#418 Stem Cell Doctor Shares the Truth About Stem Cell Therapy for Anti-Aging

Joy Kong (0:00)

I do believe we're at the point in human evolution that we can extend the time of youthfulness. Probably by, you know, 15, 20 years, at least, if not 30 I definitely think we can slow down the aging, revert the clock, our youthful time instead of the previous, you know, from 18 to 45 We probably can go from 18 to 75

Siim Land (0:25)

Dr. Joy, welcome to the show.

Joy Kong (0:27)

Thank you, Siim. So good to be here.

Siim Land (0:30)

Yeah, you have a really amazing YouTube channel and PINIC where you discuss things related to stem cell therapy, which, you know, in the longevity space is somewhat of a, I guess, like a popular topic. At least it was five years ago when I first heard about it. And yeah, people are every once in a while, you hear some people doing stem cell therapies, and most people don't really know what it is. So I'm happy to have you on the show as an actual medical doctor who, you know, does this therapies pretty much on a daily basis.

Joy Kong (1:02)

Wonderful, yeah. Eight years ago, that's when I first heard that stem cells were actually used on human beings in therapies. And when I looked into the signs, I just got so excited, and because I've heard people having amazing results already. And since then, it has been just, you know, it's been amazing to see how the public is beginning to understand and really kind of allowing this therapy to spread everywhere. So it's, yeah, a lot has changed for the last eight years when it comes to stem cells.

Siim Land (1:38)

Yeah, and I think maybe we can start with refuting some of the misconceptions. So like, a lot of people have the idea that stem cell therapy is something like you harvest babies or something like that. So maybe you can briefly explain what it actually is or how does it work.

Joy Kong (1:57)

Yeah. So stem cell therapy, there are so many kinds of stem cells in the body. We all came from a single stem cell. That's what people have to realize. And from that, that one cell to us, you and me, flesh and blood, and having all these complex organs, there are a thousand steps along the way, thousands of steps along the way from that single cell to us. And all along the way, there are all these different stem cells. They're all a little bit more, gaining more function, but reducing its potential. So one single stem cell can become anything else in the body when it comes to first fertilized egg, or even very early embryo within the first few days. The cells can become anything in the body. The inner cell mass, that's the cells that are in the cluster of the initial ball of cells. But as we keep developing and the cells keep growing, then they start to gain a little bit more function, lose a little bit more potential, so they become more and more focused on where they're going to evolve into until the very end when it involves into an organ cell, right? Like the heart will have heart muscle cells. So until it gets to an end organ tissue cell, it's a stem cell. But there are so many kinds of stem cells, thousands and thousands of these kinds. So people, I think people need to understand when we talk about stem cells, we're not talking about single type of cells. We're talking about all these variations, all the different types of cells along this pathway. So what we're using these days, most researched right now is mesenchymal stem cells. But there's still a lot of other kinds of cells like hematopoietic stem cells.

Those will regenerate the whole blood system. And there are other tissue specific cells. And the thelial progenitor cells will help you regenerate the lining of the blood vessel. But there's all kinds of other more specific cells. But those are not as commonly used.

Siim Land (4:03)

Gotcha. Yeah. So that's, you're actually, there's different ways to produce them, I guess, or use that kind of a therapy.

Joy Kong (4:15)

Yeah. So you can either get the cells from your own body, because as adults, we still have stem cells in our body. That's why we can regenerate. We injure ourselves, and then we can make new cells. But our stem cells have certain limitations. Our stem cells are a little more sluggish than the time when we were born. We don't repair nearly as fast. I don't know. I know you're still young, but even if you cut yourself, you don't repair, your skin doesn't heal up as fast as when you were a kid, right? So things have slowed down.