When Dana White was a 21 year old, living in Boston, he got jumped by guys from Charlestown, and got the shit beat out of him. In particular, his left ear sustained massive amounts of damage via punches, which led to permanent hearing loss in that ear.

Later in life, that ear damage turned into Meniere’s disease. If a bout of Meniere’s hit, Dana could find himself out of action for an entire day; dealing with dizziness and nausea. Hear the full story of how he got the problem here.

Dana had to put up with the symptoms of Meniere’s for many years before he was able to get treatment.

He even had an unsuccessful ear surgery in 2013 (link), where an LA clinic cut the nerve in his ear.

Dana White recovering after his unsuccessful surgery in 2013

Eventually he heard about an experimental treatment in Germany called Orthokine (often called Regenokine in the USA – the two names refer to the same treatment).

Two sports stars, A-Rod of the Yankees, and Kobe Bryant both used it successfully to overcome chronic injuries. A-Rod actually called Dana up and encouraged him to try it.

Amazingly, the orthokine treatment worked, and Dana’s Meniere’s no longer bothers him.

Orthokine works by treating the inflammation in an injured area. It’s similar to a treatment called platelet-rich plasma (PRP).

Image via the Regenexx blog – showing differences between orthokine and PRP treatment.

Key differences between the two treatments are:

• Orthokine uses serum, whereas PRP uses the platelets
• Orthokine heats the blood to increase the amount of anti-inflammatory proteins.

Where to get Regenokine?

The brains behind regenokine is Dr Peter Wehling, who treats out of his clinic in Dusseldorf, Germany.

Dr Wehling has also licensed the treatment out to some clinics:

• Dr Chris Renna of Lifespan Medicine. They offer Regenokine from their premises in Santa Monica, California and Dallas Texas.
• Dr Bradley Wasserman who treats out of clinics in New York – link
• + probably more.

Dr Wehling in his office – image courtesy of New York Times article.

Orthokine costs around €6,000 ($7,400) as of 2012 – which puts it out of financial reach for many people. However for something as debilitating as Meniere’s; its possibly a price worth paying if it works.