ANOVA Institute for Regenerative Medicine - Offenbach, Germany:
What Diseases do we Treat? Our Therapeutic Offer
The ANOVA IRM in Offenbach, Germany treats, among other conditions, orthopedic conditions such as osteoarthritis, acute orthopedic problems such as knee injuries, torn tendons and ligaments, back injuries, and spinal cord injuries. Furthermore, we offer stem cell-based treatments for MS, ALS, Parkinson, other chronic and inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis as well erectile dysfunction and anti-aging programs. Below are links to overview pages of disease-related therapy services. There you will find a description of how a treatment of e.g. arthrosis might look like and proceed.
If you want to get more detailed information about stem cell therapies, i.e. the applied stem cell therapeutics, you will find them under stem cell therapies as well as the sub-chapters on bone marrow stem cells (BMC), secretome (exosomes) and PRP (platelet-rich plasma).
Contraindications
Our stem cell treatments are experimental, but we only treat patients for whom we believe the risk/benefit ratio indicates treatment based on the state of the art, i.e., medical, scientific evidence.
Please understand that we therefore do not treat patients for whom the following points apply:
- Active cancer in the last two years
- Not yet of legal age
- Existing pregnancy or lactation period
- Unable to breathe on own, ventilator
- Difficulty breathing in supine position
- Dysphagia (extreme difficulty swallowing)
- Psychiatric disorder
- Active infectious disease (Hepatitis A, B, C, HIV, Syphilis, or other)
How Does the ANOVA Therapy Differ?
Diagnostics – We Look for the Cause of Your Pain
Prof. Dr. Dr. Dr. M. K. Stehling, the founder of ANOVA IRM and the Vitus Prostate Center , is a radiologist (MD) and holds a PhD in physics. For this reason, the ANOVA Institute for Regenerative Medicine, in cooperation with the Prof. Stehling Institute for Diagnostic Imaging located in the same building, has the capability to use special precision diagnostics such as arthro-MRI and non-radioactive contrast MRIs.
Compared to many conventional MRIs, these methods are often able to localize the pain-causing inflammation in your joints. This enables us to determine individually how patients should be treated and where the stem cells should be applied.
Furthermore, in consultation with you, we supplement our patient-specific diagnostics with specific blood tests on hormones, inflammation parameters and other factors that are important in your case, or recommend further examinations such as a preventive MRI spinal scan.
How Does the ANOVA Therapy Differ?
We Implant the Stem Cells Precisely Where They are Needed
Based on our specific diagnostics using arthro-MRI and non-radioactive contrast medium MRIs, we can, in contrast to many other clinics, deliver the stem cells with image support, e.g. using CT, precisely to the affected area. This means we can inject into and at joints to specifically and quickly trigger an effect where inflammation causes pain. All interventions are performed under supervision and care of our anesthesiologist and are pain free.
A purely intravenous administration, as many other clinics do, is only performed for the secretome (exosomes) if this is to be used additionally as a supportive or preventive measure because joint problems are present in several places in the body as the secretome is aimed to centrally modulate the immune response in order to inhibit over-reactions.
Of course, we will thoroughly advise you in the early process and the on-site consultation in advance on all steps and discuss alternatives and expectations.
Are you Interested but Uncertain?
Book a Counseling Appointment!
Our patient care managers are happy to inform you about what information we need upfront (MRI, CT, X-ray), how to transfer large data files and schedule a counseling appointment with our physicians for you. Our patient care managers are happy to inform you about what information we need upfront, how to transfer large data files and schedule a counseling appointment with our physicians for you. Please use our contact form to support a fast processing of your case and request.
You are also always welcome to send us an e-mail about your case. The counseling appointment may also take place per telephone or video chat if you live outside Germany. For more intense counseling or additional diagnostic evaluations you may also book an on-site appointment. We can perform needed MRI on the same day. All services rendered by our patient care team are free of charge and we inform you about all physician appointment charges up-front.
