HBOT Conversations:
Dr. Hemal Mehta & Regenerative Medicine
Dr. Hemal Mehta, MD is a Medical Director and an Independent Medical Examiner who focuses on pain management through a Regenerative medicine approach.
Dr. Mehta is Board Certified in Physical Medicine and Pain Management. He received his Doctor of Medicine Degree from Ross University School of Medicine and completed his residency at East Carolina. He is the Medical Director of Vibrant Health of North Carolina, Tennessee Integrative Pain Institute, and TN Integrative Healthcare: Musculoskeletal and Regenerative Center; additionally, Dr. Mehta is the attending physician at Nashville Regenerative Orthopedics.
Dr. Mehta is the 2013 recipient of the Inaugural Patient Appreciation Award at Nashville Academy of Medicine, and the 2004 Research Resident of the Year for East Carolina University.
Dr. Mehta has extensive experience with stem cell proliferation, and angiogenesis. He has incorporated Ozone Injection Therapy, PRP (Platelet-Rich Plasma) Injections, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy and Regenerative Matrix and Regenerative Medicine Procedures – to name a few – into his integrative wellness & longevity medical practices.
Watch the Podcast
We continue our conversation with Dr. Hemal V. Mehta, MD; Medical Director of Vibrant Health of North Carolina. This the third time Dr. Mehta has joined us at HBOT News, so be sure to review his other two segments where he provides fascinating information on the power of fasting — Part 1 & Part 2
In this segment Dr. Mehta dives into all the different types of regenerative medicine that is available for a number of different conditions —
Cardiac
Dr. Mehta’s clinical practice is constantly working with patients to try to improve their cardiac function through primarily exercise. Yet, when they wanted to take it a step further and try implementing oxygen therapy into the mix with exercise therapy; they made an interesting discovery. First, they tried to decrease a patient’s oxygen levels and have them exercise for a few days to try to boost their red cell production; which they had some success doing. Next, they wanted to get the cardiac patients on high-dose Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT), and that was when they discovered that the proper chamber made all the difference in the world. Additional research into the topic of HBOT and healthy heart function is discussed, and di Girolamo highlights some research he stumbled across regarding Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy healing the damage from heart attacks. Our host urges anyone listening who knows someone with low heart function to get them into a hyperbaric chamber.
COVID & Vaccine Injuries
Dr. Mehta speaks of long-COVID and how Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy is making a world of difference in patients who are still struggling from COVID symptoms years later. But, let’s back up… what about treating patients with active COVID in hyperbaric chambers? In theory, it makes 100% sense. He describes that part of the problem with COVID is the virus gets into the lungs and causes extreme inflammation. It’s your body’s immune response to that virus that is killing people, it’s what we know as a cytokine storm. Hospitals have been giving COVID patients an immunosuppressant to decrease immune function, and Dr. Mehta explains why that’s the exact opposite of what they should be doing. The immunosuppressant is suppressing a patient’s immune system and taking down all of their guards, setting the stage for sepsis. Unfortunately, most people who died of COVID, actually died from sepsis. Dr. Mehta states that if the hospitals were to use Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy instead, they would be increasing the concentration of oxygen in a patient’s body; therefore decreasing inflammation through the oxygen + pressure, and allowing the lungs to rest why their body naturally fights off the infection.
Vaccine injuries from the COVID-19 vaccine are also becoming more and more common. Vaccinated people are developing autoimmune disorders at an alarming rate. Dr. Mehta can’t say for certain that it’s all related, but it certainly makes sense that it would be.
Autism
The conversation of vaccine injuries flowed right into the topic of Autism, as the concern about the relationship between the two is discussed. Dr. Mehta explained that he does see Autism patients at his clinic, and he was doing stem cell therapy for Autism using Wharton’s Jelly. Wharton’s Jelly is the made from the umbilical cord. The umbilical cord used to be considered trash after the baby was born, until somebody decided to study it and found that the umbilical cord is full of young stem cells and regenerative properties, including regenerative tissue that can be injected to help the body naturally regenerate new tissue. Since the stem cells in an umbilical cord are so young they didn’t have any surface markers on them to distinguish one person from another person, so there’s not a cross-reaction. It’s one of the few substances the FDA allows to be used in that manner. However, even though his clinic was witnessing significant Improvement in brain function with the use of Wharton’s Jelly to treat Autism, they had to halt recommending it. The FDA came out with a mandate stating that Wharton’s Jelly should not be used for “upper motor neuron disorders”, which are brain and spinal cord injuries. Autism fell into this category, but Dr. Mehta stresses that all they saw was significant improvement and at no time did Wharton’s Jelly do any harm to a patient. In fact, Dr. Mehta was so impressed with the results that he absolutely would continue to use it on Autistic patients at the patient’s request.
Dr. Mehta further states, “I’ve got to give every patient a chance if they come to me and say, ‘Hey, will you please try this?’. As long as I know I’m not doing any harm to that patient, then I definitely will. And that’s where hyperbaric oxygen therapy, in my opinion, if you do it the right way you’re not going to do harm to these patients and there is no real risk, but other than there’s a benefit that the patient will get potentially from doing this therapy.”
