research units and their colleagues have shown that induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) derived…

Acupuncture for Diabetes

Therapies & Treatmentsacupuncture for diabetes, acupunture, diabetes, nerve pain, pain therapy

For people with diabetes, the needle-based therapy known as acupuncture may offer a number of health benefits. Some research shows that acupuncture may help control diabetes by treating insulin resistance, while other studies indicate that this long-practiced form of traditional Chinese medicine may help protect against certain complications commonly linked to diabetes. Acupuncture and Insulin Resistance Insulin resistance occurs when your body fails to use insulin effectively. A hormone produced by the pancreas, insulin is responsible for helping your cells take in glucose (i.e., blood sugar) and use it for energy. In cases of insulin resistance, the cells have trouble absorbing glucose,…

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