By Bill Murphy, MD
Medical Director, Turquoise Springs Medical Spa
Constantly, our body restores, heals, rebuilds, and replaces itself at the cellular and metabolic level. Once, sleep was thought to be only a state of unconsciousness, but now we know 7-8 hours of sleep is necessary to move short-term learned events to long-term storage and restore neuronal chemicals necessary for proper function. Recent studies also show in the last third of the night, the brain cells separate a bit, and the spinal fluid flushes out waste debris thought to have a role in dementia. So your Mom was right, you need more than 5-6 hours of sleep to be healthy.
Inflammation has a bad name as it is associated with joint pain, Advil commercials, arthritis, and disability. However, chronic inflammation is the bad actor and the result of excessive reactions by our bodies. Police officers, Firefighters, and EMS are the first responders in our community. The first responders in our body are Platelets. They are the sticky, little discs filled with signaling inflammatory chemicals in our bloodstream, circulating 24 hours a day, ready to be released the moment an outside threat appears. Rescue cells in the form of MSC’s (adult stem cells) rest in small blood vessels poised to be released. Ready to follow are 40 or 50 different cytokines, growth factors, and tissue-stimulating factors (rescue squads with fire fighting foam), which are circulating and waiting to be directed to the target. When there is an injury, the platelets attach to the damaged site and release their load of signaling chemicals, and all resources rush to the spot. A study with mice showed how radio-isotope labeled stem cells rushed to a mildly injured hind foot immediately after intravenous infusion into the mouse.
We use this inflammatory response in Aesthetics when we mildly injure the tissue (Micro-needling, threads, bio-stimulators, heat, and laser therapies) to induce the production of new collagen and help restore aging skin to look refreshed and restored.
For my pain patients and for my aesthetic clients, I have been harnessing the power of this natural healing cascade for several years with several different natural products. I have used PRP (platelet-rich plasma), Amnion serum harvested from amnion fluid from a healthy mother at delivery of her baby and processed by an FDA-approved lab, and most recently, PRF (platelet-rich fibrin) has emerged on the scene. PRF is a new way to produce PRP with fibrin, so it stays on the “target” longer for better healing and growth results. Last month, I introduced a new and better way to use PRF for my Aesthetic and Pain patients. It has truly been an innovative game changer for my patient’s clinical needs, it is all-natural, and it is a less expensive choice than some of the other options. This new choice is called EZ-Gel or PRF-Gel.
PRF-Gel can be used as filler for under the eyes, in the face and lips, around the mouth, and for lip lines. Injected into the skin anywhere on the body, it will stimulate collagen to improve skin quality and elasticity. I find it useful for painful joints due to degenerative arthritis, for bursitis, and for tendinitis as well.
What is PRF-Gel? I draw two small tubes of your blood. I spin one tube at one speed and the other tube at a faster speed in a centrifuge. The red blood cells are discarded, and the remaining yellow serum is the PRF. One tube forms a gel and is then mixed with the serum from the other tube to create PRF-Gel. This process concentrates the 40-50 tissue healing substances which are natural in our bodies, suspends them in a natural gel made from protein in our blood, and makes it possible to inject where we need it.
PRF-Gel is used to replace volume, decrease wrinkles, decrease pain in degenerative joints and injured muscles and tendons, stimulate collagen and elastin, and help us look younger and more vibrant. It is all from your body with no added chemicals and no manipulation of the material. It is the equivalent of 5 syringes of filler to be used and placed where you need it to heal, refresh, restore, and rebuild. It is excellent as a natural replacement for fillers like Juvederm or Restylane or for joint or tissue injections instead of steroid shots or surgery. For a consultation to discuss how it might help you, call 210-253-3313.
