The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new product, laViv, that uses a patient’s own collagen cells to create an injectable wrinkle therapy serum, AFP reports.
Fibrocell Science, the Pennsylvania-based lab behind the treatment released the following statement: “LaViv is the first and only personalized aesthetic cell therapy approved by the FDA for the improvement of the appearance of moderate to severe nasolabial fold wrinkles in adults.”
In order to create the injectable substance, doctors take a sample of skin cells from behind a patient’s ear and then replicate hundreds of millions of the cells in a lab in order to reproduce the protein that naturally produces collagen and keeps skin resilient. The resulting cell substance is then frozen until needed for treatment.
In Fibrocell’s study, 57 percent of patients undergoing laViv treatment saw improvement in the appearance of nasolabial fold wrinkles.
More research is needed to determine how long the plumping effect lasts, but the product is promising for those patients who experience adverse reactions to other collagen fillers, the researchers say.
“The concept of using a patient’s own collagen-making cells is a revolutionary way to help treat nasolabial fold wrinkles and help restore a fresh appearance," said Robert A. Weiss of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
The most common side effects of laViv were redness, minor pain, and swelling or bruising at the injection site.
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