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 patients 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 laymans terms what really happens when a patient subjects herself to the technology.

Terry Summers, in his article, San Diegos 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 patients 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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Related Link:
Lourdes Ramos Living a Better Quality of Life After Fat Stem Cell Transplant