The human placenta is truly amazing. It creates a wonderful, healthy environment to grow new life.
Although it has the ability to burrow into the womb, it is not destructive. When treated, parts of it may be transplanted into another person without great risk of tissue rejection. After all, the placenta has evolved to ensure that mother does not reject baby as it grows.
Perhaps most astounding is that when cells of the placenta come into contact with bone, they become bone. The same goes for muscle or skin as the case may be. Placenta cells have some of the same properties as stem cells but are not the same thing, so they are not subject to the same ethical arguments.
Traditional Chinese medicine has long understood the value of the placenta as medicine, but the use of these tissues for conventional treatment is not new. Early medical literature dating back to 1910 reports the successful use of placental tissue to heal burns, skin wounds and traumatic injuries. In more recent reports, the placenta is used by a wide variety of surgical specialists — from orthopedic surgeons in the repair of rotator-cuff tears and osteoarthritis of the knees to neurosurgeons during spine procedures.
The practice has enjoyed more widespread application in Europe and South America, but its routine use in the United States has been limited to treat certain injuries of the eye. However, current advances in the scientific understanding of the healing process combined with improved techniques for sterilization and preservation has spurred an increase in the use of placenta tissue for treatment.
Imagine injecting treated tissue into a badly crushed kneecap, one beyond surgical repair, to expedite bone healing. Consider using the same medicine in sheets on a massive muscle defect left by the bite of a hungry tiger shark. Take a piece of placenta prepared in a different way and place it over a bruised spinal cord to prevent inflammation and optimize healing. Currently, products are available as dry sheets, hydrated sheets and in an injectable form.
BioD LLC in Memphis, Tenn., develops products from placental tissues for use in medical care. Its research focuses on the repair of damaged tissue using the parts of the placenta that help babies grow in their mother’s womb. This healthy "baby tissue-like" healing is called regeneration.
The regenerative power of placental tissues comes from their biologic structure, their rich source of specialized cells that can repair many different body parts, and that unique characteristic that allows them to avoid being rejected. Unlike stem cells from bone marrow, which require a donor match, the baby side of the placenta can be used in patients without this concern. The tissue can be stored in dry sheets on the shelf or in an injectable form in a special freezer.
Placentas are knowingly donated by healthy mothers who are undergoing routine cesarean sections. In the past these placentas were just discarded. Now when the mothers leave the hospital with healthy babies in their arms, they know they have left behind a gift that will improve the lives of others. The Vatican has approved this program since there is no harm to the baby, while the products created have a great potential to help others.
While surgeons are beginning to use the tissue during certain surgeries of the spine, shoulders and knee, more testing must be done before it can be routinely used outside of the operating room. Studies are under way to understand how the tissue can improve nonhealing wounds, chronic pain, burns, scars and other medical problems.
"It is important to do the research and understand how to use these products to provide the best care in the most cost-effective fashion," said Dr. Adrianne P.S. Smith, vice president of medical affairs for BioD. She noted that "great excitement is part of bringing breakthrough new therapies to market, but the true privilege is working with skilled physicians from various specialties, alongside their patients, who strive to develop safe and effective new treatments to improve medical care for us all."
There is a great deal to be learned from harnessing the wisdom of nature and combining it with the power of science to improve our ability to treat illness.
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Ira Zunin, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A., is medical director of Manakai o Malama Integrative Healthcare Group and Rehabilitation Center and CEO of Global Advisory Services Inc. Please submit your questions to info@manakaiomalama.com.