ANOVA IRM - Safety and Quality
ANOVA IRM GmbH, located in Offenbach, near Frankfurt am Main, Germany, is an officially controlled German medical company. We have permits to harvest, process and manufacture stem cell products (ATMP and tissue preparations). We manufacture all our stem cell products ourselves, control them according to GFP, GMP and the European Pharmacopoeia. This ensures in the best possible way that patients receive only safe products.
Currently, ANOVA offers BMC therapy for localized conditions, which is applied in the form of a stem cell injection. We also offer combination therapies with Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP), a medium rich in growth factors and other cytokines (molecules of the immune system) that stimulate healing, and hyaluronic acid (HA).
For chronic and decentralized conditions, ANOVA offers the cell-free stem cell secretome (exosomes), in which, as the name suggests, the secretome of the stem cells is applied. In principle, these therapies can be combined as they work seamlessly together.
ANOVA offers individualized and always autologous stem cell therapies using adult stem cells (see below) that are most appropriate for the patient's condition and the patient alone. The application of these therapies depends entirely on the patient's health condition.
Beware of Untested and Dangerous Stem Cell Offers
When you compare ANOVA IRM's offerings with those of other manufacturers, incorporate important points such as regulatory control, quality control, type of products, and application type.
An overview of important selection criteria can be found below.
How do I Choose Stem Cell Therapy? Questions for your Treating Clinic
Safety: Products may be Contaminated
- Is the clinic or practice officially inspected? - Ask to see the regulatory certificate of approval or permit.
- Does the clinic operate under GFP or GMP? - These quality management systems ensure the safety and quality of the products.
- What quality control testing is done on the product before use and after use?
- Are quality control tests performed in accordance with European Pharmacopoeia (Europe), 21 CFR (USA)?
- Are contract laboratories regulatory controlled if testing is done off-site?
Allogeneic or Autologous Products:
Allogeneic products from unrelated donors are always more risky than autologous stem cells (donor and recipient are the same person).
- Who are the foreign donors? In which country are the foreign donors obtained ?
- How is the donor control done ? Is each donor tested individually?
- What are the donors tested for? Standard is HIV 1+2 (PCR), HBV and HCV (antibodies and antigen) and Treponema pallidum (Syphilis)
Duration: The Shorter the Procedure, the Less Time for Quality Control
- Will you be pre-tested as a donor ? If not, the other donors will not be tested either, cross contamination may occur.
- What quality controls are made after collection, handling and processing ?
Animal Products: Illegal, Dangerous, Uncontrolled, Risky.
These products are strongly discouraged. Inform yourself at the authorities (national drug agency, FDA) if you are offered such products.
SVF: Stromal Vascular Fraction - SVF- not risk Minimized - Inferior Product
Compared to BMC, PRP and secretome (exosomes), this product is not recommended due to its low number of stem cells, manual (contamination prone) production and short time available for application. We do not offer this product.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Therapy Aspect - FAQ
Will Health Insurance Pay for my Stem Cell Treatment?
No, currently health insurance companies in Germany generally do not pay for experimental treatments. This includes stem cell treatments, but also intensive periodontal treatments, interventional radiological prostate cancer treatments (although these achieve significantly better results) and other new types of therapy.
How Much Does Stem Cell Treatment Cost?
Each treatment is individually tailored to the patient and can cost anywhere from several hundred to several tens of thousands of dollars. We will be happy to advise you and then provide you with a cost estimate according to your treatment plan. You can find an international overview in our blog post: What does stem cell treatment cost?
Do you Treat all Patients ?
No, we only treat patients for whom our doctors consider an indication. This means that they assume that the expected therapeutic success outweighs the risk of the minor intervention. They make this decision based on evidence, current results and the state of medical science and technology.
Contraindications - Who do we not Treat?
