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Injectable Dermal Fillers -
Isologen Isolagen is manufactured by Isolagen Technologies Incorporated. Isolagen is often called "grow-your-own-facelift”, and the generic name is cultured autologous human fibroblasts. This product is not FDA Approved yet and is made by Isolagen. The anti-aging skin care treatment is designed to erase signs of wrinkles on your face, as well as to minimize scars from acne. Isolagen is also used to augment lip shape and size. In contrast to other popular facial fillers such as some of the hyaluronic acid products, which offer quick repair - Isolagen is a more involved process. Isolagen requires the growth of your own collagen in a lab; once prepared, it is injected into your skin over a few weeks to fill in lines, wrinkles, and scars. This process is extremely expensive and can cost anywhere from $5000 to $7500 depending on the area being treated.
Isolagen consists of cultured autologous fibroblasts. A 3-mm punch biopsy is obtained from the patient and then sent to the manufacturer to be grown in culture. The presence of growth factors used to culture the cells requires it to be regulated by the FDA; therefore, for now, the company has temporarily halted production and is not accepting biopsy samples from new patients. Clinical trials are underway that may eventually lead to FDA approval. Processing usually takes 6 weeks at which time a test dose is sent back to the physician to be administered to the patient. If no reaction occurs after 2 weeks, Isolagen can be administered.
Isolagen needs to be injected into multiple levels of the dermis for best results in the treatment of wrinkles and scars and for use in lip augmentation. Once received, the product must be administered within 24 hours, which can be a logistic challenge and an expensive waste if a patient or a physician cannot meet these time constraints. Two to three treatments have been shown to yield persistent therapeutic results for as long as 22 months.
ADVANTAGES: Isolagen biggest advantage to collagen based fillers is that it consists mainly of your own collagen producing cells (fibroblasts) – rather than just collagen. If the injected fibroblasts take hold in the treated area of your skin, they can keep producing collagen for a long time. There is also no problem with rejection with Isolagen.
DISADVANTAGES: The biggest drawback with Isolagen is its cost factor along with the fact since it is still relatively new, it may take some time before we know if its durability and variability of results among individuals.
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