The Ultimate Youth Quest – Stem Cell Antiaging Treatment

The word “Antiaging” has become pretty much an every day mention in our fast pace dynamic lives, but still a lot of people don’t fully understand - What does Antiaging mean? The theoretical answer is much simpler than a practical solution, simply put ‘Antiaging’ means retarding the degeneration processes of the body and preserving youth.

The next question that comes to mind is - How? Science and technology decorous answer is multiple ways. Especially nowadays, as so much research is focused on the subject of prolonging life, preserving youth, and improving quality of life we are witnessing new discoveries ever so frequently. One procedure that has gotten aesthetic circles buzzing with excitement and is being tooted as, The Natural Intervention is – Autologous Adipose Stem Cell Enriched Therapy. In layman’s lingo it is a fancy name for using your own abdominal fat derived stem cells to delay signs and symptoms of aging.

Deciphering The Procedure - Separate, Enrich, Activate, & Return

Research has shown us that there are millions of "dormant" or inactive stem cells located in our abdominal fat. The basic principal behind this therapy is to get them out, wake them up and return them to the body where they will get back to work, repairing and energizing body tissues.

The procedure begins by harvesting abdominal stem cell enriched fat cells and sending them over to special lab where stem cells are separated and activated. Once the procedure is completed the Enriched Activated Stem Cells are returned to the patient via intravenous drip or localized injections.

Stem cells have the capacity to not only to divide and form more stem cells, but they can also differentiate into specialized cells to replenish or regenerate dying or damaged tissues. As we get older we have less active stem cells, thus the onset of the degeneration process. The heart of antiaging therapies lies in how we balance this out.

The Results - Younger, Healthier, & Energized New-You

Soon after an Anti-Aging Fat Stem Cell Treatment people reportedly notice a surge in energy, skin gets softer, sleeping and breathing patterns get much better, sex drive increases, age spots start fading even completely disappear in some instances. This is all because your body has just received 30-50 million super-charged active stem cells.

Lab works done during the research has shown that this process does indeed work in reducing the primary markers for aging. Hormones are re-balanced, sugar levels are controlled, metabolism is increased and some people have reported surprisingly an average 4-7 kg weight loss. Other reported effects include hair color darkening and volume increasing. There is also a better control of blood pressure and improved vision. All this is achieved within a few weeks after the treatment.

Some Valid Question About Anti-Aging Fat Stem Cell Therapy

How Do Activated Stem Cells Work?

A stem cell's job is to heal what is damaged. Injury secretes chemical signals called Chemokines the stem cells hone in on these chemokines. When they arrive they alert regenerative cells to start work hence, repairing the damage, or growing tissue.

Where Do Activated Stem Cells Go When They Enter The Blood Stream?

Studies have shown us exactly what organs receive what percentage of stem cells as shown in the diagram below. As you can see the Lungs receive by far the greatest amount of activated stem cells. The Lungs are constantly exposed to the  and the Pulmonary track perhaps one of the most important. They are also easy to damage and now with Stem Cell Therapy easy to repair.

Does This Procedure Really Work?

Yes small case reports have shown us that it does work. There are several bio-markers used to determine the aging process. After treatment studies have shown good corrections in all the bio-markers.

How Long Is The Treatment Good For?

Experts say 5 years of high active stem cell counts. Then declining numbers for about 3-4 years time. By making small lifestyle changes, you can keep a high percentage of active stem cells for almost 10 years.

All this sounds too good to be true, but small group of studies have shown us there is some truth behind the theory. Unfortunately, there are no double blind evidence based studies available currently to make this antiaging treatment legit and main stream.

Now the multi million dollar question is having all current facts at hand and given a choice would you go for it Or wait for the health regulating institutions to get behind the treatment before you’d let some one play “Separate, Enrich, Activate, & Return with your stem cells?

Acne The Hidden Causes

So much has been said, written, and researched about acne, yet 70-80% of the world population is still unable to get a grip on the pesky condition. Common culprits behind acne have been highlighted time and again e.g. colonies of skin bacteria called P. acnes; overactive oil glands; and pores that get blocked by dead skin cells. Research also has established the vital roles of diet, hormonal imbalance and inappropriate skincare in acne management.

But it seems we are still missing some variables — as even with the avoidance of the most common culprits we are witnessing a rise in acne patients in our dermatology practices. What brings on the surprise acne breakout storms is till not obvious. Today our mission is to identify and undercover some of the hidden daily-life pimple triggers — and hence get our selves better equipped in the battle against those nasty zits.

Pomade Acne: Beware Of Hair Styling Products

Styling products may fight frizz and leave your locks silky soft, but they can also cause breakouts, called “pomade acne,” especially along your hairline. The acne comes from oil-based products and cosmetics. A lot of women don’t realize it’s not always their cosmetics causing the breakouts, but their hair product that rubs against their face when they’re asleep. Some hair products can be comedogenic, and is like putting oil on your skin.

