In this episode, Dr. Visser discusses the power of exosomes, how they are extracted, their functions, and their potential benefits for medicine and health longevity.
Exosomes are nanoscale extracellular vesicles derived from mesenchymal stem cells, which are used to transfer information between cells. They carry functional cargo like microRNA, mRNA molecules, peptides, proteins, cytokines, lipids, and more.
They are incredibly small, thousands of times tinier than a hair strand, and can pass through all barriers in the body undetected, making them efficient communicators between cells.
Exosomes have four primary mechanisms for transferring information to cells: binding and receptor activation, internalization, fusion, and cargo transfer from outside. They can affect cells at a DNA level and play a critical role in various physiological conditions such as immune response, tissue repair, and cancer progression.
One of the significant benefits of exosomes is their ability to cross the blood-brain barrier, making them useful in promoting neurogenesis and treating neurodegenerative disease conditions, spinal cord injuries, stroke brain injuries, and more.
However, exosomes can also be problematic as they are used by the body to spread diseases like cancer and autoimmune diseases. Because they go undetected by the immune system, they can spread diseases to other parts of the body undetected.
Despite this, exosomes are being used in diagnostics and personalized medicine. They can be used to read the exosomes from the blood or urine for advanced diagnostics of diseases. They can also be used to deliver specific drugs or information to target diseases like cancer.
In the field of regenerative medicine, exosomes are used for tissue regeneration and repair, immune modulation, inflammation control, and more. They are used to treat hair growth problems, arthritis, old joint injuries, heart tissue repair after a heart attack, brain tissue repair after a stroke, and more.
In the cosmetic field, exosomes are used to stimulate collagen and elastin in the skin, making it plumper and more youthful-looking. They are also used in hair transplants to get better results.
The extraction of exosomes is a specific process that requires certain conditions, including temperature. They are transported at -80 degrees Celsius using liquid nitrogen.
In conclusion, exosomes are a powerful tool in medicine and health longevity, with applications in diagnostics, personalized medicine, regenerative medicine, and cosmetics. However, their ability to spread diseases undetected also poses significant challenges.
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