Epidermal growth factor is capable of increasing skin thickness, restoring elasticity and firmness, reducing the effects of cellular oxidation and eliminating wrinkles.
The use of platelet-rich plasma is very recent. Its discoverer, Dr. Eduardo Anitua, was the first to use them for oral implants. The result: a perfect dental implant. It was later used in traumatology to treat comminuted fractures, i.e., fractures that had been broken into pieces. These extraordinary results led to the technique being extended to other applications and medical disciplines. This is why, for example, ophthalmologists began to use it to treat corneal ulcers and other eye injuries, and why in the field of aesthetic medicine, just over three years ago, it was used to regenerate and rejuvenate the skin, among other uses. Platelets release growth factors that are basically responsible for stimulating cell regeneration, increasing the formation of new blood vessels and producing new tissue. In other words, they activate the organism in the area where they are released, helping to rebuild damaged tissue, a repairing effect that is used to rejuvenate the skin.
One of these factors, the so-called epidermal growth factor, was the first polypeptide isolated and characterized as a growth factor and is capable of inducing the proliferation of keratinocytes and fibroblasts, stimulating angiogenesis and increasing the thickness of the skin, restoring its elasticity and firmness, as well as increasing vascularization in the area where it is applied, favoring the appearance of new skin, reducing the effects of cellular oxidation and eliminating wrinkles.
Discovered in 1960, Epidermal Growth Factor was a true revolution in the field of proliferation biology and keratinization of epidermal tissues, when it was observed that this protein accelerated the proliferation of the epidermis in any epidermal cell culture. So today, the magnificent results obtained with its application to accelerate the healing of burns, treat keloids, acne and stretch marks, improve the results of treatments of all kinds (including surgical), favor the consolidation of skin grafts, as well as post-peeling application or as a base treatment incorporated into cosmetics, continue to surprise experts. This protein, produced especially in the so-called Brunner’s glands of the duodenum and to a lesser extent in the submandibular glands, is found in almost all body fluids. In the case of the skin, the results are even more spectacular because they are easily appreciated, regulate the remodeling of the epidermis and dermis and influence the appearance and texture of the skin. With them, cell regeneration is provoked and the skin improves, because they produce a greater and faster revascularization of the skin. They also stimulate the production of glycosaminoglycans, collagen and elastic fibers necessary to replace structures altered by aging.
What are the benefits of growth factors?
- They regulate essential functions for tissue regeneration, remodeling and repair.
- They have the ability to attract and direct cells to where they are needed.
- They act in cell division to produce new cells.
- They promote the development of new blood vessels.
- They activate the synthesis of the cellular matrix.
Hence, health professionals who use them for aesthetic and cosmetic applications report:
- An increase in the thickness of the epidermis.
- A recovery of its elastic consistency.
- An improvement in revascularization.
- Increased skin smoothness.
In addition, they favor faster repithelialization, reduce the discomfort suffered by the patient and improve the results of the different treatments. But what is also a great advantage is that as they are autologous, i.e. extracted from the patient himself, they do not cause allergies, rejection or contagion of diseases. This means that in principle there is no absolute contraindication, since what is used are the patient’s own proteins. That is why it is useful for any person, regardless of age or condition and for almost any medical discipline, including aesthetics.
Function of PDGF (Platelet-Derived Growth Factor)
PDGF plays an important role in embryogenesis, particularly in the development of the kidney, blood vessels, lungs and central nervous system. In these organs, PDGF is important for connective tissue-derived cells, including pericytes, alveolar fibroblasts, kidney mesangial cells and glia cells. PDGF also plays an important role in adult wound healing by stimulating mitogenesis and chemotaxis of fibroblasts and smooth muscle cells. It also stimulates chemotaxis of neutrophils and macrophages.
Ozone and growth factors
The reason why ozone is sometimes used with growth factors is because it is a potent disinfectant, antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal and also has an extraordinary antioxidant capacity and therefore, while stimulating detoxification, it helps to oxygenate the tissue. If the patient is already receiving ozone therapy sessions, a small amount of blood is reserved and used to extract the platelets from the already ozonated blood. The other option, if the patient is not undergoing an Ozone Therapy treatment, is to proceed to the extraction of a little blood, obtain the platelets and then ozonate them inside the syringe used for reinjection into the skin. Although the use of growth factors alone already allows to obtain excellent results, the cases in which ozone is enriched with ozone is due to other reasons, for example for those cases in which extra support is needed to achieve skin regeneration, this is the case of smokers or those who suffer a serious aging of the same by excessive exposure to the sun.
How are growth factors applied?
Once the patient is in the office, an anesthetic cream is applied to the area to be treated and left to act for a few minutes, during which time the patient remains calmly relaxed. Then a little blood is drawn in order to obtain, almost on the fly, the necessary platelet concentrate. And once the plasma rich in growth factors is obtained, it is ozonized in the same syringe and then introduced into the dermis by means of microinjections distributed in that area. Once the application is finished, a relaxing and decongestive product is applied to the treated skin. In total, from the time the patient arrives until he/she leaves, a little more than an hour may pass.
It is easy to apply, because it can be performed in the office without danger to the patient or the doctor. And it has no side effects because it is an autologous implant. Therefore, there are no possible allergic reactions. The only possible “drawback” is that, although the platelets are injected into the skin with a very fine syringe, a very small purple spot left by the needle in the treated area may be noticed after the treatment, but it disappears quickly. All skins benefit from the treatment, although it is almost more spectacular in very damaged skins than in those that are not so damaged. There is always a noticeable improvement in the quality of the skin but, obviously, it is not the same to treat a well cared for 35 year old skin as a 60 year old skin that has never been cared for or is damaged by the effects of smoking or the sun.
The younger the skin is, the better it responds. It must be taken into account that it is not a cosmetic treatment that acts from the outside. It is a natural and physiological treatment that uses our body’s own proteins, selected and concentrated, to repair the damage caused by the passage of time or sun damage. Patience is required. The growth factors have to act by stimulating the tissue; therefore, there is no instantaneous result. The effects appear as the days pass and increase as the days go by.
When ozonized platelets are used, the treatment is repeated every two months in order to allow the skin to regenerate. Normally 21 days are enough between sessions, but with ozonization the stimulation is very intense and that is why more time is allowed to pass, so that the regeneration can stabilize and thus stimulate again on a better quality tissue.
How many sessions are necessary?
Three sessions are enough. The result of the last session lasts a year or a year and a half, at which time a booster session will be necessary. The results depend on the type of skin, the lesions that existed before and the type of life of the person. Changes in certain healthier habits, such as quitting smoking or protecting oneself from the sun and in the diet, increasing the consumption of fatty acids and antioxidants, for example, help general health and, of course, the skin. In any case, even if the patient is not willing to make these changes, the effects on the skin are good, regenerating and rejuvenating it, because its action is local and physiological.