Exosomes, a Breakthrough Solution for Aging Skin, Pain and Injuries?

Dermatologists are adding exosomes to micro needling and laser treatments to decrease post procedure healing time.

Some are even choosing exosomes over botox.

Spinal surgeons like Dr. Jeffrey Gross I interviewed on my podcast last week are opting for exosomes over stem cells.

What the heck are exosomes?

They are nano-particles that are made by every cell in your body.

The types of exosomes made depend on where the cell is located.

Exosomes contain fats, proteins, amino acids, peptides, growth factors and genetic material.

Think of them like an old school phone tree, one person sets the message in action and then multiple people pick up the phone and call others to relay the message.

Eventually the message gets out to the community. 

They are communicators of information between cells.

Because they are super small molecules packed with a lot of nutrients and info they have the potential to make a significant impact on healing, inflammation, regeneration and more.

Sounds amazing to be able to tap into this feature of your intelligent body right?

I believe there’s some really cool things that can be done with exosomes…

…like tissue regeneration to counter inflammation that ages skin, reduce inflammation in the body, or speed up healing time of wounds and injuries.

There is talk of designer exosomes, ones created to target specific degenerative health conditions such as nerve damage, muscle loss and restoring heart muscle function after heart attacks.

How do exosomes exert their effect on degenerating tissues? 

The genetic material they contain is messenger RNA, mRNA, meaning they can provide information to cells to do certain things. 

This term may sound familiar to you.

Yes, recent pandemic shots were created with mRNA technology within exosomes to deliver the viral proteins of the c-19 for the immune system to create immunity to it.

(Note: I have to speak in code words around shots because my message will be blocked – yes censorship is real)

Considering most people who’ve had the shot ended up getting c-19 you’re likely thinking well these exosome things do not work that well. 

This is why I wanted to cover exosomes, for education, plus they are marketed heavily at higher end med-spas and regenerative pain clinics right now. 

It’s still surprising to me how many clients tell me they’ve tried the exosome $300 add on to their micro needling or laser treatment at a med-spa and they didn’t even know what they were agreeing to putting in their body. 

They were just told it’s a booster to increase recovery time and enhance skin rejuvenation. 

Knowledge is power, you do want to know what you’re putting on and in your body.

According to my resources the exosomes used in anti-aging skincare, tendon, ligament tendon and other regenerative conditions do not contain any DNA or manipulated mRNA particles. 

Where are exosomes sourced from?

Exosomes come from stem cells that are harvested from umbilical cords of women who have been screened extensively and donated them.

They are collected during healthy c-section live births only at certain facilities and harvested quickly afterwards.

There are multiple reputable companies doing this world wide and in the United States and Dr. Joy Kong, I interviewed her a while back on my podcast, owns one of them in California.  

(Click HERE to listen in to my podcast on Stem Cells with Dr. Joy)

One of the prominent companies for topical exosomes is Regenerelle that makes the Resilielle  Age- Zero product from the Rochester, New York area.

If you’re considering exosomes, asking your practitioner where they source their product is crucial, they should be able to give you information in detail. 

And if it seems they gloss over it – find someone else that will take the time to explain everything in detail!

How could you benefit from exosome therapy?

I predict that exosome therapy is going to take over the stem cell and PRP (platelet rich plasma) market for anti-aging skincare, injury repair and chronic pain management.

These buggers may also be the wave of the future for targeted regenerative medicine therapy post heart attack and even in the case of liver and kidney damage scenarios.

Exosome therapy is a fraction of the cost of stem cell treatments, an average stem cell IV costs $4,000 and exosomes are in the $300-500 range can be put into IVs, used topically and injected depending on amount used. 

The cost alone makes it more affordable for those who are dabbling in regenerative medicine and want to see the effects. 

I think looking into exosomes is worth it if you have the following concerns…

• Musculoskeletal concerns: chronic low back pain, joint, disc, muscles, bones, ligaments, tendons and cartilage
• Recent injury that you want to speed up healing or it seems to be taking longer to heal
• Chronic nagging tendonitis or pain from an old neck, knee or even ankle injury
• Neurodegenerative conditions – neuropathy, MS, ALS
• Liver and kidney disease
• Inflammatory bowel disease
• Alternatives: you don’t want to use botox or fillers to reduce the signs of aging
• You’re feeling general aches and pains and want to turn back the clock on your musculoskeletal system
• Type two diabetes
• Infertility
• Urinary incontinence
• Hair loss that PRP injections or other serums have not helped
• Skin conditions: burns, scars, ulcers, eczema or psoriasis that are not autoimmune related

Exosomes are contraindicated in…

• Active cancer conditions 
• Those with active autoimmune condition flares (exceedingly high antibodies)
• Cancer
• Myeloproliferative disease
• Bone marrow dysplasia
• Sickle cell anemia
• Primary pulmonary hypertension
• Acute bacterial infection
• Recent dental work
• Macular degeneration
• Any condition with abnormal neovascularization
• Immune-compromised patients

Are you sure exosome therapy is safe?

• Make sure the practitioner can clearly explain the source of the exosome
• How they are made – ex: in a facility that adheres to FDA (or something similar in other countries – do your homework if it’s not from Europe, Japan or US based)
• Ensure the facility follows GMP compliancy rules to know it’s a clean facility. 

How many treatments does one typically need?

It depends.

Research has shown that effects of stem cells wears off after 1-2 weeks while exosomes extend the effect for 1-2 more weeks.

What I find interesting is that most docs I talk to say people notice effects up to 6 months after IV exosome treatments.

Dr. Gross mentioned a “biohacking” client tried exosomes in a vitamin IV noted his HRV (heart rate variability), recovery from life’s stress as I term it, went up from the 40’s to 80’s over the span of a few months post treatment.

Skin care based exosomes seem to be something that is more individual and can require monthly series for up to 4 months then effects can last for 6-8 months after that.

Can you combine exosomes with other therapies?

Yes!

They are used to amplify stem cell therapies as they boost the effect.

Exosomes can be paired with bio-identical hormones, PRP (platelet rich plasma), peptide therapy, nutritional IVs, micro needling, laser therapies, acupuncture, trigger point injections and more.

If you listen to my podcast with Dr. Gross you’ll hear my excitement about exosomes and the possibility of designer exosomes in the future. 

I think they could be amazing amplifiers of a lot of the hands on therapies that I personally do when I’m in the office such as acupuncture, microneedling, trigger point injections and even a lot of the bodywork therapies.

I’m cautious when it comes to sourcing – as I am with anything I put in my mouth, breathe and drink. 

I’ll be keeping an eye on the market for these as I know there are black market ones being distributed from Asian countries that I wouldn’t trust at all. 

Ask your medical and skin care providers about the sourcing of the products they are using.

Do your homework – many providers are being sold on exosomes from reps and are too busy to look deeper into the products.

It’s key to be your own health advocate and not rely on trust alone. 

If you can’t trace back the product to a company with clean facility ratings and a transparent chain of where they source the exosomes, find another source.

I love the potential that exosomes have to offer when it comes to regenerative medicine. 

I’m hoping that designer exosomes can be created without manipulating mRNA or DNA. 

I could geek out on this topic for hours yet I know your time is valuable. 

If you have questions or thoughts on this topic hit reply.

Thank you for spending time with me 3 days a week, I sincerely appreciate each and every one of you!

If you want to geek out more on exosomes…

Listen to my podcast super informative podcast with Dr. Jeffrey Gross, I learned a lot from him! – Click HERE to listen.

If you prefer to read more on exosomes…

Check out this research article – HERE.

Here’s to taking your health to the next level,

Dr. J

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