Regenerative Revolution

Stem Cells started the regenerative medicine revolution and opened our eyes to the possibilities of activating our body’s own powerful healing mechanisms.  

If a single cell can grow into a whole person, clearly the body possesses the ability to heal anything if the right messages were able to activate those healing mechanisms.  But as with any new science, there were problems that came with the advances.  Stem cells are whole, living cells that carried with them DNA from another person and that opened the doors to a whole host of risks for starters. 

As the science progressed, we discovered how to shift the focus from the stem cell itself to the extracellular vesicles (exosomes) that carried the messaging from those stem cells.  This is very exciting new science but because it is human cell or tissue based products are new and not fully vetted, the FDA has not currently approved them for use outside clinical trials so the best stem cell solutions still require trips to other countries like Costa Rica or Panama. 

We also began making progress with treatments that focused on extracting and modifying some of the regenerative mechanisms still present in our bodies even though their efficacy is a fraction of what it once was.  These include treatments like the use of Platelet Rich Plasma, Fibrin or Growth Factor (PRP, PRF, PRGF) which deliver promising results a little more economically though they are not nearly as comprehensive or powerful as some other solutions. 

Next came the exosome, or extracellular vesicles, which have been delivering very promising results but, like stem cells,  they are still only approved for investigational purposes in the US. One of the latest evolutions in the regenerative world showing remarkable promise is the use of Micro RNA Cell Factors. Cell Factors are messaging proteins and molecules that signal our body’s own regenerative mechanisms with micro RNA proteins, growth factors, cytokines and other things that fall under different FDA classifications which are approved for human use.   

Technically, they are classified as nutraceuticals which is exciting because, not only does that make them less likely to have adverse side effects, it also means we can access them without needing to travel to another country. This approach avoids all the risks associated with cell-based biologics like stem cells while yielding an estimated 4 to 5 times the potency of treatments like PRP. 

Instead of pulling in somebody else’s regenerative biologics, Cell Factors stimulate your own through cellular reprogramming at the molecular level.  They are reintroducing the natural regenerative messages that decline as we age in a manner that is fully science based and safe. 

With all of these advances taking place so quickly, combined with AI and the power of quantum computing, it is genuinely hard to fathom what is coming next. It will be fascinating to watch.