When you go in for liposuction, you may be doing much more than slimming your tummy bulge; you could be supporting one of the most important lines of medical research today. Scientists working from Stanford University's School of Medicine have recently found that fat removed during liposuction can easily be turned into stem-cells, which many scientists believe are an important key to the understanding and prevention of disease.
Stem cells are unique in their potential for healing because they are undifferentiated, unlike almost all cells in the human body. Stem cells are a sort of blank slate, and they can be manipulated to become any other type of cell. This versatility makes them incredibly important. Some scientists feel that stem cells will make it possible to grow new tissues and organs, eliminating the problems currently associated with organ transplants. They could also prove invaluable in treating damage to the nervous system in ways that current technology cannot match.
However, stem cell research has been limited in the United States. The adult human body contains no stem cells, because all of the body's stem cells differentiate during the body's early stages of development. Additionally, the nation is violently divided as to the ethicality of the use of embryonic stem cells in research. Thus, doctors and scientists have researched the possibility of creating stem cells from other cells. This research has most recently focused on skin cells.
However, recent studies suggest that fat cells removed during liposuction may be much better suited for the creation of stem cells. Fat cells are easier to reprogram than skin cells, and they take less time to prepare. Dr. Joseph Wu, who assisted with the study, pointed out the advantages of working with fat cells, as opposed to skin cells: "We start with a lot of cells, [and] we can reprogram them much more efficiently." Dr. Michael Longaker, the doctor whose patients donated their fat to the study, further explained that human fat is a renewable, abundant resource and valuable resource. Dr. Longaker even went so far as to describe this fat as "liquid gold."
Some scientists hope that this new breakthrough will improve the quality of stem-cell research and that it will eliminate the controversy linked to embryonic stem cell experimentation. It is equally possible that this finding could change the face of liposuction, moving it from the realm of cosmetic surgery into the highest levels of our current understanding of human health.
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