Look for oil-free pomades and gels (even natural oils can block pores). Also, scan the ingredients label for other acne-triggering additives, including the emulsifier Laureth-23, silicone and petrolatum. When applying styling products be sure to avoid your hairline and skin, then wash your hands before touching your face, Another smart move: Wash your pillowcases and hair scarf’s (tarha) regularly. They absorb oil, hair products and dirt, all of which can activate acne.

Acne Mechanica: Beware Of Your Cell Phone

Pressing your cheek and chin against your phone causes pimple-producing oils to collect. Those oils, as well as acne-causing bacteria, build up along with any bacteria already on your mobile. Friction acne or acne mechanica is also seen in violinists and football players with the helmet chinstrap around the jaw line and chin. Clean your phone regularly by wiping it with the same cleansers you use for computer and TV screens. When you talk on your cell phone, try not to keep it against your face or on the same side each time or simply keep clear by using a hands-free device.

Consort Acne: Beware Of Your Partners Styling Habits

If you can’t pin down what’s triggering your pimples, being cheek-to-cheek with your partner might be to blame. There’s even a name for breaking out after making out — “consort acne.” If your guy is wearing hair gel and you cuddle up, the gel can get on your face and cause acne. Or, if someone has a lot of oils in their hair and you’re sharing a pillow, the oils can get on your skin and cause breakouts.

Toothpaste Acne: Beware Of Fluoride & Sodium Lauryl Sulfate

Although a dab of toothpaste, is often recommended as an on-the-spot pimple fighter, some people find that fluoride toothpaste actually triggers zits. Dermatologists see this when patients switch toothpastes and notice that they’re breaking out. Ingredients such as fluoride and sodium lauryl sulfate may cause irritation and produce pimples.

Hard Water Acne: Beware Of The High Mineral Content In Your Water

Hard water often leaves a mineral residue on skin. This film can clog pores and bring on breakouts. There are certain minerals in high concentrations in hard water, which may cause irritation like hyper seborrhea, acne or eczema. Invest in installing water filters or purifiers. Filters reduce the concentration of heavy metals in water, which can help prevent pimple-causing residue and irritation.

Jeddah International Dermatology & Cosmetics Conference

The 7^th international JeddaDerm conference just came to a successful conclusion last Thursday. Big names and great scientific minds from the local and international dermatological & aesthetic medical arena came together to make the meeting an astounding success.

We met up with the top Dermatologists and Patrons of the JeddaDerm initiative and got their feed back on the 2013 Dermatology/Cosmetology meeting and also got some skincare advice and pointers for our readers.

Message & Thoughts From The Patrons of JeddaDerm:

 Founding Fathers Of JeddaDerm: Left to right Dr. Sameer Zimmo, Dr. Ali A. Al-Raddadi, Dr. Mohammed Saleh Qari, and Dr. Magdi R. Abdulghani.

Dr. Ali A. Al-Raddadi: “We are very proud of our JeddaDerm initiative and we are constantly trying to improve the scientific program, ensuring attendance of internationally renowned speakers who are the masters in their field and can add value to the knowledge of our attendees. We are also constantly trying to improve the exhibition standards in terms of product and material representations. Our target is ultimately to be the best of the best.”

Dr. Ali Alraddadi also shared a social responsibility message; “One of key objectives of this conference is to constantly improve the quality and caliber of knowledge of our local dermatological society hence, providing top notch dermatological care to our people.”

Dr. Sameer Zimmo: “We are extremely proud of the fact that we have been able to give the dermatologists in Jeddah an international level platform to share scientific data. This year we have witnessed a large increase of attendees from Saudi Arabia. Around 55 workshops were successfully organized for practical teaching and demonstration purposes.”

Reflecting his thoughts on the growth of JeddaDerm from its inception, Dr. Zimmo expressed great pride and said, “It’s amazing to watch our baby grow and blossom. The organizing committee is always striving hard to update and improve the scientific content of the conference. We select the best speakers from all over the world. Just to quote some examples, we have had renowned and top notch dermatologists from UK, USA, Germany, Italy, Denmark, France, etc. participate and contribute in JeddaDerm during the last few years.”

Dr. Magdi R. Abdulghani: “The secret behind our steady success and growth is attention to micro-details. Organizing and managing a scientific conference is a mega mammoth project, we put a lot of hard work and diligent planning behind our scientific Endeavour -JeddaDerm. We are constantly trying to raise the bar, improving the scientific content, picking up the best speakers from around the world and providing our attendees an exclusive experience. Our key philosophy is to listen to and learn from all mistakes big or small and avoid them happening again. We encourage our speakers and great scientific minds to give us negative feedbacks so we can fix loopholes and come stronger and brighter next year – it’s a growing process. We are very proud that we have been successful in creating a niche platform in the whole of the Middle East. We are being recognized as on of the best scientific conferences in the region where great scientific minds can exchange ideas, learn, and grow to add value to our community.”

