Exploring the Ethics of Regenerative Medicine with Dr. Rathna Nuti

EXPLORING THE ETHICS OF REGENERATIVE MEDICINE WITH DR. RATHNA NUTI

WORDS BY MERALD AYSON

Regenerative medicine is a rapidly growing, innovative practice that applies regenerative medical techniques to treat or cure diseases. Most regenerative treatments are still under development, but regenerative medicine has already begun to change how we approach health care. Regenerative treatments can be utilized in nearly every field of medicine and for any medical condition. Because these treatments represent cutting-edge research, they require ethical considerations for both researchers and patients alike.

At its core, regenerative medicine seeks to understand health on a cellular level and bring newly regenerated cells into the body to help maintain healthy cell growth.

There are many ethical considerations surrounding regenerative medicine, but it is a promising solution for conditions once considered untreatable or fatal. Dr. Rathna Nuti is here to let us in on her latest practice on regenerative medicine, with its underlying ethics, procedures and treatments.

REGENERATIVE MEDICINE: FROM SPORTS TO AESTHETICS

Dr. Nuti is a member of several sports medicine organizations, including the American Medical Society of Sports Medicine (AMSSM) and the NHL Team Physician Society (NHLTPS). She uses both family medicine and psychology to complement her approach to sports medicine. She also specializes in the aesthetics portion of regenerative medicine.

Aesthetic regenerative medicine is a growing field that uses regenerative techniques to improve the appearance of skin, hair, and nails. While regenerative therapies have been used for many years to treat sports injuries and joint pain, regenerative therapies for aesthetic purposes are a relatively new development.

Many different regenerative therapies can be used for aesthetic purposes, including platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy and stem cell therapy. Dr. Nuti has started helping patients to use these techniques.

As with any medical field, ethical considerations are crucial to the wellbeing of both doctors and patients, and regenerative medicine is no different.

“Treating fine lines, wrinkles, or the ‘turkey' neck nowadays does not only just involve BOTOX or fillers; there are chemical peels to help in skin rejuvenation and other treatments such as PRP for both facial rejuvenation and hair growth and microneedling for the improvement of the texture of the skin that I offer as well to help people achieve their aesthetic goals,” Dr. Nuti said.

She said she is exploring more into the body aspect of contouring, where tightening skin, trimming fat, and toning muscle can sculpt the body. Things are constantly evolving in the practice as doctors like Dr. Nuti try to help with whatever the patient’s needs are.

KNOWING AN ETHICAL VS. AN UNETHICAL PRACTICE

As with any medical field, ethical considerations are crucial to the well-being of both doctors and patients, and regenerative medicine is no different. For doctors, aside from the importance of abiding by ethics guidelines set forth by regenerative medicine associations such as the International Society for Cell and Gene Therapy (ISCT), it is vital that what they offer is science-backed, evidenced-based and is marketed with integrity to avoid “false hopes” for the patients. On the other hand, patients must completely understand regenerative medicine’s risks and benefits before signing up for it.

“One of the biggest ethical considerations in regenerative medicine is to make sure the patient understands that we’re not reversing what happened now to what you were 20 years ago,” Dr. Nuti explained.

Patients mustn’t undergo regenerative treatments with unrealistic expectations.

“Patients must understand that regenerative treatments are not a quick fix,” Dr. Nuti emphasized.

She also debunked the biggest myths in regenerative medicine at this time.

“It does not regrow tissue at this point. And it is not 100% guaranteed either. Unethical use of regenerative medicine would be to give that false sense of hope when there’s no research that backs it up,” Dr. Nuti said.

With the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) recent crackdown on clinics that offer stem cell treatments from amniotic fluids due to unethical use and patient fraud, it has become difficult for the doctors like Dr. Nuti to provide similar treatments as they are removed from the market.

“A lot of the amniotic products got pulled off the market. So companies and other clinics are now looking at how to utilize it appropriately. And of course, it’s good that we have the FDA to govern it, but it does put the people who use it ethically like myself and other clinics in a tough position because now we can’t offer that type of treatment,” Dr. Nuti said.

THE CHALLENGING PART: AWARENESS AND EDUCATION

Patients must understand that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to regenerative medicine and that each patient’s treatment plan will be tailored specifically to their needs. However, not many individuals who want to have regenerative treatments realize this, especially if they only learned about it from other people who had gone through the same treatments.

“We do have patients coming in asking us, ‘Hey, can you please do this? Can you please do that? We want this; we want that.’ I’ve had patients walk into my office, tell me that they want PRP. They don't want to try anything else, so I have to take a step back and tell them that getting this or that treatment is not like a pharmacy or grocery store where you can go and get what you want and walk out. That’s not how medicine works,” Dr. Nuti explained.

THE FUTURE OF REGENERATIVE MEDICINE

The regenerative medicine field is constantly evolving as researchers explore new ways to improve the practice.

“Regenerative medicine is here to stay. We have new evolving, exciting data to help out and show us of its potential and capabilities,” Dr. Nuti enthusiastically shared.

One of the exciting future possibilities of regenerative medicine is having a long-term effect on treatments compared to the current ones. For example, PRP can have the possibility of longer outcomes in terms of pain control compared to what is offered by steroid injections.

“Regenerative medicine is definitely an innovative treatment plan that is constantly evolving for the better of the future of medicine. It is here to stay.

Patients must understand that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to regenerative medicine and that each patient’s treatment plan will be tailored specifically to their needs.

It’s just a matter of getting more information and robust data to help guide us into the future in terms of what treatment plans we can offer for our patients,” Dr. Nuti said.

Regenerative medicine is still in its infancy, but regenerative treatments will become more effective with continued research and development. If you are interested in regenerative medicine, it is essential to understand the ethical practices that should be followed. In this article, we have outlined some of these ethics and why they’re so crucial for regenerative medicine practitioners like Dr. Nuti.

A PARTING REMINDER

We thank Dr. Nuti for joining us in this interview with Top Doctor Magazine. We appreciate her informative insights on the ethics of regenerative medicine. You may reach out to her and check her website to know more about regenerative medicine.