My Experience in Treatment At the Swiss Medica Clinic

Millions of people suffer from chronic conditions related to aging and disease. Based on international scientific studies from assorted academic and industry laboratories, there is new hope that many of the conditions affecting mankind can be controlled or cured someday soon using regenerative stem cell therapy.

As a child, we are protected from the ravages of aging and can rapidly recover from injury or illness because of the ability to quickly repair most damaged tissues. As we age, the number of stem cells in our body becomes depleted, reducing our ability to regenerate healthy tissue. This natural progression occurs so slowly that we are barely aware of it, but we start to notice the body changes in our 20s, 30s, 40s, and especially after 50 years of age.

Just a Little About Me…

I am 52. I live in a continental climate, so maybe this is a reason for my “not looking my age”. I am lucky to be married to a guy that is 15 years younger than me. Sometimes I see how he notices younger women. I am not jealous, but I do want to retain my looks, having handsome young men smile at me as I walk by. Some time ago, I began reading books about skin and aging. Then I bought up everything that I thought might help slow or reverse the aging process. Then I tried beauty injections. They are so expensive! At first it helped, but quickly those procedures stopped giving good results. Then I was thinking about plastic surgery, but, honestly, I am afraid of getting scars from the procedure, possible allergic reactions to anesthesia, problems with the implants, undesirable results and trouble during surgery. I started to research other means to treat my wrinkles, downturned mouth and eyelids. I was very fortune to come across stem cell therapy. At first I knew nothing about stem cell therapy and was a bit skeptical, but as I continued to do research, I discovered Swiss Medica Clinic. Swiss Medica specializes in stem cells and has offered cutting – edge treatments for many years. The more research I did, the more I thought Swiss Medica had the solution to my issues.

Oh, by the way…

Here I am, so desperate to look young again, even just a little bit – I was trying almost everything to rejuvenate my skin.

Me at the beginning of the procedure

I spoke with Swiss Medica doctors who assured me that the signs of aging in my face weren’t that bad, and that they could further improve my appearance. They also told me about how collagen products (creams, serums, etc.) are useless at restoring elasticity because they are unable to get into the deepest skin layers to promote the regeneration process. They can cause a temporary effect associated with the body’s natural reaction to foreign proteins in the form of inflammation and swelling. They explained that this swelling will temporarily reduce the appearance of wrinkles, but only thanks to the swelling and inflammation. Furthermore, these procedures reduce the number of fibroblasts and the quantity and quality of collagen fibers.

What are Stem Cells?

Stem cells are capable of dividing and generating differentiated and proliferative cells. (You can read more about this here)

Stem cells can be found in any tissue of the body, but the most accessible are bone marrow and adipose tissue. They are universal regulators of tissue regeneration of our body and can differentiate, or become, any tissue in your body.

Stem cell

There are several types of cell products that are commonly used:

Fibroblasts: They are responsible for skin’s ability to repair and renew. These cells help to produce collagen, elastin, and hyaluronic acid. Declining fibroblasts’ functionality can lead to poor collagen level, wrinkles and saggy, dry skin. Fibroblasts are the main component of cell products for anti-aging programs. (By the way, Swiss Medica Clinic specializes in fibroblasts and has been using them for years).

Stromal vascular fraction (SVF): Used in the healing of chronic wounds, allergies, joint inflammation, etc. (you can find out more here).

Multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs): Responsible for the activation of the recovery process, rejuvenating tissues damaged by illness or injury.
The main way stem cells work is by the production of biologically active compounds such as cytokines, chemokines and growth factors. MSCs can be cultivated outside the body under special conditions and introduced into problem areas to accelerate regeneration.

Why Stem Cells?

The only way to restore the skin is to replenish the number of stem cells in the skin as well as fibroblasts, and improve cell functioning by creating a more healthy micro environment and full blood supply. There are several scientifically based approaches for solving these problems.

The first is the use of actual fibroblasts isolated from the patient’s skin and cultivated in the laboratory. Introduction of large quantities of fibroblasts into the deep layers of the dermis can significantly increase their total number, which will result in an increase in the synthesis of its own collagen and restoration of skin elasticity. It is also important to restore the subcutaneous fatty tissuе in the case of significant loss to restore the face lines and shape.

The second approach is lipofilling, which is a surgical procedure consisting of taking fatty tissue from places where it is sample and moving it to the face area, and using it to sculpt and tighten the skin. Fatty tissues contain a lot of “good” cells, including stem cells. As a result of these procedures, normal nutrition of fibroblasts can be restored. Also, using lipofilling can restore deep defects such as facial wrinkles and scars. The result of lipofilling is also the restoration of pigmentation under the eyes, reducing the severity of dark circles.

The third approach utilizes stem cells that are isolated from other tissues. They are very similar to skin fibroblasts with only one difference – they can not produce large quantities of collagen. At the same time, stem cells from adipose tissue or bone marrow produce an enormous amount of growth factors promoting the development of blood vessels, reducing inflammation, activating growth and the differentiation of fibroblasts.

