Platelet Rich Plasma

How Does PRP Compare to a DMOAD Drug Candidate?

Disease-modifying osteoarthritis drugs (DMOADs) are one of the holy grails of medicine. The idea is that you can inject something in a knee that will reduce the progression of osteoarthritis and that will, therefore, reduce the need for a knee replacement. I have previously blogged about a company called Biosplice that was testing a DMOAD…read more

Why Counting Platelets in High-Dose PRP Can Be a Fool’s Errand

There’s a huge current trend in more advanced clinics to buy a hemoanalyzer and count the platelet content of the PRP produced by the clinic. While on the surface, this would seem to be a noble effort, the devil is always in the details. Regrettably, the fine print on this one shows that most of…read more

SI Joint Fusion: A Case Study of Why Healthcare Costs Are Out of Control

If you’re a company in the healthcare cost containment space, your chances of seriously bending down the cost curve are slim, and none, and “Slim’s on vacation in Texas.” What I mean is that many great ventures have tried to control healthcare costs, and all have failed to make meaningful dents because they approach the…read more

The Great California Worker’s Comp PRP Magic Trick

Worker’s comp is one of those insurance company types that, more often than not, has been covering PRP. However, a colleague recently sent a “Guideline” issued by the California workers comp that removes PRP coverage. Today, I want to dive deeply into this document and explain why it’s more of a magic trick than a…read more

Treating the Cervical Spine Like It’s 1999!

If you read this blog, you know I often write as a type of catharsis. I see something in our medical care system that seems so nutty that if I don’t write about it, I’ll explode. This morning, a poor, dizzy patient in Australia was being treated like he lived in the last century, not…read more

2024 Update on Interventional Orthobiologics Studies and Product Pipelines

Interventional orthobiologics research continues to advance at a furious pace. Last year, I published a blog that attempted to look ahead a bit at studies and products that may be available and posited a timeline for when that could happen. This year, I went deeper to search product studies/FDA trials and some key research studies…read more

Another New Study Says PRP Dose Is Critical: Why We Have ALWAYS Used High Dose PRP

Physicians who read the orthobiologics literature and follow the latest and greatest have caught onto a message I’ve been delivering for almost two decades. The most critical aspect of PRP is the dose and concentration of platelets delivered to the patient. A new study published last week adds more fuel to that fire. Let’s dig…read more

Is Adding HA to PRP for Knee OA Worth the Cost?

One of my jobs at Regenexx is ensuring that our corporate partners spend insurance money wisely on orthobiologics. Basically, the money they’re spending is helping patients avoid more expensive procedures. One of the more popular add-ons to PRP is hyaluronic acid (HA). Is this worth the additional cost? If it makes PRP better, how much…read more