The sun’s ultraviolet rays, dehydration, lack of sleep, and other life and environmental factors take a toll on the skin over the years. People are always looking for the newest high-tech ways to improve their skin health. Recently, experts have been excited about the game-changer of regenerative beauty - stem cell treatment.
When you hear about stem cells, your first thought would be that it is best for medical use, but more people are discovering the benefits of stem cell treatments for skin and beauty. Dermatologists and plastic surgeons have turned to stem cells to treat sun-damaged skin, fight wrinkles, and improve skin turnover for overall rejuvenation.
We spoke to Dubai’s leading stem cells expert Giuseppe Mucci, CEO and Founder of the BioScience Group, the very First Regenerative Medicine Clinic in the Middle East that offers the most advanced autologous cell therapies, with cryopreservation and expansion of stem cells, to share his pioneering approach to anti-aging.
Having spent years working on finding new ways to use the latest technology, Giuseppe with a treasure of extensive knowledge within the medical industry. Firm in his vision to find the most innovative and safest medical techniques, Giuseppe immersed himself in the world of Stem Cells. He created the Bioscience Institute in 2005 to offer new and highly effective treatments for people across the globe, and since then, he has had a resounding impact on the Stem Cell industry.
Delna Mistry Ananad: What is stem cell therapy and how does it work?
Giuseppe Mucci: Stem cell therapy is a non-invasive cosmetic procedure that helps us restore and rejuvenate our face. It involves harvesting powerful cells and using them to promote growth and speed healing. In terms of cosmetic uses and facial rejuvenation, stem cells are removed from a patient’s own tissue, combined with premium growth hormones, and then the concentrated solution is reinjected into target areas of the face. The unique thing about stem cells is that they can develop into any type of cell in the body, in addition to encouraging the production of native cells.
By using stem cells, you don’t reverse the aging, you simply slow down the process.
DMA: How safe is the procedure that you follow at the BioScience Group?
GM: Completely safe, we initially make a pain-free fat extraction of 20cc via biopsy. This fat is then sent to the laboratory and undergoes quality control as we need to be sure that it is biologically viable. Then in a completely sterile room, we start the process of extracting the stem cells from the fat, this process takes around one week. This is a very important step because, within the fat sample, there are also other cells that can damage our bodies, like micro fat which can cause inflammation if injected into the body again by mistake.
Then we start to culture the stem cells in an incubator, which can take around two weeks, when we have enough stem cells (around 10 million for the skin and 20 million for the lungs) we once again repeat the quality controls. This is key for us to determine that the product is safe to use on the patient if there is any contamination of the stem cells, they cannot be used as we cannot sterilize human cells. When they have passed quality control, we put them in a cryo-tank to stop them from aging. Finally, they are released for treatment. These stem cells can be used to treat any degeneration/aging in the body but cannot be used to treat diseases.
DMA: Who is eligible for these treatments?
GM: We have found that physiological aging starts at 30. By using stem cells, you don’t reverse the aging you simply slow down the process. Therefore, to slow down the process of aging we should start as soon as possible because that way we can age in a healthier manner rather than waiting to get old before we begin the treatment.
The physiological aging of our bodies is connected with our respiratory and cardiovascular systems. Therefore, feeding oxygen earlier to our bodies helps to keep us healthier for longer. The degenerative process in general can increase the risk of diseases, when we treat our bodies for anti-aging at an earlier age, we are actually helping to ward off diseases.
DMA: Are there any side effects of stem cell treatments?
GM: If the stem cells are produced in a sterile environment, with correct quality controls in a factory that is certified there are no side effects. But if other cells which are not compatible with the body contaminate the stem cell cultures, they can cause side effects. That’s why choosing a high-standard laboratory is so important.
DMA: With the stem cell movement growing in the region, what are your future expectations?
GM: Scientifically speaking there is a huge global impact because the US government website now recognizes the process. There are currently 1,460 clinical trials worldwide using stem cells for different applications. Although currently, we are the only ones doing this in the Middle East, other players are sure to enter. It takes a lot of time and money to set up, this is a tailor-made product with no scalability. Garnering a reputation in the market and generating a return on your investment is hard with no protection on the patent. However, I view my company as a plant, we are continuously watering the plant with ethics and knowledge.