George · The Biohack Diaries
Placenta Extract
The placenta is an organ produced only at the time of birth in mammals. Through it, the mother's body provides nutrition and oxygen to the growing baby. In the womb, the placenta serves as an all-purpose organ for the baby; placenta extract lets us use that same richness for your overall health.
Our placenta therapy is an anti-aging treatment based on the regenerative properties of placenta cells, which help to repair and maintain the body at a cellular level, specifically in the skin, hair, liver, kidneys, immune system, nervous system and reproductive system. The treatment is purely biological, with no chemicals or harmful medicines, and is based on established German and Japanese anti-aging protocols.
Placenta Extract is a quick intramuscular injection of hydrolyzed placenta extract, rich in amino acids, peptides and vitamins, and an abundant natural source of the growth factors that help keep the body young. It supports skin, energy and recovery.
What it is and how it works
The placenta is able to retain the nutrients and growth factors needed after delivery. Our placenta extract is made from human placenta, by hydrolyzing placental cells, and the resulting extract contains:
Amino acids such as leucine, lysine, valine, threonine, isoleucine, glycine, alanine and arginine, which are fundamental for protein synthesis and overall health.
Active peptides, a key to the extract's pharmacological activity.
Proteins such as albumin and globulin, which play significant roles in many physiological processes.
Mucopolysaccharides such as hyaluronic acid and chondroitin, known for their benefits in joint health and skin hydration.
Vitamins including B1, B2, B6, B12, C, D, E and niacin, vital for many bodily functions and overall wellbeing.
Minerals such as calcium, sodium, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, zinc and iron, crucial for proper cellular function.
Nucleic acids such as DNA and RNA, along with metabolic products, essential for genetic information and cellular processes.
Enzymes: close to 100 varieties have been identified, including alkaline phosphatase and acid phosphatase.
A cancer-suppressant protein (Metastin; see The science below), which suggests potential anticancer properties.
Together, these constituents make placenta extract a valuable resource with wide-ranging potential health benefits.
An abundant source of growth factors
Growth factors are naturally occurring substances capable of stimulating cellular growth, proliferation, healing and cellular differentiation. They have a regenerative effect on cells and organs. "For regenerative purposes, we need the different kinds of growth factors found only when we were embryos, which are believed to be found in the placenta." Placenta extract contains:
Hepatocyte Growth Factor (HGF): promotes growth of liver parenchymal cells and various other tissues.
Nerve Growth Factor (NGF): promotes growth of nerve cells (sensory and sympathetic ganglion cells).
Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF): promotes growth of skin, lung, corneal and tracheal epithelial cells.
Fibroblast Growth Factor (FGF): promotes growth of human fibroblasts, glial cells and vascular endothelial cells.
Insulin-like Growth Factor (IGF): promotes growth of cartilage cells and smooth muscle cells.
Platelet-Derived Growth Factor (PDGF): promotes wound healing.
Growth factors that increase immune strength, including Colony-Stimulating Factor (CSF), which promotes growth of stem cells such as immunocompetent granulocytes and macrophages, and Interleukin-1 (IL-1), which promotes production of immunocompetent cells (T cells, B cells and NK cells), thymus cells and white blood cells.
The "all-purpose organ"
Many researchers have found that the placenta has a wide variety of medicinal effects. Considering its many nutritional properties and growth factors, the "all-purpose organ" seems a fitting description. Its main medicinal functions are:
Nervous system regulation (specifically the autonomic nervous system)
Endocrine (hormonal) system regulation
Immune system function (raises resistance to illness)
Basal metabolism function (energizes the metabolism, activating cells, blood vessels and organs)
Active oxygen removal (antioxidant; prevents oxidation)
Anti-inflammatory function
Tissue repair function
Tranquilizing function
Support for hair growth
It has also been shown to have a number of other functions:
Anti-toxin function (strengthens the liver)
Lactation promotion
Anti-allergy function
Constitution function
Circulation function
Blood production
Anti-mutagen function (suppresses mutations)
Blood pressure regulation
Fatigue recovery
Placenta extract increases the body's natural healing through hormonal, nervous and immune regulation, giving the body resistance against disease. Free radicals are often blamed for many modern diseases, and the placenta has been confirmed to remove free radicals, adding another way in which it strengthens the body. It also acts to improve basic metabolism, strengthen the liver and counteract toxins, counter inflammation, accelerate wound recovery, accelerate muscle formation, promote circulation, promote blood production, combat allergens, regulate the body and improve the constitution.
