The high expense of treatment in dermatology has caused researchers to seek preventive and regenerative medical treatment which is cheaper. This can be done - among others - by human stem cell development. Stem cell is a group of cells in human body that can renew itself and differentiates into various types of cells.
According to UGM lecturer from Dermatology and Venereology Department, Prof. Dr. Dr. Yohanes Widodo Wirohadjojo, Sp.KK(K)., said the outer skin of human body was the source of stem cells. “Skin as the outer organ of human body is the source of stem cells that can be easily obtained clinically,” said Prof Yohanes Widodo Wirohadjojo in his professorship inaugural remarks on Thursday (28/11) in the Senate Hall UGM.
The man born in Pendopo-Palembang, South Sumatera, 62 years ago said in the human body there are epidermic membranes from ectodermal and dermis-subkutis membranes that come from the mesoderm. “From those parts we can easily get stem cells, whether epidermal cell, krista neuralis stem cells or mesenschymal cells,” he said.
In the speech titled Application of Human Skin Stem Cells in Clinical Practices, Widodo explained the applications of stem cells and their products in dermatology that have been developed, such as utilisation of stem cell for burns, baldness, vitiligo, wrinkles, and chronic ulcer.
According to Widodo, wrinkles can be treated by application of adiposa autolog stem cells. Fat graft mixed with adiposa autolog stem cells can even repair the wrinkles on the face. Application of small scale fat that is rich in adiposa stem cells is getting more popular in dermatology clinic.
Widodo explained the possible application of stem cell in the future in beauty clinic may come in the form of application of sekretom heterologous to prevent and treat aging skin. But the weakness of this technology is the extent of sekretom molecules that exceeds the threshhold of percutaneous absorption. “To find the right method for increasing the absorption for percutaneous improvement is still being done,” he said.