A Bellevue doctor is one of only two researchers in the country testing stem cells as an anti-aging treatment.
Working with volunteer patients, Dr. Fredric Stern extracts stem cells with a liposuction-like procedure. The cells are then mixed with a special medium.
Half is saved cyrogenically for future use and the other half is shipped to the laboratory in Arizona where on that end the stem cells are grown further, Stern said.
The end product goes into a cream called tropoelastin. The hope is that high concentrations of a patient's own stem cells in the cream will boost the skin's ability to repair itself.
If the eye cream proves successful in the eight-week study, the company will also offer a facial cream. Both could be available within a few months.
Stern said he expects the price to be comparable to high-end cosmetic products that typically cost hundreds of dollars.
Stern said the skin treatment is just the beginning. He said wound care is another possible use.
There are so many implications for stem cell use in the future by banking someone's stem cells now for future use in the area of rejuvenative medicine. It's really limitless, he said.
Stern said he foresees a time when everyone banks stem cells at a young age to be used later for all kinds of medical purposes, from organ repair to growing our own transplants.
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