AFI+™ is an autologous cell based skin rejuvenation treatment which is much more effective than conventional aesthetic procedures, such as mesotherapy and PRP, and has long-lasting effect without foreign materials or frequent follow-up visits, as required for Botox or hyaluronic injection. In this procedure, the facial skin is rejuvenated by injecting your own skin cells (fibroblasts) to replace the one lost with time, thus reversing the process of skin aging. This personalized, natural and highly efficient procedure is considered by dermatologists and aging experts to be the most efficient skin rejuvenation treatment available today and a single injection will have effects that lasts for years.
Fibroblasts are like factories of the skin and they produce the main components of the skin matrix. These cells are crucial for skin structure, firmness, elasticity and hydration. They synthesize collagen, the fibril protein which gives firmness to the skin. The wrinkling of the skin that increases with age is primarily caused by degradation of collagen, which is due among other things to the decrease in the number of fibroblasts. Fibroblasts are also responsible for the production of another fibril protein called elastin, which is responsible for skin elasticity. Elastin is also degraded with age and cannot be replaced due to the decreasing number of fibroblasts. Another characteristic of aging skin is its increasing dryness, in big part due to the decreased production of hyaluronic acid and it can be temporarily compensated by hyaluronic acid injection. These molecules are also produced by fibroblasts and so AFI+™ can increase the natural production of hyaluronic acid for years. In this way, wrinkles are filled, the skin looks fresher and younger, without damaging the natural look.
The facial skin is a constant reminder of the passage of time by the apparition of wrinkles and sagging skin in the course of life. In order to be able to guarantee an optimal treatment of the disruptive influence of time, our research is continuously working on improvements to skin rejuvenation method through fibroblasts injection.
Wrinkles appear on various regions of the face, most often over the lips, at the corners of the lips, around the eyes, on the forehead and between the eyebrows. These changes are largely due to the loss of important skin matrix components such as collagen, elastin or hyaluronic acid. A similar process is also responsible for acne-related scars. Various filler substances (“dermal filler”), such as collagen or hyaluronic acid, have been used to correct such skin defects for a long time.
Although these methods have proven to be very effective overall, they only give the appearance of a younger skin for a few months but don’t actually rejuvenate the skin.
In order to avoid inflammation and allergic response, fibroblasts used for fibroblast therapy are autologous - drawn from the patient's own tissue - which virtually rules out the possibility of an immune response. The same principle is used for PRP treatment and explains why this method has been so popular and safe. Contrary to PRP though, in AFI+™ the cells injected in the skin are not blood cells but skin cells which make them even more suitable to be efficient in their natural environment.
Before the rejuvenating fibroblasts can be injected into the skin, they must first be multiplied in our laboratory. A dermatologist collects a 3mm wide skin sample from a non-sun-exposed part of the skin in order to get cells that haven’t suffer photo-aging and are thus biologically younger than the skin cells in the face. The body's own fibroblasts in the sample are then cultivated in our laboratory for about a month. In the actual treatment session, the cultured fibroblasts are injected into the skin areas requiring treatment. After the successful completion of this injection, these younger and active fibroblasts begin to synthesize extracellular matrix components and thus renew and thicken the skin. This procedure is also very effective in treating scarred skin changes such as acne scars.
Contrary to filler injection which show immediate but temporary results, fibroblast injection shows increasing results with time. Since the fibroblasts are responsible for collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid production in the injected zone, the skin becomes thicker, firmer and regain elasticity in this area. The first results of the treatment can be seen after a few weeks and these results keeps on improving over the months and would last for years. As a result, the skin appears fresher, more elastic and younger, wrinkles are fading, and the skin is overall healthier.
The treatment with autologous fibroblasts was carried out as early as 1995 and clinical studies were carried out in over 2,000 patients. Thus, the effectiveness and almost side effects free therapy could be confirmed and led to an approval in America.
