Are we at the beginning of the anti-aging revolution?
Although I have never liked the term ‘anti-aging’ because of the unrealistic marketing hype and scientific inaccuracy often associated with it, things might be changing very soon.
Aging…..we all have or will experience it. As the years pass, time leaves its undeniable mark on each of us. Things that we have taken for granted in our youth, get slowly but inevitably taken away from us.
But what if our own cells had the power and were the keys to help us live longer, better, healthier?
Ever since their discovery in the mid 1950’s, stem cells and their potential applications have long held considerable interest and excitement for improving our lives and reducing the signs and functional losses of the aging process. Human stem cells are undifferentiated cells that have the potential to develop into any cell of the human body. They serve as a remarkable reservoir or ‘repair’ system and ‘replacement parts’ that have the capability to restore and regenerate healthy cells and function. There are two main types of stem cells, embryonic and adult or somatic. Stem cells are unique in their ability to become any specialized cell in the body and are in many ways ‘ageless’ in that they can divide and function over long periods of time.
But what if the future of anti-aging for each of us could actually be powered by our own cells?
Welcome to the future of anti-aging medicine! Personalized and emerging regenerative cell treatments have the ability to leverage our own cells to repair, restore and regenerate our own younger tissues and physiology. Recent studies have revealed that our own cells can rejuvenate and replenish nearly any tissue including skin, hair, and many other systems with a healthier and more youthful biologic function.
This is not some fantasy or science fiction concept but an emerging scientific reality as we are already seeing these principles used for athletes in injury recovery. Another exciting application is in aesthetics and here at EVOLV Plastic Surgery and Medical Aesthetics in Toledo we have been interested and applying these biorejuvenative applications utilizing each patient’s own stem cells, platelet rich plasma (PRP) and platelet rich fibrin (PRF) in not only surgical aesthetics such as facial and skin rejuvenation, fat grafting and breast cancer reconstruction but also non-surgical treatments with laser resurfacing, microneedling, skin peeling, personalized skin care regimens and many other areas of aesthetics.
But the exciting potential of utilizing these Rejuvenative options is only as powerful as each patients’ cells that are available. The unfortunate reality is that as we age, so do our cells and subsequently they slowly and steadily lose some of their regenerative capabilities. Scientists have discovered that the younger our cells, the more powerful and effective their regenerative potential. With that in mind, how then can we access our ‘best’ cells for optimal anti-aging benefits? Welcome to the world of personalized rejuvenative medicine powered by your own younger cells!
At EVOLV we have been in discussion with a biolab that has developed a clinically proven technology that can non-invasively harvest your own stem cells, stop their aging with cryopreservative techniques, and then bank them indefinitely for later regenerative options. Your own younger stem cells can then be specifically expanded and stimulated at a later date to replace your aged or diseased or damaged older cells and restore healthier and more youthful function. Sound futuristic? Well it’s happening now and actually a personal stem cell exosome skin care and stem cell based hair loss rejuvenation are soon to be available clinically through an FDA approved treatment program. Future applications for other age related diseases such as Parkinson’s, diabetes and many others are on the horizon as well.
Yes, I believe we are at just the beginning of a new era in anti-aging, and it just may be powered by our body’s inherent potential to use our own younger cells to heal and regenerate youthful tissue and function and reduce the signs and symptoms of aging.
Stay tuned…..this is exciting stuff!
Frank Barone MD FACS
Actual 60-year-old EVOLV patient before and 6 months after stem cell/exosome enhanced fat grafting, skin peel and lower facelift.