Reproductive/Vaginal Dysfunction, et al Stem Cell Therapy

A diminished ovarian reserve (infertility) problem can be treated with stem cell therapy using the patient's own stem cells, or preferably, allogenic umbilical cord-derived stem cells, each without any risks or side effects.

• In case of diminished ovarian reserve, stem cells replenish the ovarian reserve by replicating healthy ovarian cells.
• It can be applied to all women suffering from the diminished ovarian reserve.
• The stem cells are administered to the patient via IV, generally replicating healthy ovarian cells.
• The success rate of stem cell therapy for diminished ovarian reserve is 67% and above.

What is Diminished Ovarian Reserve (Infertility)?

The ovarian reserve refers to the number of eggs in the ovaries of a woman. A woman with a high ovarian reserve has a high number of eggs (follicles) in her ovaries. However, with advancing age, especially after the age of 35, the ovarian reserve of a woman -- meaning the follicles (eggs) that provide the fertility – begin to decrease. The number of eggs does not necessarily dictate whether the woman's eggs are of sufficient quality to give birth to a healthy baby.

If a woman's ovarian reserve is low, but her egg quality is high, the chances of getting pregnant are high. Likewise, the woman's ovarian reserve does not determine the quality of the egg. As a result, the decrease in ovarian reserve is not related to egg quality.

What are the Symptoms of Diminished Ovarian Reserve (Infertility)?

Unable to get pregnant even though desired, miscarriages and early menopause are among the symptoms of diminished ovarian reserve.

Causes of Diminished Ovarian Reserve (Infertility)

• A surgical treatment of ovarian tissue
• Removal of cyst
• Any surgery
• Abscess
• Infection
• Chemotherapy for any type of cancer
• Intensive smoking
• Taking caffeine

Diminished ovarian reserve decreases the conception rate, makes it difficult to get pregnant, and causes a decrease in egg quality.

Treatment of Diminished Ovarian Reserve (Infertility)

There is no known treatment for increasing ovarian reserve. In general, the treatment applied to women with diminished ovarian reserves is in vitro fertilization.

If the woman is very young or not married, the collected eggs are frozen and stored for later use. In this way, even if the person enters menopause, she can receive IVF treatment in the future at any time. If the aim is to delay menopause, taking drugs is the way to do it.

When the egg cell grows in the female ovary, it produces estrogen and progesterone, estrogen and progesterone drugs are administered to the woman upon the depletion of the cells that allows the woman to get pregnant when the ovarian cells are diminished, and the woman starts to have regular menstruation as if she were not in menopause, but she cannot have a baby.

Since there is no common treatment method, supportive drug therapies, and occasional intensive care treatments are being applied. Another factor is healthy and balanced nutrition, consuming liquids, and maintaining an ideal weight.

Treatment of Diminished Ovarian Reserve (Infertility) with Stem Cells

Stem cells are natural healers that are found in all tissues and organs of our body. Stem cells can turn into any cells they touch divide without any limit, and regenerate and treat our entire body. Therefore, it can be used in the treatment of infertility in women.

The success rate of the treatment is proportional to the patient's age, duration of dysfunction, and patient's overall health. As the disease may originate due to a problem in the endocrine system, all endocrinological examinations and tests shall be performed.

Endometriosis, structural defects in tubes or uterus, adhesions, and obstructions require gynecological diagnosis and intervention. However, it is possible to treat other diseases that cause infertility such as menstruation and ovulation disorders and polycystic ovarian syndrome or menopause with stem cells. If all endocrinological treatments have been completed, the success rate in increasing the quality and/or number of eggs in the ovary is 67% and above depending on the person's condition.

Mechanisms of Action:

The number of cells to be administered is determined according to the age and weight of the patient. Treatment is carried out using mesenchymal stem cells (derived from the patient's adipose tissue or umbilical cord blood stem cells. The treatment of the patient is determined by the condition of the patient. It can be performed in 2 sessions 2 days apart or 2 consecutive days. While intravenous (through vascular access) administration is performed, an injection can go directly into the ovary region.

The treatment protocol is precisely adjusted according to the patient's condition and a different protocol may be applied for each patient.

Success Rates in Treatment

If all endocrinological treatments have been completed, the success rate in increasing the quality and/or number of eggs in the ovary is 67% and above.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Treatment of Diminished Ovarian Reserve (Infertility) with Stem Cells Painful?

Treatment is completely painless. Stem cells are removed in a hospital environment and after adequate reproduction, while intravenous (through vascular access) administration is performed on the patient, an injection is directly made to the ovary region.

Can the Treatment of Diminished Ovarian Reserve (Infertility) with Stem Cells be applied to every woman?

It can be applied to women of any age if there is no endocrinological condition and/or if the treatment is completed and the patient is not still receiving any cell killer or radiotherapy treatment.

When should couples who cannot have children despite regular intercourse seek treatment?

If the female's age is less than 35 and no problem may affect pregnancy, examination and treatment should be started after 1 year, and if there is a problem that may affect pregnancy or the female is over 35 years of age then it should be started after 6 months.