What it is for
Placenta Extract supports skin, energy and recovery. A key feature of the placenta is that it can be applied to a wide variety of conditions. When an illness is treated with placenta, it is often not just that one illness that improves: patients frequently notice more general improvements in health and beauty, such as waking up refreshed, feeling less tired or having clearer skin.
Skin and facial rejuvenation
Placenta extract is not only a source of good health; it is also very powerful in beauty treatments, for a bright, glowing skin. Many women undergo this therapy for aesthetic reasons:
Blemishes disappear
Wrinkles are reduced
Sagging skin gains a natural lift (a non-surgical facelift)
Hair regeneration is stimulated and hair loss stops
The remarkable thing about placenta is, first, its skin-whitening effect, and second, its wide-ranging power to improve the "big three" skin problems (spots, wrinkles and acne), not to mention dry, rough and sensitive skin and skin aging. It works on the skin through:
Tissue regeneration (improves regeneration of skin cells, promoting their replacement)
Cell growth and regeneration (not only a direct nutrient, but also promotes the growth and regeneration of cells)
Circulation promotion (promotes circulation in the skin, bringing nutrients and removing waste products)
The placenta is rich in the amino acids, vitamins and minerals the living body needs. It adds moisture to the skin, adjusts its texture, normalizes skin turnover and helps maintain healthy skin. It can also be used for sensitive skin.
Conditions reported to benefit
Placental treatment has been reported as beneficial for:
Osteoarthritis pain and cartilage repair
Joint flexibility
Pre-menopause and menopause symptoms
Skin elasticity, texture and thickness
Immune system support
Sexual performance
Mental functions
Heart disease
Cell and tissue regeneration
Liver and kidney disease
Doctors have also reported placenta as effective in the following areas:
Gynecology: menopausal disorders, menstrual pain, irregular menstruation, failure of lactation and high prolactin levels.
Internal medicine: hepatitis, cirrhosis of the liver, chronic pancreatitis, diabetes, chronic gastritis, dyspepsia, gastric and duodenal ulcers, ulcerative colitis, bronchial asthma, chronic bronchitis, high and low blood pressure, habitual constipation and collagen disease.
Orthopedics and pain: chronic rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, arthritis, neuralgia, lumbago and stiff shoulders.
Dermatology: atopic skin complaints, psoriasis, body odor, eczema, chapped skin, spots and freckles.
Psychiatry: autonomic imbalance and sleeplessness.
Urology: enlarged prostate, cystitis and hemorrhoids.
Ophthalmology: cataracts, allergic conjunctivitis and vision loss.
Ear, nose and throat: allergic rhinitis, Ménière's disease and hay fever.
Dentistry: pyorrhea and gum disease.
Other: fatigue, chills, a weak constitution, recovery of strength during and after illness, muscularity and strength of mind.
Who it is for
Placenta Extract is for adults who want to support their skin, energy and recovery, whether for aesthetic reasons, for overall health and anti-aging, or as support for one of the conditions above, such as liver health, joint pain, nerve pain or inflammatory skin conditions. Your doctor plans the optimum treatment regime for you at your consultation to make sure your desired results are achieved.
The treatment
Each injection takes 5–10 minutes.
Consultation. Your doctor reviews your health and goals and plans the treatment regime that suits you.
Preparation. The injection area is wiped with alcohol.
Injection. Placenta extract is injected into the muscle of the buttock.
A typical protocol is three double doses injected intramuscularly into the buttock over three visits within a 1–2 week period. The course can be repeated once or twice a year. As always, the number of sessions is set by your doctor after an in-person assessment, and several treatments can be combined on the same day, as your doctor advises.
People begin seeing results within days of their injections, and they often notice a general change in their overall health, not just in the targeted area.
Before and aftercare
Before your treatment
If possible, avoid anti-inflammatory and blood-thinning medications for 2 weeks before treatment.
Medications and supplements such as aspirin, vitamin E, ginkgo biloba, ginseng, St. John's wort, omega-3/fish oil, ibuprofen and other NSAIDs have a blood-thinning effect and can increase the risk of bruising and swelling after injections.
After your treatment
Avoid heavy exercise on the day of treatment; you can resume exercise the day after.
Keep the injection area clean and dry.
Do not swim or use a hot tub for 24 hours after the injection, to prevent heat-related reactions or infection.
Rest the treated area. For the first 24 hours, walking and gentle range of motion are encouraged.
