Stem cell therapy to treat heart, lung and vascular diseases show positive results

Nov 16 2009

A Florida cardiologist is using stem cell therapy to treat patients who suffer from a range of heart, lung and vascular illnesses. The results have been extraordinary.

Zannos Grekos, M.D. uses the patients’ own stem cells to treat the diseases.

“One’s own stem cells offer great potential for the treatment of serious heart, lung and vascular diseases,” Dr. Grekos said. “We are seeing remarkable outcomes through this treatment.”

The process, utilizing adult stem cell therapy, can be used to treat such diseases as congestive heart failure, coronary artery disease, ischemic heart disease, cardiomyopathy, peripheral artery disease and severe pulmonary disease.

Vince Cincinelli, a seasonal resident of Bonita Springs, Florida, is a patient of Dr. Grekos who has experienced great benefits from Regenocyte Therapeutic Adult Stem Cell Therapy.

A very active man for most of his life, Cincinelli suffered the first of four heart attacks at the age of 40, events that led to a diagnosis of congestive heart failure. Walking up a flight of stairs left him breathless; simple pleasures such as walking or playing golf became nearly impossible.

After attending a seminar conducted in South Florida by Dr. Grekos, Cincinelli decided to undergo the therapy, in which stem cells taken from the patient are injected directly into the heart via catheter. Once injected, the stem cells immediately begin to repair the area that had been damaged by disease.

Here is how the process works:

• The first step is a visit with Dr. Grekos, in which prior history and other data is collected.
• Then, blood is drawn from the patient.
• Next, the blood is couriered to a laboratory in Israel, where the stem cells are separated from the blood, expanded and activated. The result is the collection of between 40 and 80 million stem cells.
• The patient is admitted to a hospital in the Dominican Republic where the cardiology team is ready to deliver the stem cells. The stem cells arrive by courier from Israel at the same time.
• The stem cells are injected into the patient’s heart through a special catheter that can deliver the cells to the precise area of repair.

“No two patients are exactly alike,” Dr. Grekos said, “but most begin to show improvement within a week or so. Optimal improvement in the patient’s condition is usually noted within about six months.”

That’s what happened for Cincinelli, who began to notice dramatic improvements in his condition within a month’s time. Within six months, his ejection fraction (the amount of blood ejected from the heart with each heartbeat) increased from 25 to 44 percent, which is almost normal.

“If I had it to do over again, I would do it in a heartbeat,” Cincinelli said. “If I stay this way and never progress any further, it was well worth it.”

More than 125 patients have been treated with the Regenocyte Adult Stem Cell Therapy during the past two years. Patients have shown improvements in heart function, circulation, lung function, the healing of wounds and in diabetic ulcers and amputation rates.

Dr. Grekos is a member of the Science Advisory Board of the U.S. Repair Stem Cell Institute and the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR). He and his team members are Board Certified Physicians.

On Nov. 8, 2008, Dr. Grekos presented the groundbreaking results of his clinical treatment experience to the World Congress on Regenerative Biomedical Technologies in Dubai, U.A.E. In 2007, he was invited to brief the U.S. Senate Health Advisory Staff on the current state of stem cell research and therapy.