10 years ago, who would have thought that fat can also be useful? With interest I read the article in the current Profil about stem cells that, according to American scientists, can now be won from abdominal and hip fat. It is a fact that in Vienna we have already been working since 2006 with stem cells gained from the liposuction of abdominal and hip fat, and Japanese doctors have been doing this since 2003.
It is now known that these mesenchymal stem cells, which are possessed by everyone in an unlimited number, can be used for a number of innovative therapeutic purposes. And this without any ethical reservations, such as arise with the use of embryonic stem cells, and without the otherwise limiting factors like the painful and difficult extraction from bone marrow or the low cell density of stem cells won from skin.
As we work principally in the field of aesthetics and regeneration in my clinic, we consequently work chiefly with procedures such as breast augmentation without silicone, face rejuvenation without facelifting, scar correction, etc. Yet in many centres worldwide work is being done with therapeutic applications that will heal people with their own stem cells – and all this with a bit of abdominal fat!
DDr. Heinrich, MD