“The human body’s usually unwanted fat tissue may end up, after all, as a very useful contributor to regenerative medicine, a rapidly expanding set of innovative medical technologies that restore human function by enabling the body to repair, replace, or regenerate damaged, aging or diseased cells, tissues, and organs. The use of autologous or one’s own fat, which in itself contains large amounts of various types of stem cells, is a new frontier in medicine that’s widely accepted in Europe and Asia.

Several young biotech firms are already using an adult’s own stem cells not for cosmetic effects alone but to meet the rising demand for anti-aging and rejuvenation treatments, as well as addressing more serious medical conditions, including acute cardiovascular disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, inflammation, arthritis, and hypertension.

Certainly the cell therapy industry is showing great potential for huge growth. “We note that the current business fundamentals in cosmetic and reconstructive surgery are improving,” says Jason Napolitano, analyst at Zacks Investment Research. The leader in the group is Cytori Therapeutics (CYTX), which develops and makes medical products and devices for regenerative medicine.

A smaller biotech firm, IntelliCell Biosciences (SVFC), is a new entry in the game but has made a technological breakthrough in manufacturing “stromal vascular fraction” (SVF) cells derived from a body’s fat that can be used to treat ailments or rejuvenate diseased or damaged tissue and cell function. Under the FDA’s Rule 361, IntelliCells is authorized to commercially sell its SVF stem cells in the U.S. IntelliCell has applied for a patent on the use of ultrasonic cavitaton to break up fat tissue to dramatically increase the yield of SVF cells from just 2 oz. of fat.

Cytori has an array of products, including a device called Celution, which processes a patient’s adipose-derived stem and regenerative cells, for use in cosmetic and reconstructive surgery. Cytori markets a $100,000 machine to physicians to process 6 oz. of fat that in two hours derives about 50 million SVF cells. The machine breaks up the fat cells through a chemical enzyme. Cytori has also developed a Celution system, which has completed two clinical trials, for applications in cardiovascular disease, wound healing, gastronomical intestinal disorders and urinary incontinence.”

Excerpt from Forbes by Gene Marcial, to read the full article head over to https://www.forbes.com/sites/genemarcial/2011/08/28/human-bodys-fat-seen-as-best-source-of-stem-cells-for-regenerative-therapies/#4f1d189646ae