In several patient groups, we feel the risk outweighs the benefit or there is not enough scientific material to justify treatment. In the case of pregnant women and children, we consider the risk to be too great and therefore do not treat them. We do not treat people with mental problems, because it is questionable whether the person can fully understand the information about the medical risks of the procedures and treatment. All patients must also be able to breathe on their own, otherwise the risk of anesthesia is too high.
In the case of cancer patients, the scientific data situation is still unclear. Due to their regeneration-promoting effect, stem cells could cause increased tumor growth in cancer patients. The data situation now shows that in some biological studies stem cells promote cancer growth, in others tumor growth is inhibited. For this reason, we currently only treat patients who have been tumor-free for at least 2 years.
Which Stem Cell Therapy is Recommended?
Osteoarthritis-Arthritis-Spinal Injuries-Disc Damage-MS-ALS-Parkinson-ED
Stem cell therapies are always tailored to the patient in ANOVA and are therefore patient-specific. After an intensive evaluation of the medical history and diagnostics, we recommend a type of treatment, which can be conventional or experimental. We will also advise you on any other options you may have. In general, however, the following basic scheme can be pointed out:
- Osteoarthritis: BMC and PRP
- Arthritis: BMC and PRP
- Poly-arthritis: BMC and PRP on severely affected joints, secretome (exosomes) ongoing for immune modulation
- Back injuries: BMC and PRP
- Knee, elbow and other localized joint problem: BMC and PRP
- Inter-vertebral disc injuries: BMC and PRP
- MS (multiple sclerosis): secretome (exosomes) ongoing
- ALS (amyothrophic lateral sclerosis): secretome (exosomes) continuous
- Parkinson's disease (PD): Secretome (exosomes) ongoing
- Erectile dysfunction: case-dependent BMC or secretome
- Anti-aging: secretome and BMC if joint problems have manifested already
Choosing Stem Cells to Regenerate the Body
Stem cells are the building blocks of our body, and are widely considered as one of the most important cell types we have. Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) carry massive potential in regenerative therapies. They are capable of renewing themselves and differentiating into almost all cell types of the body. MSCs are therefore a sensible source for a variety of regenerative therapies. There are many ways to isolate MSCs from the human body. One way to isolate them is from the umbilical cord or the umbilical cord's blood. However, this approach is not easily accessible.
A far more elegant and easier way to harvest MSCs is from fat (adipose) tissue or the Bone Marrow, i.e. Bone Marrow Concentrate (BMC). Both fat tissue and bone marrow are widely used sources of MSCs. Obtaining stem cells from either tissue is considered a safe practice. The most important advantage is that they make autologous (personalized) therapies safe and easily available to patients.
Which stem cells are best suited for medical use and which ones are most effective for treating patients depends on many aspects. It mainly depends on patient's specific health condition, the processing of the tissue (for harvesting stem cells), and the way in which they are administered. Recent studies have shown that MSCs obtained from fat tissue, in some applications, offer biological advantages in immuno-modulatory effects and proliferative capacities, while MSCs from BMC are more suitable in other areas.
The latest advancement in Stem Cell-based treatments is the ANOVA Stem Cell Secretome | Exosome Therapy. In contrast to earlier indications of how stem cells work, recent research has shown that the regenerative effects of stem cells are based on soluble factors (exosomes, proteins and cytokines), that the stem cells transmit to other cells. These factors together make up the secretome, as they are released by cellular secretion. The secretome has been shown to stimulate repair and rejuvenation of damaged organs and tissues in many ways. It was shown to activate the organs' own - resident - stem cells to replace damaged cells, modulate the immune system, and improve the supply of oxygen and nutrients to tissues by inducing the growth of new blood vessels - to name a few examples. ANOVA uses MSCs as a "factory" to produce these factors in high concentrations and for your individual treatment plan.
At ANOVA Institute for Regenerative Medicine, a German Stem Cell Clinic in the heart of Europe, we have specialists who carefully evaluate each patient in order to deliver the best possible individual treatment program. Our mission is to stay at the forefront of regenerative medicine and apply our knowledge to achieve the best possible results for you.