Quality and safety
We obtain our placenta extract only from the best laboratory sources.
Placental tissue injections are all-natural and rich in proteins, hormones, vitamins and many other essential nutrients that occur in your own body, so you are not filling your body with harmful chemicals. Unlike many other medications, placental therapy has had no reported side effects: no headaches, insomnia, nausea or fatigue of the kind artificial chemicals often produce.
The science
Growth factors and organ regeneration
On 7 January 2001, the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun carried the headline "Cell Regeneration Drug to Begin Clinical Use". The article described the start of treatment using Hepatocyte Growth Factor (HGF), which has a regenerative effect on cells and organs, and declared that it would revolutionize 21st-century medicine.
HGF's regenerative effect on the liver was first verified in 1984 by a research team led by Toshikazu Nakamura at the Biomedical Research Center of Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine. Later research revealed that the effect was not restricted to liver cells: HGF prevents necrosis and regenerates almost all organs.
Animal testing showed that HGF repairs serious illnesses of the liver, kidneys, heart, blood vessels and nervous system. When HGF was injected into animals made ill for the experiment, cells on the verge of death were revived. It proved effective for almost all diseases tested except cancer, a result so striking that HGF came to be called the "Happy Growth Factor". Diseases against which HGF was effective in animal testing included:
Liver diseases: acute hepatitis, hepatitis, cirrhosis of the liver and liver transplantation.
Kidney diseases: renal failure and kidney transplantation.
Lung diseases: acute pneumonia and lung fibrosis.
Digestive diseases: gastric ulcers and diabetes (pancreatic cell regeneration).
Cardiovascular diseases: heart attack, cardiomyopathy, obstructive arteriosclerosis and prevention of coronary stenosis.
Muscular diseases: muscular dystrophy.
Cranial nerve diseases: stroke, Parkinson's disease and Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS).
(Asahi Shimbun, 7 January 2001)
Clinical trials then began to examine whether HGF is also effective in humans, with trials planned at Osaka University for obstructive arteriosclerosis and heart attack patients, and at Hyogo College of Medicine for patients with cirrhosis of the liver. Thorough data on effectiveness and safety must be gathered before such research becomes practical treatment. However, HGF is already present in the placenta, which means we can make use of its power today through placenta extract.
Metastin: a cancer suppressant found in the placenta
In research into orphan receptors, Takeda Pharmaceutical discovered a bioactive peptide with a cancer-suppressant effect. It is produced by the cancer-suppressant gene KiSS-1 and was named "Metastin" after "metastasis", the spread of cancer. The KiSS-1 gene had been reported in 1997 by a research group led by Professor Welch at Pennsylvania State University, but only now were its products and functions demonstrated. The same line of orphan-receptor research had earlier identified the peptides PrRP, Apelin, GALP and RF amide, found receptors for MCH, Urotensin II and Neuromedin U, and shown in animal tests that an MCH antagonist has an anti-obesity function.
In the experiment, melanoma cells were injected under the skin of mice and a tumor allowed to form for five weeks before spreading to the lungs, where the Metastin receptor OT7T175 was produced. Continuous administration of Metastin significantly suppressed the spread of melanoma to the lungs, reducing it by approximately one third. In test-tube experiments, Metastin also suppressed cell migration, indicating that it inhibits the ability of cancer cells to move, which would explain its cancer-suppressant effect in the body.
Further investigation is needed to confirm a similar effect on human cancer cells, although it is hoped Metastin may suppress the spread of ovarian cancer, which has a relatively high frequency of Metastin receptors. Importantly, the Takeda team discovered Metastin in the human placenta, where it is present in large quantities, suggesting that the placenta plays a major physiological role and that further such substances are waiting to be discovered there. The research was published in Nature on 31 May 2001 and reported in both the Asahi Shimbun and the Nikkei Shimbun on 1 June 2001.
Anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects
Placental extracts have been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties. Amniotic epithelial cells (AEC) and amniotic mesenchymal stromal cells (AMSC), isolated from the amniotic membrane (the innermost layer of the placenta), are known to be anti-inflammatory.
Sur et al. studied the anti-inflammatory activity of placental extracts by inducing inflammation in the hind paws of Wistar rats with carrageenan, serotonin (5-HT) and prostaglandin E1. When placental extracts were given, the paw swelling was reduced significantly.
