hey steve, this is the wrong thread for this, but here I am…
Something just occurred to me to ask you about…
Ok, so I have an 18 year old cat with stage 3 ckd… he also has 3 legs. It’s getting harder for him to walk. I just got a red light therapy panel, and IF it is helping, it’s not enough, yet…I’ll keep doing it incase…
Next week, out of desperation, we are going to start him on EOD low dose meloxicam (NSAID) to help him hurt less when he walks.
It’s notoriously bad for CKD and will potentially end his life sooner… sigh… but I’m trying to make a quality of life tough call (he is 18 after all)
He is on rapa
That is just background to ask if you think this is a potential use case for bp157, instead of meloxicam? I don’t know much about it, but just making sure no stone is left unturned
I have not tried Sculptra yet. Was hoping some of you would first! I have bought too many vials of Radiesse and plan on using them up first before I make any more purchases. Lately I’ve had the most hectic family calendar of my life and have not had time for even my usual treatments. Sculptra should be an ideal candidate for treatment! Unfortunately what I got from my usual Chinese source was a completely B.S. counterfeit. Even the inner bottle said sodium hyalorenate instead of mentioning PLLA and it clearly wasn’t the right stuff as a bit accidentally got in my eye and there was zero irritation. Pretty sure it was just hyaluronic acid so it did nothing for me. The radiesse seems to be an equivalent product and I got good results from her Cytocare and NCFT 135 HA but for Sculptra I’ll need to buy the real deal. I’d rather hear it from any of you who tries it first but yes, theoretically it should work very well, given the molecular size and the consistency.
This case is one of our first procedures using the @depmedical (DermoElectroPoration®) System for skin rejuvenation using Hyperdilute Radiesse. Our patient returned 1.5yrs later for another treatment. Her skin quality is still looking rather supple with a softer appearing tech neck (horizontal neck creases) seen within the circles areas.
DEP is a non-invasive, stand alone drug-delivery system which increases the skin’s permeability by using the skin’s water based channels opened by a particular controlled current delivered to the patient, therefore allowing the substances to be absorbed by the hypodermis and muscle membranes.
In this case we diluted Radiesse to facilitate transdermal absorption. Radiesse stimulates collagen and elastin production to improve skin quality.
No doubt it will make skin on hands look better but it’s not the point I’m trying to make. It won’t restore lost volume in aging hands the way just one filler injection would. Im not saying that DEP does not work. It works great for the purpose it was designed. It was not designed to restore volume (not just plumping or hydrating the skin but really restore volume in aging hands, faces etc).
Consulted ChatGPT:
Is DEP designed to restore volume in aging hands?
No, DEP (Dermal Electroporation) is not designed to restore lost volume in aging hands. It enhances skin hydration and texture but does not replace volume like fillers do.
I guess it all depends on what you want to achieve with your hands. The age has to be taken into consideration first of all. Hands of a 30 year old are very different from hand of a 60 year old. Different age - different approach.
And btw the picture shows the neck of a young woman with hardly visible lines to start with. Before getting excited I would ask the doctor to demonstrate the same on a 60-70 yo model. I will definitely try it on my own neck.
DEP is a method of delivery of chemical compounds transcutaneously. It’s what it’s designed for. So the question becomes, is there any compound that can restore volume when injected transcutaneously? We leave aside hyaluronic filler as it’s a) not something that can be delivered via DEP anyway b) it’s a purely cosmetic procedure, not regenerating the body’s own tissue. There are people who claim success with Sculptra for hands. Whether the PLLA is delivered by needle or cannula or DEP is immaterial to its effectiveness other than as it relates to product wastage, which with DEP I dare say is about 20-30%.
Points to keep in mind:
Mechanistically the use of rapamycin dampens the stimulatory effect of any biostimulant including PLLA, all things equal
ChatGPT can be tricky when plied with leading questions as it’s got a bias to flatter the user
One of the things to know about BPC 157 is that it is not an analgesic and does not relieve pain.
It is a healing peptide, and specific to soft tissue like muscle, ligaments, tendons, skin. It doesn’t seem do anything for bones, osteoarthritis etc.
Because peptides are generally highly selective in how they work, or I should rephrase that, the cells that would benefit from a specific peptide must have the peptide receptor. If a highly targeted response is required. If the cell does not have the receptor it may still be of benefit through other actions of the peptide.
The first step would be to see if cats respond to BPC 157 and it’s quite likely they do.
Old thread but now I’m learning that estrogenic status can make a huge difference to how skin responds to treatments. This is another gem surfaced by ChatGPT for me, which was adamant on me going on HRT. I’ve backed up the finding with my own homework and many expert dermatologists on YT concur. I’m curious how that works for men given their low E levels but for me, basically I’ve been advised by ChatGPT to put on hold my treatments and give estrogen time to resensitize my skin receptors for 8-12 weeks before resuming. I’m expected to get a lot more out of each treatment — whatever I do, Sculptra via DEP, Ultraformer, RF microneedling etc. So maybe a huge factor of any intrinsic age differences in the capacity to regenerate could have to do with estrogen levels, at least for women.
So actually for either sex, it might be ideal to pair topical estradiol with all other mechanical or biostimulatory interventions. It doesn’t get absorbed systematically but just makes the skin respond better to whatever you happen to throw at it. I do mean, use as a constant background support, not just pair situationally. Feel free to vet this on your own.
Estradiol is systemically absorbed when applied topically. If you only put a small amount on a small area such as your face it will mostly work topically and the systemic effect will be minimal.
Yes @AustraliaLongevity. I have wondered about the estradiol face creams I’ve seen advertised, but because I already use a very small amount of estradiol gel (hrt) that absorbs systemically, I assumed any other topicals might mess with my levels. @medaura thoughts?
Unrelated, but I just read this article about the trend of hitting your face with a hammer in order to help sculpt your features… I believe it but it’s also unbelievable.
And I never thought I’d see bonesmashing anywhere!
Now that I know you’ve heard of it too, I’ll have to watch the recent Rich Roll podcast on looksmaxxing. I was going to walk on by, but now I remember there was a picture of a hammer on the YouTube… I must learn more about this craziness!!!
Looksmaxxing does have an interesting crossover with our longevity anti-aging aesthetic rejuvenation goals.
I think bonesmashing might work at changing facial structure but it probably doesn’t grow bone and probably isn’t good long term.
Other aspects of looksmaxxing are good IMO, they encourage sunscreen, moisturizer, retinoids, etc. They use pharmaceuticals to improve appearance, some are healthy/longevity, some are not.
I think there is a market for a longevity focused more sensible looksmaxxing.
Hahah I saw this when you posted and didn’t have time then to reply, but so funny, I too had just got off reading an article (different one) on “bone smashing” and was all WTF. It all started with reading about a tweet from the DoD account brimming with incel looksmaxxer slang, and the led to bonesmashing in maybe three clicks or less . We live in such idiotic times!
About estradiol, the vaginal cream can go on the face. Doesn’t get absorbed systematically unless you put an occlusive on top so skip the Vaseline. Women using it vaginally for years haven’t had extra E levels detected in their blood and vaginal mucosa is much more absorbent. Just a pea sized amount is all you need for face AND neck. I don’t mix it with moisturizer. I wait a bit for it to dry then use moisturizer later. Ideally tretinoin later still, right before bed (not advised to mix together in one step as tretinoin can increase E absorption if bundled together).
led to bonesmashing in maybe three clicks or less 
. We live in such idiotic times!