The Fountain of Youth - Fact or Fiction? Let the data decide

Word spread quickly about an experimental therapy akin to the fountain of youth to be administered to one of my family members that suffers Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).

Where I live news travels fast. Having just returned from my weekly travel, It wasn’t five minutes out of the Uber taxi when questions started pouring in: “What’s that drug you’re giving the in-law?”, “What else does that medicine treat?”, “How dangerous is it?”, “How much does it cost?”, “Where can I get some?” Friends and family alike were curious and demanded answers.

Let’s begin with some context. Dr. William Kapp is an accomplished physician and entrepreneur. He has served my country in the United States Airforce as a flight surgeon, ran one of the most successful orthopedic practices in the Midwest and founded Landmark Hospitals, which he runs today. Dr. Kapp is also an aging specialist and most recently founded a “well care” company called Longevity Solutions based in Naples, FL.  His penchant for innovative technology, genetics, and artificial intelligence is what allowed our paths to cross; that’s where we'll pick back up the story.

I was recently in a meeting with Dr. Kapp and a nurse informaticist named Kathy VanOsdol. The conversation turned to exosome treatments for orthopedic surgical patient candidates and the opportunity it affords them to avoid surgical intervention. It was explained to me that intra-articular (into the joint) injection of approximately 1ml of exosomes has the potential to regenerate damaged tissue and reduce inflammation. They shared that the data is limited but cited a study from 2013 in which 12 patients with osteoarthritis of the knee were failing traditional non-surgical treatment.  After receiving injections of the exosomes, there was documented improvement in their functional scores and marked recovery in terms of reduced pain and stiffness of the knee. Curious, I asked: “What else does this treat?” As one might expect from a room full of clinicians; they rattled off about 10 different evidence-based therapeutic uses. One of the uses was for cardiovascular conditions.  I inquired as to whether that included COPD, and they said yes, it does. 

Thinking of the disabled family member with COPD that lives with me, I wondered if this might be an alternative to the pills and procedures that my wife has managed for them. I asked Dr. Kapp about the risks and side effects of exosomes. Expecting a response similar to the packaging and advertising disclaimers of most brand name medications I saw during my years working in Pharmacy, his response shocked me: “Of the thousands of administrations since the start of its use, there are none.” 

The product is a biologic derived from amniotic stem cells and created in a laboratory with tight controls on quality and safety.  It is obtained from voluntary donors of amniotic fluid during scheduled C-section surgeries. Donors are pre-screened for conditions such as hepatitis and HIV. Dr. Kapp explained that one of the exosome companies called Organicell is currently participating in multiple FDA-approved IRB clinical studies on exosome therapy. Dr. Kapp mentioned that if my in law with COPD was interested in the exosome therapy, he would arrange shipment and administration of the treatment.

I called my family members to explain the exosomes treatment option. The one with COPD was very much interested but wanted more information to share with their cardiologist and primary care provider. After sending it, as well as meeting with Kathy by phone to discuss the treatment, it was confirmed that the risk would be low. My wife, who was in the room during the phone conversation, asked if she could also receive a dose. She has had a few minor medical issues, and felt it was worth trying the treatment since the risks were low. Dr. Kapp assessed that request and proceeded to order another dose. Thinking, “Why not?”, I said – “Could you add one for me? If I'm going to be involved as this company's Chief Information Officer, I should be able to evangelize the product from experience.” So, this week, my wife, in-law and I will be getting exosome treatments courtesy of Dr. Kapp's Longevity Solutions

Our informatics nurse, Kathy, who has tenure in the inpatient surgical unit, ambulatory care, and home health care will be coming by to administer the treatments. At my request, Kathy will be using some of the technology she and I developed for the Clinical Research Space (CRO48) to document outcomes and results over the next few months in order to track and trend the improvements. Lab values, radiology tests, medication regimens, oxygen saturation levels, heart rate, blood pressure, electrocardiogram, spirometry, appetite, function, pain, and mobility - to name a few - will be documented. 

After 3 months, I'll share my data.  If my wife and in-law are agreeable to sharing theirs - I'll publish it on my blog (www.internetofme.ai ). Somehow, I don't think getting them to agree to share will be difficult - especially since they've already told everyone in our community about it. If the number of voicemails and text messages I've received since returning home this week are any indication of future interest, I predict that this proverbial fountain of youth will remain a popular topic. I look forward to future blogs where I”ll share my family’s journey and the data it generates.