Placental extracts also act as natural antioxidants, as they contain superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase, which neutralize free radicals, preventing cell damage and the development of disease. Shinde et al. studied the hydroxyl radical scavenging activity, reducing power, nitric oxide scavenging and anti-lipid peroxidation of human placental extracts and found that they protect against and scavenge various free radicals, making them a potential source of natural antioxidants. Other research found that placental extracts significantly reduced nitrite-induced oxidative damage in red blood cells, with ABTS scavenging and chelating abilities.
Skin inflammation
Like any other part of the body, the skin can be involved in immune responses, and inflammation in the skin often causes a rash. Inflammation occurs when the immune system responds to a stimulus or trigger. Many types of immune cells are involved; they release substances that widen blood vessels and make them more permeable, so the immune response can reach the affected area more easily. This also causes many of the symptoms of inflammation, including redness, heat and swelling. Common inflammatory skin diseases include atopic dermatitis, seborrheic dermatitis and contact dermatitis. The anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties of placenta extract described above are what make it useful for inflamed skin.
Nerve pain and diabetic neuropathy
Diabetic neuropathy is nerve damage that can occur in people with diabetes. Different types of nerve damage cause different symptoms, ranging from pain and numbness in the feet to problems with internal organs such as the heart and bladder.
Nerve pain can also be caused by inflammation, entirely unrelated to pressure from bones or blood vessels, and the anti-inflammatory function of placenta plays an active role in addressing it. Placenta also strengthens the whole body through its basal metabolism, immune system and fatigue recovery functions, boosting the body's natural healing power. Pain can also arise from stagnant blood flow in the limbs or shoulders; thanks to its circulation function, placenta helps blood flow through the body's capillaries and is a valuable tool in relieving such pain.
The liver
The liver is the largest organ in the body, weighing about 1.5 kg in an adult man and 1.3 kg in an adult woman, and containing around 250 billion liver cells. More than 500 vital functions have been linked to it. It controls most chemical levels in the blood, secretes bile to break down fats for digestion, processes all the blood leaving the stomach and intestines, breaks down chemicals, creates nutrients for the body to use and metabolizes medicines into forms that are easier for the body to use [1]. It has powerful regenerative abilities: even if 60–70% of the liver is removed, the remaining part will grow back to its original state.
Causes of liver damage include infection (parasites and viruses such as hepatitis A, B and C), autoimmune disease (autoimmune hepatitis, primary biliary cirrhosis, primary sclerosing cholangitis), inherited conditions (hemochromatosis, hyperoxaluria and oxalosis), chronic alcohol abuse, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and medications, herbal supplements, chemicals and solvents [3]. Risk factors include heavy alcohol use, injecting drugs with shared needles, tattoos or body piercings, a blood transfusion before 1992, exposure to other people's blood and body fluids, unprotected sex, exposure to certain chemicals or toxins, diabetes and obesity.
Liver cancer does not happen overnight. Chronic damage and inflammation lead from hepatitis to fibrosis and cirrhosis, which increases the risk of liver cancer, and untreated liver disease may progress to life-threatening liver failure. Signs include yellowish skin and eyes (jaundice), abdominal pain and swelling, swelling in the legs and ankles, itchy skin, dark urine, pale, bloody or tar-colored stools, chronic fatigue, nausea or vomiting, loss of appetite and a tendency to bruise easily [2].
To keep your liver healthy [4]:
Be careful with alcohol. Just four ounces a day of hard liquor for men (two for women) can begin to scar the liver.
Wash produce and avoid toxins. Pesticides and other toxins can damage the liver; read warning labels on the chemicals you use.
Prevent hepatitis A, B and C. Get vaccinated against hepatitis A and B (ask your doctor if you are at risk), practice safe sex, and wash your hands, as hepatitis A spreads through contaminated food or water.
Watch out for medications and herbs. The liver is the number one reason clinical drug trials are stopped or drugs are withdrawn, and 20% of liver injury in the U.S. is caused by supplements. The National Institutes of Health keeps a database of substances known to be toxic to the liver.
Exercise and eat well, and avoid obesity to prevent fatty liver disease.
Placenta extract for the liver
Human placental extract has been used for decades in China and Japan as a therapeutic agent for liver regeneration and endocrine abnormalities, and it has been shown to have anti-inflammatory, wound-healing and antioxidant effects in the clinical setting [6].