Types of Stem Cells

The body is filled with various stem cell sources at different locations so cells can be harvested from:

· adipose tissue
· bone marrow
· placenta tissue
· gingiva area
· fragment of the skin from the area behind the ear

Cells can also be taken from donor material (read more). In some cases, the use of placental MSCs is preferable, since they are the youngest and most highly active cells. The use of these donor cells is possible in both local and systemic therapies.

The Preparation of Cell Product

If the patient’s own cells are used, the preparation of biomaterial takes some time. A doctor performs a puncture, then stromal cells are isolated from the biomaterial, and then cultivated to the required volume. They are then collected, washed several times from the culture medium and diluted in a special saline solution with the addition of the patient’s serum.
The cell suspension is packaged in sterile syringes and then is administered by the doctor. It should be noted that at each stage of obtaining a cell product, all operations are strictly regulated and controlled. To obtain a safe and high-quality product, sterility is constantly monitored, and the properties of the cells themselves are evaluated. Only the cells that have passed all the quality control stages are used to prepare the cell product.

The Stem Cell Treatment

The technique of intradermal administration of cell products is one of the most important stages. It is not enough to get a safe product, it is important to deliver it directly to the area where the cells can perform their function. In the case of skin, cells must be introduced into the hypoderma (fibroblasts) and into the subcutaneous adipose tissue (MSCs).
The procedure is painless and takes about half an hour. First, the face is treated with a solution of a special antiseptic, then an anesthetic cream is applied.
After 10 minutes, the doctor consistently introduces cells into the hypoderma in a line at regular intervals for maximum recovery of the collagen skeleton.

Is It safe?

The procedure is absolutely safe. However, it does require a short time for rehabilitation. After injections, you will have about 48 hours before marks from the injections disappear and minor edemas and inflammatory reactions may appear over several days without any additional manipulations or preparations.

When Will I Expect the Results?

The skin renewal cycle is about one month, so the best results will be realised after that time. However, I noted that over time, the effect increased and persisted from six months to one and a half years.

Before and after the stem cell procedure

Swiss Medica Patients’ Reviews:

I found a lot of positive reviews from patients with various diagnoses who underwent cell based treatments at Swiss Medica.

“About six or seven years ago I was diagnosed with kidney disease. My condition was monitored and kept getting worse. Eventually, I ended up with very high cholesterol. My creatinine levels were way too high. I wasn’t feeling well. I had to check myself into Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. They performed plenty of tests, and all of them said my kidneys weren’t going to get any better and they wanted me on dialysis.

I did not accept having to go on dialysis. I began to research other options. I spent over a year looking into treatments. I realized stem cell therapy had some potential. I looked into some clinics in South Korea, India, Thailand and Swiss Medica 21.

Swiss Medica seemed to have the best results and seemed the most reputable. I read they had been doing stem cell treatments for a number of diseases for well over 10 years and have clinics all over Europe; in Russia, Switzerland, Austria, and Slovenia (read more). That made me feel like they had experience, which made me feel comfortable with Swiss Medica over the other clinics.

When my condition got very bad, I called Swiss Medica and I spoke to one of the administrators and explained my condition. I sent them my blood work and they got back with me quickly. They told me they could treat me and encouraged me to begin stem cell therapy immediately. They said my situation was urgent and were willing and able to begin my procedure immediately. I received my treatment at the beginning of February, about 3 months ago. I was about 30 pounds heavier then. I had stage five chronic kidney disease – my kidneys were functioning at under five percent.

I came to Swiss Medica, and they picked me up at the airport with a translator, car and a driver. Everyone was very accommodating and courteous. They took me to the clinic and immediately put me on IV medication. I was monitored by a team of doctors around the clock. Swiss Medica staff was very professional yet personable. As soon as I got back home to New York, I noticed that I started to feel better. Swiss Media sent a treatment program to me to optimize the results – I feel much better!”

“Hello, my son Hart had a stroke. This is the third time we’ve been to Moscow for stem-cell treatment. It has done really, really well. He is so much stronger and is getting stronger every day. And we are very pleased with the results. The people in Russia have been very kind and very nice. The clinic is spotlessly clean and beautiful. They did more for Hart than I thought was possible. These treatments are working more and more for Hart. We’ve noticed since he’s been getting treatment at Swiss Medica, he’s physically stronger than he was before we went there.”

What Can I Say About My Treatment Experience?

Anti-aging therapies are an emerging area of medical science that has the potential to greatly benefit society using the power of stem cells and cytokines, as well as other regenerative, life-extending factors.
Aging is not just due to local wear and tear. Stem cells are an excellent basis for regenerative medicine and it is important to understand that cell-based products may be the future of medicine, especially for aging treatment. It is an effective, natural and, more importantly, a safe alternative for those who don’t want beauty injections.
As for me, I think the treatment worked well for me. I definitely look younger than I did before.