SCIENTIFIC STUDIES:

• Lee, J. S., Hong, J. M., Moon, G. J., Lee, P. H., Ahn, Y. H., & Bang, O. Y. (2010). A long‐term follow‐up study of intravenous autologous mesenchymal stem cell transplantation in patients with ischemic stroke. Stem cells, 28(6), 1099-1106.
• Bang, O. Y., Lee, J. S., Lee, P. H., & Lee, G. (2005). Autologous mesenchymal stem cell transplantation in stroke patients. Annals of Neurology, 57(6), 874-882.
• Chen, D. C., Lin, S. Z., Fan, J. R., Lin, C. H., Lee, W., Lin, C. C., ... & Lee, C. C. (2014). Intracerebral implantation of autologous peripheral blood stem cells in stroke patients: a randomized phase II study. Cell transplantation, 23(12), 1599-1612.
• Honmou, O., Houkin, K., Matsunaga, T., Niitsu, Y., Ishii, S., Onodera, R., ... & Kocsis, J. D. (2011). Intravenous administration of auto serum-expanded autologous mesenchymal stem cells in stroke. Brain, 134(6), 1790-1807.
• Honmou, O., Onodera, R., Sasaki, M., Waxman, S. G., & Kocsis, J. D. (2012). Mesenchymal stem cells: therapeutic outlook for stroke. Trends in molecular medicine, 18(5), 292-297.
• Battistella, V., de Freitas, G. R., da Fonseca, L. M. B., Mercante, D., Gutfilen, B., Goldenberg, R. C., ... & Alves-Leon, S. V. (2011). Safety of autologous bone marrow mononuclear cell transplantation in patients with nonacute ischemic stroke. Regenerative medicine, 6(1), 45-52.

Sexual dysfunction refers to a problem occurring during any phase of the sexual response cycle that stops an individual or couple from experiencing satisfaction from a sexual encounter. The response cycle generally includes excitement, plateau, orgasm, and resolution. Desire and arousal are both part of the excitement phase of the sexual response.

Sexual Dysfunction Classifications

Sexual dysfunction generally is classified into four categories:

• Desire disorders —lack of sexual desire or interest in sex
• Arousal disorders —inability to become physically aroused or excited during sexual activity particularly erectile dysfunction and vaginal dryness.
• Orgasm disorders —delay or absence of orgasm (climax)
• Pain disorders — pain during intercourse

Erectile Dysfunction

Erectile dysfunction is the ability to get and keep an erection firm enough for sex. Having erection trouble from time to time isn't necessarily a cause for concern. If erectile dysfunction is an ongoing issue, however, it can cause stress, affect your self-confidence, and contribute to relationship problems. Problems getting or keeping an erection can also be a sign of an underlying health condition that needs treatment.

Recent clinical trials show that stem cells can restore sufficient erectile function to help previously impotent men have intercourse. Stem cell-treated patients restored sufficient erectile function to perform intercourse. The research from Denmark used stem cells taken from the patient’s abdominal fat cells via liposuction and injected directly into the soft tissue of the penis. Within 6 months of treatment, 8 out of 21 patients reported they had recovered sufficient erectile function to achieve the penetrative sexual activity. This improvement was maintained for a year, indicating that this treatment may confer long-term benefits.

The patients studied received a single injection of adipose fat stem cells, which have shown to be far inferior in overall therapeutic efficacy to ProGenaCell fresh cultured umbilical cord blood stem cells (see home page for fresh stem cells vs frozen stem cells) which are also injected directly into the soft tissue of the penis but two injections (day 1 and day 3) rather than one injection per the Denmark study. Hence ProGenaCell treatments have shown to have far greater efficacy than the Denmark study.

ProGenaCell stem cell therapy can have the capacity to provide significant benefits to patients allowing the potential advantages of this non-surgical therapy over the traditional surgical routes:

• No anesthesia, which is cost-effective and safe
• Stem cells manufactured from FRESH never frozen human umbilical cord blood.
• Restores crucial blood flow to the penis

Vaginal Atrophy (Dryness)

Vaginal dryness can be a problem for women at any age, although occurs more frequently in older women, particularly after menopause. Reduced estrogen levels are the main cause of vaginal dryness. Estrogen, a female hormone, helps keep vaginal tissue healthy by maintaining normal vaginal lubrication, tissue elasticity, and acidity. Other causes of vaginal dryness include certain medical conditions or hygiene practices.

Vaginal Rejuvenation

Vaginal rejuvenation is a non-surgical procedure intended to restore functionality to a woman’s genital area. It consists of two simple stem cell injections into the vaginal area. It is intended to eliminate vaginal dryness, resolve incontinence, and inspire greater confidence in a woman to provide more enjoyment in intimate moments with a partner.

How Is Stem Cell Therapy Administered in Vaginal Rejuvenation

ProGenaCell cultures highly potent fresh human umbilical cord blood stem cells for injection directly into the anterior wall of the vagina and near the clitoris.

The injections allow the stem cells to release various growth factors that awaken cells already present in the clitoral and vaginal tissues. This results in the regeneration of tissues, improving sexual function and creating a more youthful appearance. The benefits may appear immediately as the growth factors take effect. Several weeks following treatment, more positive changes may occur in the surrounding area and the vaginal tissue. The procedure does not pose any harmful side effects.

Expected Results of Stem Cell Vaginal Rejuvenation

Results may vary from one patient to another, but some women experience the following benefits:

• decreased urinary incontinence
• increased natural lubrication
• decreased pain for women with dyspareunia
• enhanced sexual desire
• frequent and stronger orgasms
• tighter vaginal opening
• younger and smoother vulva skin
• greater arousal from clitoral stimulation

Stem Cell Therapy Facts

Stem cell therapy has been shown to provide anti-aging benefits and long-lasting rejuvenation. The following are the potential advantages of this non-surgical stem cell therapy:

• No anesthesia, which makes it more cost-effective and safer.
• Stem cells are manufactured from FRESH, never frozen human umbilical cord blood.
• The procedure is shown to restore blood flow, muscle tone, and volume in the vaginal canal area.
• Shown to help restore G-spot stimulation.
• Does not leave scars