The placenta contains Hepatocyte Growth Factor, a cell and organ regenerator considered excellent at healing damaged liver cells. HGF is the reason the liver can grow back even when 70% of it is removed: it protects, repairs and regenerates liver cells from damage such as inflammation. This is why the placenta is so effective in treating cirrhosis of the liver, and it is currently the only medical product approved by the Japanese government for the treatment of cirrhosis. Placenta extract helps prevent liver damage and promote a healthy liver in the following ways [5]:
Boosts the function of the whole liver
Improves the liver's ability to detoxify
Increases immune resistance to overcome the hepatitis virus
Strengthens the ability to detoxify alcohol and drugs
Promotes the body's own production of interferons
Suppresses alcoholic and viral hepatitis
Supports repair of tissues damaged by hepatitis
Accelerates new cell formation
The key to treating liver disease is to prevent inflammation. In viral hepatitis such as hepatitis B and C, the immune system fights the virus using active oxygen, a "double-edged sword". In the right amounts, active oxygen destroys invading viruses, but when it is over-produced to fight an unusually active infection, it also damages (oxidizes) the surrounding cells and organs, and this produces the inflammation. In other words, viral hepatitis is inflammation of liver cells caused by the active oxygen that immune cells use against the hepatitis B and C viruses. A weakened immune system produces even more active oxygen, making the body very susceptible to inflammation. A robust immune system and the removal of active oxygen are therefore central to preventing viral hepatitis. One role of the placenta is to protect the fetus from oxidative stress, so it is likely that placental tissue contains a powerful component that removes active oxygen and free radicals.
After placenta extract treatment, patients with liver damage regularly see their GOT and GPT (liver enzyme) values fall within just one or two months.
Placental extract for fatty liver
For more than 40 years, human placental extract (HPE) has been prescribed clinically to treat chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis and other liver diseases [7]. In an experimental animal model of hepatitis, HPE reduced liver injury through liver regeneration and by inhibiting inflammatory reactions and liver-cell death (apoptosis). HPE has also recently been reported to be effective in patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) who did not respond to lifestyle changes. In the research:
HPE enhanced endothelial cell survival by increasing anti-apoptotic gene expression
HPE reduced liver injury
HPE counteracted chronic liver injury
In summary, HPE improved the pathology of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis by suppressing inflammation, oxidative stress and fibrosis, and directly limited damage to endothelial cells. HPE could therefore be an active therapeutic agent to stop simple fatty liver progressing to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.
Osteoarthritis and joints
Osteoarthritis pain and cartilage repair, joint flexibility, chronic rheumatoid arthritis, arthritis, lumbago and stiff shoulders are among the conditions for which placenta has been reported as beneficial. The extract's chondroitin and hyaluronic acid, its Insulin-like Growth Factor (which promotes the growth of cartilage cells) and its anti-inflammatory function are all relevant to joint health.
A long tradition
The placenta is a temporary organ formed to develop the embryo and expelled after birth. In most mammals other than humans, the mother eats the placenta after giving birth; when a cat or dog gives birth, the placenta is left with the mother and young, and even herbivores such as cows and horses eat it. Some say this hides the smell of birth from predators, but a more likely explanation is that the mother recovers her strength from the nutrient-rich placenta, with its lactation-promoting function an added reason. In Japan, the placenta and umbilical cord were traditionally placed as an offering on an altar to pray for the child's growth, and in earlier times, when medicines were scarce, a very ill child might be given the umbilical cord ground into a powder and boiled, as a special medicine.
(Source: Kentaro Yoshida, Placenta Power: For Health and Beauty.)
Frequently asked questions
I'm scared of needles. Is the injection painful?
Once you understand the potential benefits of placental tissue injections, you may well forget your concern about needles. The injection itself takes only a few minutes: the skin is cleaned with alcohol and the extract is injected into the muscle of the buttock.
Does placenta extract have side effects?
Placental therapy has had no reported side effects, such as the headaches, insomnia, nausea or fatigue that artificial chemicals often produce. As with any injection, blood-thinning medications and supplements can increase the risk of bruising and swelling, which is why we ask you to avoid them for 2 weeks beforehand if possible.
How soon will I notice a difference?
People begin seeing results within days of their injections, and many notice a general improvement in their overall health, not only in the area they wanted to treat.
How many injections will I need?
A typical course is three double doses injected into the buttock over three visits within 1–2 weeks, repeated once or twice a year. Your doctor sets the number of sessions after an in-person assessment.
Can I exercise after the injection?
Avoid heavy exercise on the day of treatment. You can resume exercise the next day. Walking and gentle movement are encouraged in the first 24 hours.
George writes about his own experience with this on Placenta extract.
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