Quick Docere Clinics review: Overall, in my view, Docere Clinics does not have robust clinical science to back up the efficacy or safety of much of its offerings. That\u2019s why I call the offerings \u201cunproven.\u201d Some of the marketed procedures are unusual in the extent of injections over much of the body, which I believe increases risks. They also charge relatively high prices. Overall, these issues raise substantial concerns in my view as a stem cell biologist.<\/i><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n If you are interested you can see my hub page with all of my stem cell clinic<\/strong><\/a> reviews and fact-checks.<\/p>\n Docere Clinics is a Utah stem cell clinic firm. It markets cell injections for a variety of health conditions. You can see an example of marketing material above, which raises several questions including whether naturopaths are physicians.<\/p>\n I only see one clinic location on the web so I don\u2019t know if the plural \u201cclinics\u201d part of the name refers also to another clinic location that I didn\u2019t see or if it is a goal to have multiple locations.<\/p>\n Naturopath Harry Adelson owns and runs the firm. A physician named Amy Killen, M.D. also treats patients at the clinic. There is an anesthesiologist involved too for some procedures.<\/p>\n Note that I emailed Harry Adelson with some of my questions related to this post but got no reply. If I do hear back, I\u2019ll either update this post or do a follow-up. I also sent a message to the firm on their website asking to communicate with him but again got no answer.<\/p>\n The Docere physician Amy Killen<\/strong><\/a> seems like a well-trained doctor. If you want to learn more about what she does and her philosophy as a physician, one source of information is her YouTube channel. She discusses longevity quite a bit. There\u2019s a particularly striking video with self-injection of PRP in her face. From her LinkedIn page:<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIn her clinical practice, Dr Killen and her colleague, Dr Harry Adelson, pioneered the Full Body Stem Cell Makeover, one of the most innovative regenerative procedures currently available. In her portion of the procedure, Dr Killen combines stem cell injections with light, sound and other energy-based therapies to give patients unparalleled synergistic regenerative effects for skin, hair and sexual systems.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Does Dr. Killen directly oversee all the stem cell injection procedures at Docere? It doesn\u2019t seem that way from the firm\u2019s videos.<\/p>\n According to their website, Docere Clinics sells autologous interventions based on bone marrow, fat, and blood. PRP is used for some applications too.<\/p>\n In addition, the clinic reports using allogeneic umbilical cord cells.\u00a0What\u2019s the source of these donor cells?\u00a0From their website, \u201cWe source cells and growth factors from New Life Regenerative Medicine, a true leader in the field.\u201d\u00a0I wasn\u2019t able to find out much about this cell manufacturer or their scientists.<\/p>\n Docere has a section on autologous cells that I found notable (emphasis mine):<\/p>\n \u201cBlood from one\u2019s own body contains Very Small Embryonic Stem Cells (VSELs)<\/strong>, newly discovered cells that possess intriguing properties. While they are completely inactive and \u201chibernating\u201d when found in normal whole blood or platelet rich plasma, they can be photobiomodulated (zapped with a very specific laser) in order to morph them into an activated form.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Do VSELs<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0actually exist naturally? I don\u2019t believe so and many in the stem cell field agree with me on that. There are a few very strong believers in VSELs though. One concern I have about VSELs<\/strong><\/a> is that the literature on them has many issues.<\/p>\n If you check out the Docere Clinics website, under \u201cservices\u201d they list a few categories. The first is \u201ccell therapy\u201d. It seems like a major emphasis there is a variety of orthopedic conditions. They also include this disclaimer (emphasis theirs), \u201cUNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCE do we ever treat any systemic disease, genetic disorder, autism, spinal cord injury or traumatic brain injury.\u201d<\/u><\/p>\n I believe it\u2019s good that they don\u2019t try to treat such conditions, but I do have concerns about other things they market.<\/p>\n For example, they list a \u201cfull-body\u201d or \u201ctotal-body\u201d stem cell makeover. I don\u2019t know of any robust evidence that stem cells can makeover one\u2019s whole body. What does makeover even mean here? Make younger and healthier? More on the full-body procedure below.<\/p>\n Finally, Docere Clinic also does sexual health and cosmetic procedures.<\/p>\n Docere is more expensive than most other clinics in the U.S. that I\u2019ve seen.<\/p>\n From the Docere website,<\/p>\n \u201cTreatments start at $25,000 and increase from there, depending upon the complexity of the treatment. Our top end treatments come in around $100,000 and the average is between $40,000 and $65,000.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n If you get several average-cost treatments at Docere it could run to a few hundred thousand in total. You can see my post on 2023 stem cell therapy cost<\/strong><\/a> for comparison. Most people in the U.S. report paying $20,000 or less and many people pay between $2,500-$5,000 for stem cells.<\/p>\n Adelson and Killen talk about a program to offer stem cell injections at a much lower cost in some cases. I\u2019m not clear on how that works and who is eligible. What percent of Docere procedures are done at this discounted fee?<\/p>\n Is FDA oversight relevant here? For me, the allogeneic umbilical cord-related offerings come to mind in particular.<\/p>\n More broadly, the FDA has been sending a steady stream of letters to perinatal cell supplier firms<\/strong><\/a> in the last few years. These letters often begin by saying that the materials, usually related to umbilical cells, are unapproved drugs.