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Stem Cells for Acne Scar Repair (SCIENCE FACT, not science fiction!)

Bulgarian R. · 2009-01-15T20:03:04Z

First and foremost, I am not going to go into academic detail about the use of progenitor cells, particularly autologous adipose derived mesenchymal stem cells, for the treatment of various skin conditions including the repair of hypotrophic (depressed) acne scars. I realize most people here will not be interested in me blabbing on and on about this and that hypothesis while citing various academic articles. I am simply going to say that I am preparing to conduct an experiment with these cells as I believe they are far more capable of flattening and beautifying skin in comparison to anything else that is currently used by the conformist medical establishment. Anyway, both anecdotal and peer reviewed evidence exists to suggest that mesenchymal stem cells can be used effectively to radically alter the appearance of one's "damaged" skin. The anecdotal evidence largely comes from people who have had successful autologous fat transfers. If the procedure is done right, a large number of adipocytes and resident stem cells can survive the transfer only to integrate themselves into the site of injection. When this happens, the patient often observes a very positive and noticeable difference in their skin within a few weeks/months time. However, there are not that many mesenchymal stem cells in fat. So, some researchers have proposed a more advanced fat transfer technique, wherein the mesenchymal stem cells are separated from the fat cells, then cultured/multiplied for a few days/weeks, and then either (A) recombined with the fat cells and injected into facial tissue deficits, or (B) injected without recombination with fat cells. Either way, by culturing the said stem cells for a short period of time, one can increase their numbers exponentially. It really isn't very hard to increase the number of stem cells found in 10cc of fat tissue 1000 fold. For example, a thousand cells can be turned into a million cells with the right culturing solution, incubation temperature and time management. Think of what a 1000X viable cell mass can do for the skin in comparison to what has already been achieved with the traditional fat transfer procedure... OK, to make a long story short I want to try this procedure in 2009. Currently I am in the process of adding new equipment to my lab. Once that's done and I am brave enough to try some of my ideas I will go for it. That said, I am most certainly not the first person to be doing this. There are many clinics in Eastern Europe and East Asia that are already offering this service. I don't know much about their quality control processes nor have I seen their results firsthand. However, a colleague recently sent me some before/after pictures of a doctor in Asia who is apparently trying the above described type (A) procedure. Again, what this means is that stem cells are extracted from fat tissue, then cultured, and finally recombined with the fat tissue a few days later into what is essentially an enhanced autologous cellular mixture which can regenerate tissue deficits present at the site of acne scars... This doctor is experimenting with stem cells for anything from scar revision to breast enlargement. Anyway, here are the photos that I received: Acne Scarsresults look quite good and as far as I know are the product of a single treatment session. In retrospect, the use of stem cells for cosmetic purposes is quite new. On the other hand, the extensive academic peer reviewed animal model studies and these preliminary results as seen in the above photos are all quite stimulating and exciting. The problem is that I don't know of a single colleague in North America or Western Europe who performs this type of procedure. It may be because of the bureaucratic regulations set in place within these countries (sometimes an extension of religious perspectives), or simply because of traditionalist medical inertia, which I'm sorry to say is very prevalent in many of the wealthy and "advanced" countries. To illustrate my point, I recently spoke to a plastic surgeon in Canada about this very issue. I asked if he had considered the use of stem cells to treat acne scars. He replied, "it's coming!" I was amused so I asked him to elaborate. He then said that the use of stem cells for cosmetic purposes will likely be available in 10 or so years. I was trying my best to be diplomatic when I explained to him that this exact procedure was already being performed in Japan, Russia, Korea, Taiwan, China, etc... Needless to say he was surprised by what I had to say. It was obvious to me that although he was being polite, he was also extremely sceptical that a young Bulgarian doctor may know something he doesn't... Finally after some ensuing discussions, he told me that he felt the use of synthetic dermal fillers was "good enough" and that the results he had achieved with these substances were very positive. In essence, he was being defensive and thus tried to redeem his lack of an innovative spirit with what I cal...

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madadam

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(@madadam)

Posted : 03/19/2009 7:00 pm

Would stem cells from bone marrow AND fat cells be a better combination compared to fat alone?

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find myself

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(@find-myself)

Posted : 03/20/2009 12:15 am

hmmm reading this is confusing. they say if stem cells would be able to be used it would be in 20-30 years from now. Or is this a different form. See the problem I think is where they get the stem cells from. Supposedly from bone marrow you will break bones and it's more obviously dangerous.

btw is this for indented scars or raised scars? as I have both. Both obviously the indented ones are all over my face and more of than the rest.

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Anonymous

(@Anonymous)

Posted : 03/20/2009 12:42 am

hmmm reading this is confusing. they say if stem cells would be able to be used it would be in 20-30 years from now. Or is this a different form. See the problem I think is where they get the stem cells from. Supposedly from bone marrow you will break bones and it's more obviously dangerous.
btw is this for indented scars or raised scars? as I have both. Both obviously the indented ones are all over my face and more of than the rest.

thats embryonic stem cells ( which are now being used for other things..but still early in develp)

we are talking about adult stem cells now.

as for the otther question..both..it requires a customized protocall..

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gambit 100

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(@gambit100)

Posted : 03/20/2009 8:14 am

Hi,

What type of costs are involved with dr khan with this procedure, also from speakign to him. How much improvement do think this method can yield

Thank you

hmmm reading this is confusing. they say if stem cells would be able to be used it would be in 20-30 years from now. Or is this a different form. See the problem I think is where they get the stem cells from. Supposedly from bone marrow you will break bones and it's more obviously dangerous.
btw is this for indented scars or raised scars? as I have both. Both obviously the indented ones are all over my face and more of than the rest.

