In this newsletter, let’s look at the PRP Stem Cell Joint Repair process through a microscope. 

We concentrate platelets, white blood cells, and stem cells from your blood.

Microscopic photo: Copyright Dennis Kunkel
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One common target is tendon. 

Microscopic photo by Martin Knight/Wellcome Trust
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The strands in the above picture are fibers. Each fiber is composed of many smaller threads called fibrils.

Microscopic photo by Rob Young/Wellcome Trust
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Yet another target of our injections is cartilage.

Microscopic photo from Wellcome Trust
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Once the platelet and stem cell concentrate touches tendon, ligament, or cartilage, a complex and glorious repair process begins. One step in that process is that certain white blood cells called fibroblasts develop in the injected areas of wear and tear. They secrete a precursor to collagen that combines with Vitamin C in your body to make new repair collagen.

Microscopic photo courtesy of Ken Jacobson
Dept. of Cell & Developmental Biology, University of North Carolina-Charlotte
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I’ll share a tune called A Closer View, by Gary Peacock and Ralph Towner:

After all the above zooming in, I’m going to zoom out. When I was younger, my father said I had my head in the clouds. He was right, as evidenced by my fascination with photographing clouds and the sky. I share some examples below.

Enjoy having your head in the clouds.

Dr. Jonas Skardis