Back Pain
Dr. Mehta explains that if a patient comes in with back pain shooting down the leg, it’s sciatica. And many times the patient will have surgery with an end results of the sciatica going away for a year or two. But, what’s interesting is that the back pain never goes away, and now the patient is stuck with what they call axial back pain (pain localized to the back). Sometimes after a few years, that pain comes back because the surgery promoted degenerative disc disease. Unfortunately there’s not really a cure for a bulging disc through traditional medicine. However, in one of Dr. Mehta’s clinics they have been treating degenerative disc disease successfully with intradiscal injections of bone marrow aspirate concentrate (BMAC), which is basically your own bone marrow. This regenerative approach aspirates the bone marrow taken from you, and then that bone marrow is sent to the lab, where it’s spun down and stem cells are extracted. The stem cells from the bone marrow are then injected intradiscally into the disc and into the surrounding area (the musculature). Dr. Mehta says they are seeing good improvement in a patient’s pain, including improvement in their ability to function. Even the shooting pain down the legs has been getting better, without the complication of long-term axial back pain that surgery can cause . While there is a definite need for surgery in certain cases, Dr. Mehta explains that doctors have promptly overdone surgical needs. In his integrative medicine clinics they are proving that regenerative medicine is the answer for patients who are seeking an non-surgical option.
Dr. Hemal Mehta primarily sees the majority of his patients at the Tennessee Spine & Joint Centers, schedule an appointment with him here.
Guest
Dr. Hemal Mehta
Dr. Hemal Mehta specializes in non-opioid treatment for joint pain, osteoarthritis, spine pain and neuropathy. He is a board-certified Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation physician whose goal for patients is to reduce pain while increasing their level of function & quality of life. He received his Doctor of Medicine Degree from Ross University School of Medicine and completed his residency at East Carolina.
Dr. Mehta is the Medical Director of Vibrant Health of North Carolina, Tennessee Integrative Pain Institute, and TN Integrative Healthcare: Musculoskeletal and Regenerative Center; additionally, Dr. Mehta is the attending physician at Nashville Regenerative Orthopedics. He is the 2013 recipient of the Inaugural Patient Appreciation Award at Nashville Academy of Medicine, and the 2004 Research Resident of the Year for East Carolina University. He is a member of the American Academy of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians, and American Association of Neuromuscular and Electrodiagnostic Medicine.
Dr. Mehta has extensive experience with stem cell proliferation and angiogenesis. For years he has incorporated Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy into his integrative approach for pain management and rehabilitation, and he has also preformed the following procedures fluoroscopically: Translaminar Cervical and Lumbar ESI, Transforaminal Lumbar ESI, Lumbar Selective Nerve Root Blocks, Stellate Ganglion Blocks, Lumbar Sympathetic Blocks, SIJ injections, Hip Joint Injections, Piriformis Injections, Cervical and Lumbar Facet Joint Injections, Medial Branch Nerve Blocks, Radiofrequency Ablation of Medial Branch Nerve, Discography, Percutaneous Disc Decompression/ Intradiscal Injections, Spinal Cord Stimulator Lead Trial, PRP/ Regenerative Matrix/ Regenerative Medicine Procedures for Spine, Peripheral Joints, and Nerves, P-Shot/O-shot, Juvederm Anti-aging, and Ozone Injection Therapy.
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Clinical Trial – Effects of Repetitive Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy in Patients With Acute Ischaemic Stroke
Background and Rationale:
Cerebrovascular disease is always ranked at the top causes of death and most of hospitalized
acute stroke patients have ischemic stroke [1].
Although the mortality rate of acute ischemic stroke is less than that of hemorrhagic stroke
[1], it still results in patient disabilities and complications that often lead to
significant costs to individuals, families, and society.
Traditional treatment for acute ischemic stroke includes thrombolytic therapy by injecting
tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) within three hours after onset of symptoms [2],
antiplatelets and/or anticoagulant agents administered within the first 48 hours. Clinically,
the narrow time window of thrombolytic therapy and coexisting contraindications limit the use
of t-PA [2]. Thus, searching for an effective supplemental treatment for acute ischemic
stroke is imperative.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is valuable in treating acute carbon monoxide poisoning
[3,4], air or gas embolism [5], facilitating wound healing [6] and has been used as an
adjuvant treatment for many neurological disorders that need further study as concussion [7]
, stroke [8,9], cerebral palsy [ 10],traumatic brain injury [ 11], cerebral air embolism
[12], Autism [13] and multiple sclerosis [14].
Indications of hyperbaric oxygen therapy recommended by undersea and hyperbaric medical
society (UHMS) [15] are 1.air or gas embolism [5], 2.carbon monoxide poisoning [3,4],
3.clostridial myositis and myonecrosis [16], 4.crush injury, compartment syndrome and other
acute traumatic ischemias [17], 5.decompression sickness [18], 6.arterial insufficiencies
[19], 7.severe anemia [20], 8.intracranial abscess [21], 9.necrotizing soft tissue infections
[22],10. refractory osteomyelitis [23], 11.delayed radiation injury [24], 12.compromised
grafts and flaps [25], 13.acute thermal burn injury [26] and 14.idiopathic sudden
sensorineural hearing loss [27].
Known mechanisms of HBOT-induced neuroprotection include enhancing neuronal viability via
increased tissue oxygen delivery to the area of diminished blood flow, reducing brain edema,
and improving metabolism after ischemia [28,29]. Furthermore, a recent study performed on a
rat suggested that upregulation of the expression of glial derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF)
and nerve growth factor (NGF) might underlie the effect of HBOT [30].
The effectiveness of use of Hyperbaric oxygen therapy in human ischemic stroke is still
controversial that need further evaluation.
Clinical Trial – Effect of Adjuvant Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy on Bells Palsy Outcome
This is a randomized, single blinded, non-placebo controlled that will compare one group of
Bells Palsy patients receiving the current standard of care including oral corticosteroids
and oral antivirals against an experimental group receiving the current standard of care in
addition to hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Outcome assessment will be based on both objective
analyses of facial movements as well as subjective quality of life scales.