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v_singh

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(@v_singh)

Posted : 03/20/2009 10:04 am

give his clinic a call to see roughly how much this will cost

harleystreetskin is his website

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chama

MemberMember

(@chama)

Posted : 03/20/2009 6:19 pm

thanks a lot BRD! I had given up on finding any sort of usefull scar revision because its all so hit and miss. I think this may actually work on my scars. What do you think?

Your opinion would me a lot to me. You are a good man to care so much even when you have perfect skin.!

peace.

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Eleonora

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(@eleonora)

Posted : 03/22/2009 3:26 pm

Hi BRD,

I come from Bulgaria. Is there a clinic here offering this service?

Thank you!

You are great!

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pumpkin 21

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(@pumpkin21)

Posted : 03/22/2009 7:52 pm

I think the best way in assessing whether this dr khan guy's method is any good apart from asking him for before and after pics of patients treated is to copy his method into an email to DR.CHU, he IS THE TOP DERM in the UK for sure

I am pretty sure i saw dr.khan few years back he tried pushing me to do co2 but i wasnt keen

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Lapis lazuli

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101

(@lapis-lazuli)

Posted : 03/24/2009 5:00 pm

This thread is very interesting and I think it's very kind of BRD to post here. The stem cell therapies that will be available in the future, I find very interesting. And I'll surely follow the progress of things closely.

EDIT: Nevermind

Does anybody know how these liposuctions are performed? Is it the same as when people want to get rid of their 'love handles'? I'm kind of apprehensive of this part of the procedure. As I've heard a story once of a young woman who died because of a complication that took place during a run of the mill, cosmetic liposuction procedure.

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Evita 1976

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(@evita1976)

Posted : 03/26/2009 6:57 am

Hi BRD,

First of all congratulations for all you've done so far respectively in the research of a stem cell therapy.

Thanks in advance and all the best!

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gambit 100

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(@gambit100)

Posted : 03/30/2009 3:52 pm

I read about this in a paper today(uk) there going to be using the method for breat enlargement.

Within a year alot places should be offering stem cells for scar treatment.

Also best place to do this Japan

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v_singh

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(@v_singh)

Posted : 03/30/2009 5:21 pm

I read about this in a paper today(uk) there going to be using the method for breat enlargement.
Within a year alot places should be offering stem cells for scar treatment.
Also best place to do this Japan

Source ?

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gambit 100

MemberMember

(@gambit100)

Posted : 03/30/2009 5:39 pm

Evening standard, also they have been doing this stem cell thing with prp injections in Japan for years and its sucessful ,with very minor complications.
I read about this in a paper today(uk) there going to be using the method for breat enlargement.
Within a year alot places should be offering stem cells for scar treatment.
Also best place to do this Japan

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gambit 100

MemberMember

(@gambit100)

Posted : 03/30/2009 6:17 pm

Clinic in Japan that have been studing this method for 7 years

http://www.saisei-iryou.com

Evening standard, also they have been doing this stem cell thing with prp injections in Japan for years and its sucessful ,with very minor complications.

I read about this in a paper today(uk) there going to be using the method for breat enlargement.
Within a year alot places should be offering stem cells for scar treatment.
Also best place to do this Japan

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Lapis lazuli

MemberMember

101

(@lapis-lazuli)

Posted : 03/31/2009 12:06 pm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liposuction#P...e_complications

:think:

Any thoughts?

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Mellow Fellow

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(@mellowfellow)

Posted : 03/31/2009 8:26 pm

excuse me for being skeptical but where have i seen this before? I can't tell you how many times i've read up on the latest and greatest treatment that supposedly works wonders for scars and have everybody hyped up about it only to fizzle out in the end.

Let me tell you all something. I'm not falling for before and after pics again. I'm not using that to get my hopes up. I want to be able turn on my hi def tv, tune into the discovery channel and watch a documentary special on people with moderate to severe scars get these injections and see them come out with smoother skin. or better yet, i want to read posts from some of the longer tenured members of this board claiming these injections "cured" their acne scars. Until then, I will keep my hopes in check.

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tom 12

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(@tom12)

Posted : 04/04/2009 4:12 pm

this threads getting pretty quiet...

i know this is an acne website but would any of these methods help to get rid of stretch marks?

any help would be greatly appreciated

thanks

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tia ann

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(@tia-ann)

Posted : 04/04/2009 4:17 pm

WOW, omg !!!!

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deadliest catch

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(@deadliest-catch)

Posted : 04/04/2009 4:57 pm

this threads getting pretty quiet...
i know this is an acne website but would any of these methods help to get rid of stretch marks?
any help would be greatly appreciated
thanks

im wondering the same thing myself. Maybe if you inject stem cells into the stretch mark it'll do something.

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v_singh

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(@v_singh)

Posted : 04/04/2009 6:31 pm

lol this thread has kinda died since BRD isnt here anymore

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tom 12

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(@tom12)

Posted : 04/04/2009 7:52 pm

where did BRD go???

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v_singh

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(@v_singh)

Posted : 04/05/2009 4:06 am

not sure i think hes just really busy atm and hasnt had time to come back here

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tom 12

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(@tom12)

Posted : 04/05/2009 8:32 am

thanks for the info v_singh its much appreciated that you took the time out to reply

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v_singh

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(@v_singh)

Posted : 04/08/2009 4:06 am

no probs

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Lapis lazuli

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101

(@lapis-lazuli)

Posted : 04/08/2009 4:22 am

this threads getting pretty quiet...
i know this is an acne website but would any of these methods help to get rid of stretch marks?
any help would be greatly appreciated
thanks

Can't you get stretch marks lasered? I think that would really help.

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Stem Cells for Acne Scar Repair (SCIENCE FACT, not science fiction!)

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