Exosome therapy is an exciting new field in regenerative medicine that holds the promise of influencing and reprogramming a variety of body cells to regenerate, heal and repair. Although the scientific community has known about exosomes for many years, the science is only now gaining momentum as technologies emerge for creating effective exosome therapies. This article briefly highlights the basics of exosome therapy and delves into its benefits and risks.
What is an exosome?
Exosomes are tiny vesicles that are released by cells into the surrounding environment. They play a vital role in cell-to-cell communication and transmit information between cells and tissues. This type of cell-to-cell communication involves transporting molecules. Essentially, exosomes carry information to cells with different functions and purposes. They tell cells how to react and when to react. Exosomes travel through the bloodstream. They also reach their target organs and tissues by crossing the blood-brain barrier.
The main intention for exosomes is to signal important information to cells that can’t communicate well with each other. This is usually because of a decease process or normal aging.
How?
An exosome is a small membrane-bound particle (vesicle) produced by most eukaryotic cells, including animal cells. The bubble-like particle contains proteins, DNA, mRNA, microRNA, long noncoding RNA, circular RNA, etc.
Scientists believe exosomes act as a messaging device between cells, relaying important information and contents relating to actions like coagulation, regeneration, and waste management from one group of cells to another.
What is Exosome therapy?
Exosome therapy introduces exosomes from human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) into the body to have them influence target cells.
An example -around 15 billion exosomes, which stimulate the body’s natural healing mechanisms, promoting faster healing and recovery and local tissue repair.
Exosome therapy can help manage degenerative conditions, tissue repair, anti-inflammation, and anti-aging because it targets aging, injured, or diseased cells, instructing them to regenerate and repair.
Exosome therapy is used primarily in the regeneration of damaged tissue because the main function of the exosome is to make cells work together better. Exosomes also carry a large number of growth factors, which help in tissue regeneration.
They effectively communicate with your body to repair what is needed. For example, if your body is beginning to develop an infection, its exosomes will work with your immune response to defend and protect the body against it. This is critical to reducing inflammation, maximizes brain health and neurological concerns, metabolism, reducing chronic pain, regeneration of cells and tissue.
Exosome therapy is most often performed via IV infusion or direct injection into an area of the body.
Additionally, they have been linked to aiding in diseases such as cancer or neurodegeneration. They serve as key contributors to fighting off illness and disease.
How does exosome therapy work?
Exosome therapy delivers exosomes into the body through an IV drip or an injection to the target site. The exosomes, numbering in the billions, attach to target cells in the body, including blood, brain, muscle, skeletal, and organ cells.
Another manner of delivery is post micro needling. An exosome mask to increase collagen growth, reducing fine lines, strengthening, and brightening skin tone.
Once they attach to the cells, they transfer their payload into the cells, providing raw materials (proteins) and instructions (mRNA, miRNA, signaling cytokines) that instruct and empower them to regenerate and repair. Exosomes also enhance cell-to-cell communications, leading to a swift improvement in health and vitality.
Exosome therapy vs. stem cell therapy: what is the difference?
The main difference between exosome therapy and stem cell therapy is that the former is cell-free. Exosomes are extracted from MSCs and sterilized, while stem cell therapy (SCT) relies on sterilized stem cells.
Another significant difference is that exosomes contain around three times the growth factors of adult stem cells. This higher potency offers a higher possibility of faster repair, regeneration, and revitalization of target cells.
Exosome therapy benefits
- Reduced inflammation
Although inflammation is the body’s way of fighting harmful factors like infections, chronic inflammation is linked to DNA damage, tissue death, and internal scarring. Exosome therapy helps reduce inflammation by “telling” inflamed cells to reset, repair, and regenerate, thus reducing overall inflammation.
- Supports metabolic function
The metabolic function acts as the body’s furnace, so when it slows down, issues like weight gain, lethargy, and poor muscle tone ensue. Exosome therapy re-energizes and reinvigorates cells, helping them metabolize nutrients better and generate more energy. This process recharges your metabolic function, making it easier to lose weight, improve muscle tone and increase energy levels.
- Improves brain health
Aging and damaged brain cells lead to a decline in cognitive function, making it harder to concentrate for extended periods and impeding learning capacity. Exosome therapy targeting brain cells signals them to regenerate and repair, improving cognitive function in alertness, mental performance, and clarity.
- Reduces chronic pain
Unlike acute pain, chronic pain serves no beneficial role in the body and can negatively impact daily life. Exosome therapy targets the origin cells emitting inflammation signals, influencing them to heal and regenerate. A reduction in inflammation reduces the chronic pain signals being sent to the brain, resulting in less overall pain.
- Enhances tissue regeneration
The aging process is linked to tissue death, among other factors. While diet and exercise can slow down tissue death, exosome therapy appears to reverse it. By instructing the tissue cells to regenerate, exosomes effectively reverse tissue degeneration, resulting in new tissue growth and overall healthy cell regeneration.
~ Diseases like Parkinson’s Disease might also benefit from exosome therapy. This disease is due to a loss of specialized cells over time. Exosomes have regenerative genetic material and deliver protein and lipid cellular building blocks. These properties can help restore cells to health.
- Skin collagen stimulation
Exosome facial rejuvenation can increase skin collagen in the treated areas by up to six-fold and also increases elastin levels by up to 300%. The increase in the collagen and elastin levels will result in: Visible reduction of fine lines, wrinkles, and age spots.
- Cardiac cell Regeneration
Researchers have found that after a heart attack, the damaged cells release exosomes to regenerate cardiac cells.
- Boosts immune health
A weak immune system is like opening Pandora’s Box, as it significantly increases susceptibility to infection. Exosome therapy provides cells with the cellular resources needed to regenerate, repair, and stay healthy. Healthy cells, in turn, boost the body’s overall defense systems, making it harder for infection to set in.
Exosome therapy risks
- Contamination
If the exosomes in use are not correctly extracted and sterilized, they can contain intracellular or extracellular genetic material from the origin MSCs. This genetic material can be potentially harmful. It can result in the wrong signals being sent to cells, potentially leading to growths or abnormal development of cells at the target site or other areas in the body.
- Recycled MSCs
Exosomes should only be extracted from new and unused MSCs to ensure the purity and efficacy of the exosomes. If exosomes are extracted from recycled MSCs, they might not have the same amount or quality growth factors. Additionally, recycled MSCs pose a more significant threat of contamination compared to newly harvested MSCs.
- Bacterial infection
Exosomes are tiny compared to bacteria. However, improper extraction methods or incomplete sterilization of the exosome extract can allow bacteria to escape into the final therapy preparation. Since some infection cases have been reported of acute bacterial infections from exosome therapy, it is necessary to work with a trusted exosome therapy clinic to ensure safe treatment. Here at Body Stress Solutions (or the Center for Disease Prevention CDP) we only work with the most reputable distributor of Exosomes EXOVEX.
How long does it take to see results from exosomes?
For most patients, the most apparent results tend to appear within three to four months of treatment, and the best, most dramatic results appear within nine months.
Listed below are some interesting research articles in understanding more of about how Exosomes work:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7037429
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7981389
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7795439