2013 JeddaDerm Highlight:

Talking about the highlight of this years meeting, most doctors found V lift by Dr. Kwon from Korea to be a truly novel and interesting procedure.

We will be doing a complete expose on this non-surgical, minimal down time face and body lift soon in one of our up coming blogs.

Pearls Of Skincare Wisdom

Dr. Ali A. Al-Raddadi: “When you are looking for skincare advice, make sure you pick your doctor very carefully. Do your homework search on line, and educate yourself before you do any treatments. Be very careful when you are thinking about using skin lightening and bleaching products. Stay clear of cortisone and hydroquinone based creams; which can leave you with serious side effects with long term use.”

Talking about the rise of complications reported to dermatology clinics Dr. Ali Alraddadi advises us, to make sure we pick safe products and safe treatment choices.  He stressed on self-education, “Ask safety questions to avoid unsafe creams and risky treatments”, is his sincere advice.

Dr. Sameer Zimmo: “Smoking and prolonged sun exposure are the main enemies of skin. Unfortunately we are seeing the rise of smoking among females in the Middle East region. My advice to all the ladies who want to look young and beautiful for years to come is simple: Avoid smoking, practice safe sun exposure and DON’T TAN!! - By practicing these healthy skin habits you will have beautiful skin forever”.

Dr. Magdi R. Abdulghani: “My sincere advice ladies is: don’t run after TV or media hypes and instead, educate yourself about your skin and aesthetic care. It is incumbent to know what you want before you decide on any aesthetic treatments. Choose your doctors and treatment options carefully -Be safe!!!”

Dr. Ayed Mordy Al-Qahtani: “Skin pigmentation is a big issue in our region. I would like everyone to practice safe sun habits. I have seen a lot of complications with use of lasers for treatment of pigmentation problems. Please avoid laser treatments for melasma or hyper-pigmentation disorders.”

Dr. Lillian Khan: “I see a lot of patients with acne prone skin in my practice. My advice to all people with oily and combination skin is: be very careful while choosing your skincare products. Always go for oil free products specially formulated for combination and oily skin. Pay attention while product shopping, read labels and consciously pick non-comedogenic products.”

(Yours truly) Dr. Shazia Ali: “Ladies I give you a three step skincare plan: 

Prevent, Protect, & Nourish.

Prevent: To be able to properly take care of your skin and to prevent product related problems it's important to know what is your skin type. Educate yourself about what’s out there and choose safe products suitable for your skin type. 

Protect: Adapt healthy lifestyle, diet and habits. Protect yourself from the sun!!! Use broad-spectrum UVA & B sunscreen.

Nourish: To look bright and fresh skin needs moisture; pick a moisturizer suitable for your skin-type and use it after every time you wash or bathe. Nourish your skin with tried and tested antioxidants: Vitamin A, C, E, Q10, and peptides.

For more information on JeddaDerm please visit: http://www.jeddaderm.com/

Pigmentation Conundrums – Underarms – Testing New Kids On The Block

Recently a study published in the journal of Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology has shown that topical niacinamide 4% and desonide 0.05% can help in the treatment of axillary hyper pigmentation.

Axillary (armpit) hyper pigmentation is a frequent cause of cosmetic consultations in dark-skinned women from tropical areas, including Latin America, Asia and Middle East. Currently, there is no widely accepted treatment for the disorder, but it is usually treated with bleaching agents because it is considered a variant of inflammatory hyper pigmentation. The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy of two new products; niacinamide 4% and desonide 0.05% emulsions compared with placebo in the treatment of axillary hyper pigmentation.

Twenty-four women aged 19–27 years with hyperpigmented axillae (phototype III–V) were randomly assigned to receive the study treatments in the axillary region. Improvement was assessed at baseline, then clinically and by colorimetry 9 weeks later. Quantitative evaluation including melanin, inflammatory infiltrates, NKI/Beteb, CD1a, CD68, and collagen type IV content was performed by histochemistry and immunohistochemistry, assisted by computerized morphometric analysis.

Results: Both niacinamide and desonide induced significant colorimetric improvement compared with placebo; however, desonide showed a better depigmenting effect than niacinamide.

A good to excellent response was achieved in 24% of cases for niacinamide, 30% for desonide, and 6% for placebo. Authors observed a marked disruption of the basal membrane in axillary hyperpigmentation and an inflammatory infiltrate that improved after treatment. Decreased pigmentation in the desonide-treated axillae was associated with recovery of disruption at the basal membrane.

Conclusion: Niacinamide and desonide show depigmenting properties in women with axillary hyperpigmentation. These findings may be explained by their antimelanogenic and anti-inflammatory properties, respectively.

Currently we lack good treatments options when it comes to pigmentation in the underarm area, the addition of these two active agents in our treatment armament will be indeed a pleasant addition. Though more studies will be required to get these active ingredients main stream and know more about the desired and undesired effects.