Alimorad Farshchian (born April 2, 1962) is an Iranian-born American medical doctor, medical author, and philanthropist. He is the founding director of The Center for Regenerative Medicine, opened in 2000 in order to pursue pioneering regimens in the treatment of

arthritis Arthritis is a term often used to mean any disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, swelling, and decreased range of motion of the affected joints. In som ...

and other

autoimmune disease An autoimmune disease is a condition arising from an abnormal immune response to a functioning body part. At least 80 types of autoimmune diseases have been identified, with some evidence suggesting that there may be more than 100 types. Nearly a ...

s. He coined the term "orthopedic regenerative medicine" to characterize his groundbreaking work. Since the center's creation, he has limited himself to non-surgical orthopedics and sports medicine. For the

2012 London Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, Farshchian served as consulting Orthopedic Regenerative Medicine physician for the Team USA track-and-field team. He lives in Miami, Florida.

Education and early career

Farshchian earned his M.D. degree from Spartan Health Sciences University in

St. Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerin ...

in 1987. The following year, he joined the research staff at the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, and New York Research Foundation. He completed his internship at The

University of Tennessee College of Medicine The University of Tennessee College of Medicine is one of six graduate schools of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) in downtown Memphis. The oldest public medical school in Tennessee, the UT College of Medicine is a LCME ...

. In 1994, he relocated to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

and completed additional medical education in a program affiliated with the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

. He began his private medical practice in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

in 1997. Two years later, he relocated to

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

Career

In 2000, he founded The Center for Regenerative Medicine. He received Board certification in 1997. He is a member of the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine. Host of The Arthritis Show, the first TV series to chronicle the experiences of patients with chronic arthritis and sports injuries (2011–present).

Innovative treatments for neurodegenerative diseases

Since July 2016, Farshchian has focused on developing innovative new treatments for major neurodegenerative diseases such as

dementia Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

and

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

. Parkinson' stem cells project is a non-invasive treatment he has developed uses the re-injection of

stem cell In multicellular organisms, stem cells are undifferentiated or partially differentiated cells that can differentiate into various types of cells and proliferate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell. They are the earliest type o ...

s taken from the patient. Preliminary research indicates the therapy can possibly improve the debilitating symptoms caused by neurodegenerative diseases. Since 2011, Farshchian has integrated the use of T'ai chi, Yoga and Qigong into his treatment plans for patients with arthritis and sports injuries. His results have demonstrated the effectiveness of the additional, non-traditional therapies for many patients.

Treatment of Michael Jackson

Farshchian is best known on a worldwide basis for his treatment of pop superstar

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

, from April 2001 until December 2003. He initially treated Jackson for an ankle injury that hampered his ability to perform, but after a close personal friendship developed, Farshchian attempted to intervene and cure Jackson of his addiction to

Demerol Pethidine, also known as meperidine and sold under the brand name Demerol among others, is a synthetic opioid pain medication of the phenylpiperidine class. Synthesized in 1938 as a potential anticholinergic agent by the German chemist Otto Eisl ...

. Farshchian convinced Jackson and his family that an implant chip of the medication Naltrexone, which inhibits the effects of narcotics such as Demerol, could help the singer wean himself off Demerol. The treatment was successful. During his treatment, Jackson traveled multiple times to Miami, where he stayed in a private room created for him in Farshchian's garage. Farschian also visited Jackson and his family at the celebrity's Neverland Ranch in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

. Unfortunately, Jackson's use of the general anesthetic

Propofol Propofol, marketed as Diprivan, among other names, is a short-acting medication that results in a decreased level of consciousness and a lack of memory for events. Its uses include the starting and maintenance of general anesthesia, sedation f ...

, administered by Dr.

Conrad Murray Conrad Robert Murray (born February 19, 1953) is a Grenadian former cardiologist who was the personal physician of Michael Jackson at the time of his death in 2009. Murray was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter for improperly administeri ...

, eventually led to his death on June 25, 2009. After Jackson's death, the Sheriff of

Santa Maria, California Santa Maria (Spanish language, Spanish for "Mary, mother of Jesus, St. Mary") is a city near the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California in northern Santa Barbara County, California, Santa Barbara County. It is approximately no ...

, where Neverland Ranch was located, released to the public personal letters Farshchian had sent Jackson, pleading with him to fight his addiction to Demerol. One of the letters included a package that began Jackson detoxification therapy. In March 2003, Jackson and Farshchian zeroed in on the eight-story Victoria Medical Center, a health care condominium, located at 955 N.W. Third St., in the Little Havana area of Miami as a potential location for a planned ventilator hospital project called Michael Jackson international children's hospital.

Heal the Earth through the Arts

In the summer of 2017, inspired by Michael Jackson's Philanthropic work with

Heal the World "Heal the World" is a song recorded by American recording artist Michael Jackson from his eighth studio album, ''Dangerous'' (1991). It was released on November 23, 1992 as the fifth single from the album. It was written and composed by Jackson, ...

charity organization; Farshchian created a similar concept called "Heal the Earth through the Arts". This charity holds telethons live on Facebook; the telethons help to raise money for the homeless in Miami. Dr. Farshchian has stated in several interviews that this is his way of giving back to his community and continuing Michael Jackson's legacy.

Personal life

Farshchian was married from 1992 until 2015 to Maria Barba, a marketing executive and

Addy award The American Advertising Federation (AAF), headquartered in Washington, D.C., is the oldest national advertising trade association in the United States. The AAF also has 15 district operations, each located in and representing a different region o ...

winner; together they had two children. In September 2016, Farshchian was engaged to singer and actress Elexis Ansley.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Farshchian, Alimorad 1962 births Living people People from Tehran Iranian emigrants to the United States 21st-century American physicians People from Miami