\u00a0Note that I\u2019m not aware of any action by the FDA related to Docere (or supplier\u00a0New Life Regenerative Medicine) and only the agency makes determinations on what is compliant or not.<\/p>\n What does Docere itself say about FDA oversight or compliance?<\/p>\n I don\u2019t see it mentioned on the website. There is a section of the FAQ page that addresses state-level oversight. Maybe there is something on their website on FDA oversight pertaining to their offerings but I just didn\u2019t find it. This was one of the things I asked Adelson by email and mentioned in my message to the firm on their website.<\/p>\n The extent of the injections in some cases at Docere is concerning to me so let\u2019s return to the full-body approach. Here\u2019s a description on their site (emphasis mine):<\/p>\n \u201cTwo-Hands\u201c: While the patient is comfortably sedated by our anesthesiologist, bone marrow, fat, and blood are harvested and prepared, and then every major musculoskeletal structure<\/strong> is injected by Dr. Adelson. Namely, the entire length of the spine<\/strong> from the base of the skull to the tailbone at every level on both sides as well as all the major peripheral joints<\/strong> (shoulders, elbows, wrists, thumbs, hips, knees, ankles, and great toes).<\/p>\n For people who do not want to use their own cells (autologous), they have the option of receiving the exact same injections using cells from umbilical cord (allogenic).\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Are we talking about dozens of injections at one visit? What are the risks? Are any of the different types of biologics combined into what might be a combo drug product, or are the separate materials injected individually?<\/p>\n With all these injections, what if you are putting stem cells where they aren\u2019t even needed? I don\u2019t believe stem cells are always needed and always necessarily beneficial. Wouldn\u2019t it be rare for a person to have every major joint and musculoskeletal structure need an intervention like stem cells? What are the risks?<\/p>\n Then Docere has their \u201cFour-Hands\u201d regimen, which seems even more intensive to me:<\/p>\n \u201cIn addition to the musculoskeletal injections described above, people then have the option of having Amy Killen, M.D. perform all her injections for cosmetic\/sexual enhancement (skin of face\/neck\/hands\/scalp, plus vagina\/penis) at the same time. The autologous version uses cells from the patients\u2019 own bone marrow, fat, and blood.<\/p>\n Same as above, the \u201cFour-Hands\u201d can be done entirely with umbilical cord cells, which dramatically decreases recovery time and therefore is the best choice for those who cannot afford much down time.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Also, pertaining to FDA oversight, is all of this homologous use<\/strong><\/a>?<\/p>\n As to the PRP injections, such procedures and products have generally not been viewed as requiring FDA drug-level approval. However, from what I\u2019ve seen, sexual health procedures using PRP are not widely accepted as a standard of care. For example, here\u2019s one article that is skeptical of PRP for ED.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n I also thought it was interesting to see that health influencer Ben Greenfield has reportedly gotten three of these full-body makeovers at Docere. You can watch the video above, but note that it has some moderately intense surgical scenes.<\/p>\n Readers of The Niche might remember that Ben Greenfield<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0previously self-reported injecting his penis with stem cells from US Stem Cell Clinic.<\/p>\n I wonder if Ben Greenfield got the Docere procedures for free or at a discount rate as a marketing effort.<\/p>\n For me, one of the key questions is, \u201cwhat\u2019s the science behind the Docere Clinic offerings?\u201d<\/p>\n I\u00a0didn\u2019t find any trial listings from this group on Clinicaltrials.gov.\u00a0Also,\u00a0I only found one paper by a\u00a0Harry Adelson on PubMed<\/strong><\/a> and it seems unrelated to what he\u2019s doing with stem cells. It\u2019s possible I missed some other articles on there.<\/p>\n The Docere website has a few articles that he wrote for a naturopath publication but they don\u2019t seem, in my view, to concretely show a benefit of the cellular therapies that are offered. These publications do not appear to be indexed on PubMed.<\/p>\n I believe there is a concerning lack of published, rigorous clinical trial data to support Docere Clinic offerings as safe and effective. \u00a0I have a lot of other questions too.<\/p>\n Overall, I see multiple reasons for caution here and, in my opinion, the whole body-type of procedure is particularly concerning.<\/p>\n![\"Harry](\"https:\/\/platohealth.ai\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/review-of-docere-clinics-run-by-harry-adelson-including-total-body-injections-the-niche.png\")
What is Docere Clinics run by Harry Adelson?<\/h2>\n
![\"Amy](\"https:\/\/platohealth.ai\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/review-of-docere-clinics-run-by-harry-adelson-including-total-body-injections-the-niche-1.png\")
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What stem cells are used at Docere Clinics?<\/h2>\n
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The diseases and conditions Docere Clinics markets<\/h2>\n
Docere Clinics cost<\/h2>\n
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Do FDA regulations pertain?<\/h2>\n
![\"Docere](\"https:\/\/platohealth.ai\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/review-of-docere-clinics-run-by-harry-adelson-including-total-body-injections-the-niche-2.png\")
\u201cTotal-body\u201d procedures<\/h2>\n
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Ben Greenfield<\/h2>\n
Overall Docere Clinics Review<\/h2>\n
References and notes<\/h2>\n
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