What is cell therapy?
Cell therapy is a procedure that aims to introduce new, healthy cells into a patient’s body to replace diseased or missing ones and repair tissue. They can either be injected, grafted or implanted into the patient. This type of therapy can also help to regenerate and regrow an injured part of the body after it has been damaged to restore it back to its “original” state.
Why is it done?
While cell therapy can be used to treat a variety of injuries and tissue damage from disease such as osteoarthritis, it is used mainly for certain hair diseases. These include:
- Alopecia areata
- Cicatricial alopecia (the loss of hair accompanied with scarring)
- Androgenetic alopecia (male pattern baldness)
- Atrophic scars
- Skin ulcers
- Vitiligo
In addition, cell therapy can be carried out in the field of dermatology. This is especially used in anti-aging treatments to improve the appearance of the skin to be more toned, hydrated and with less visible wrinkles.
What does it consist of?
Cell therapy involves implanting new cells into tissue to treat a specific disease through a series of injections. It can stimulate the formation of new cells and the growth cycle of hair follicles. These injections contain various substances and involves numerous therapies such as:
- Hyaluronic acid – a man-made molecule that can improve the environment around the damaged cells and give them the nutrients they need to help them recover.
- Stem cell therapy – the 'seeds' that are injected that can turn into healthy cells
- Growth factors such as PRP – these enhance the growth of the cells