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Newsletter
Fat Stem Cell Transplant as Cutting Edge Technology for Anti-Aging
By Marites A. Khanser
Advanced Anti-Aging Technology
One of the most exciting and promising anti-aging technologies that
have reached the Philippines is the autologous adipose-derived adult
stem cell transplant. It offers better quality of life, a gift of
hope for the elderly who still have a number of goals to accomplish
in their lives, and to combat the aging process in general,
providing longevity that is matched by the renewed vitality of the
individual in her 40s or 60s. Adipose tissues (or fat cells) provide
the most number of adult stem cells that can be used for inner
rejuvenation. Expanding waistlines, unsightly bulges are excess body
fat that people want to be removed to improve their looks. But
unwanted fat also contains stem cells with the potential for
regenerative medicine and anti-aging mechanism.
 Fat Stem Cells
According to Gimble et al., stem cells are primal cells common to
all multi-cellular organisms. These cells retain the ability to not
only renew themselves through cell division, but also have the
ability to differentiate into a wide range of specialized cell
types. Research in the human stem cell field grew out of findings by
Canadian scientists Ernest A. McCulloch and James E. Till in the
1960s (Gimble et al, 2007).
But what are fat stem cells? Fat cells or adipose tissue is closely
related to bone, cartilage, muscle and other connective tissue, and
in recent advances in stem cell research, studies found that adult
stem cells rest within reservoirs in fat, bone, and blood, until
they are called upon to repair a broken bone or a damaged tissue.
As one grows older, these reserved stem cells are depleted, and the
consequence of which is that the human body will eventually succumb
to disease, disorders and the general ravages of aging.
The adipose-derived stem cell transplant aims to “awaken” these stem
cells that are contained in human fat, and there are billions of
them. When patients go for liposuction to remove their excess fat,
these are just thrown away and regarded as waste matter. Retrieving
stem cells from fat will provide plentiful adult stem cells, and
retrieving them is easier than bone marrow stem cells, is less
controversial as no embryos are destroyed in the process, less
expensive to harvest through liposuction, and minimally invasive.
Stem Cells Transplant Procedure
According to Dr. Florencio Lucero, a leading plastic surgeon in the
Asian Plastic Surgery Center, in the Philippines, and who is an
expert in adipose-derived stem cells transplant, the process
involves the following:
. .the harvesting of 100cc of dormant adult stem cells ( ASCs) from
a patient’s fat cells (Adipose tissue) through minimally invasive
liposuction. The harvested Adipose-derived dormant ASCs are then
incubated in serum-free culture medium for 1 hour. This awakens or
activates the dormant ASCs, which is then infused back to the
patient through their peripheral blood i.e. intravenously. The whole
procedure is 4 hours long and is conducted in a sterile operating
room in a hospital under local anesthesia. It takes 1 hour to
harvest the ASCs, 1 hour to isolate them, 1 hour to incubate them in
culture medium, and 1 hour to infuse them back into the patient
intravenously.
While the above explanation of Dr. Lucero regarding the process of
fat stem cell transplant seems to be clear enough to the initiated,
to the many uninitiated, they would want to know in layman’s terms
what really happens when a patient subjects herself to the
technology.
Terry Summers, in his article, “San Diego’s Cytori banks on a new
process to help damaged hearts” (Union Tribune, February 3, 2006)
has this to say about the process:
The pinkish orange fat tissue is first transferred into a small
centrifuge containing enzymes that help digest it, separating the
yellow-tinged fat cells from pink regenerative cells that include
stem cells, collagen, and other tissue scaffolding.
The desired regenerative cells are then skimmed off and placed in a
larger centrifuge, which goes through a relatively quiet spin cycle
to rinse the cells with a saline solution and further separate the
stem cells from other cellular material. The final product is the
color of pink lemonade. These are then injected into the patient in
real time.
Anti-Aging Benefits
The benefits of fat stem cells anti-aging technology are many,
according to Dr. Lucero. He said that the patient would generally
feel a renewed vitality and energy that will enable her to
accomplish a lot of activities although she may be in her late 40s
or 60s. By letting nature take its course, the stem cells that were
re-injected into the patient’s body are expected to replace aging
cells, or damaged ones, or the stem cells will become other new
tissues like heart, liver and bone cells. Although the process will
not be obvious to the patient, what she will feel will be a general
sense of well being, and she would look radiant, lively, and it will
make her look ten years younger than her current age. In fact, fat
stem cells are now used for therapies in the area of regenerative
medicine.
Minimized Risks
Of course, there are a few risks involved, as in any kind of new
anti-aging technology or procedure, but Dr. Lucero assures everyone
that he sees to it that risks are minimized. The patient also signs
informed consent and there are safeguards in carrying out the
procedure. The fat taken from liposuction is processed in a sterile
operating room, and extreme care is taken that there will be no
contamination or infection that might affect the fat stem cells. The
patient waits in the hospital room for about four hours, and then
her own stem cells are given back to her body intravenously. There
is no problem of rejection of the stem cells as foreign bodies since
these come from the excess fat of the same patient.
As more and more people will avail of this cutting edge technology
for anti-aging and inner rejuvenation using fat stem cells, it will
soon become part of the many arrays of anti-aging procedures that
will be offered in any plastic surgery clinics and hospitals in the
country. For more information regarding the technology, readers can
visit the website, www.stemcellphil.com, or call
09175234912.
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Download Japanese Version of this Newsletter
Related Link:
Lourdes Ramos Living a Better Quality of Life After Fat Stem Cell Transplant
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