Home › Blog › Peyton Manning and Fat Stem Cells?

Peyton Manning stem cell procedure? Star quarterback Peyton Manning recently flew to Europe to get cultured fat stem cells injected back into his injured neck. The goal of the procedure was apparently to regrow nerves. While it’s unknown how this was done and I have lots of questions about how they placed the cells as Europe tends to have fewer sophisticated interventional resources, this story brings up yet another conversation about stem cell source. First, the good news here is that unlike the orthopedic uses we see for fat stem cells, fat is actually a good source for stem cells that might be capable of helping nerves (fat stem cell study 1 here, fat stem cell study 2 here, fat stem cell study 3 here). Contrast that with many studies that show that bone marrow is a superior source for orthopedic tissue repair when compared to fat stem cells. So why then do we see an explosion of doctors in the U.S. using stem cells derived from fat to treat orthopedic problems like knee arthritis? The reason seems to be that these doctors were sold a kit or processing system for fat stem cells. This story also brings up another phenomenon. While the medical research establishment seems to be opposed to using stem cells outside of pharma trials or basic science research and is claiming we need more basic science research, the same doesn’t seem to hold true for elite athletes. It’s interesting that the members of society that rely most on their bodies being in top shape to earn an income are very comfortable using stem cells to try to heal those finely tuned machines quicker with less downtime. The upshot? Fat stem cells are good for nerve regeneration and not so good for orthopedic tissue repair. Finally, we wish Peyton a speedy recovery!

Chris Centeno, MD is a specialist in regenerative medicine and the new field of Interventional Orthopedics. Centeno pioneered orthopedic stem cell procedures in 2005 and is responsible for a large amount of the published research on stem cell use for orthopedic applications. View Profile