The Center for Disease Prevention & Reversal Blog

One often hears how healthy someone looks. What prompts people to say that someone looks healthy?

Most often, it is subtle cues such as texture of skin, even skin tone with a mild glow and bright eyes. Many of these features are interpreted unconsciously to be equivalent with health, vigor and youth.

Proper skin care and true health promote this glow and great skin texture.
poor nutrition with lack of exercise can take away from good skin tone and glow.

Many patients walk in to my Chicago area office complaining of dull looking skin and poor skin texture. In addition to possible fillers, many are in need of nutrients on and in their skin

A great skin nutrient delivery system are micro-dermal needles. This creates deep penetration of nutrients and a wonderful response of increased blood and therefore oxygen to the skin, bathing the firbroblasts in nutrients and improving the skin texture.

How do you know if you are getting all the nutrients you need? How do you know if you are absorbing all the nutrients you take in?

The gold standard is an intracellular level of vitamins, minerals, co-factors and anti-oxidants. This can be performed from a blood test. If Levels are low but you believe yourself to be obtaining ample amounts, digestive issues can be at play.

Beauty is not only skin deep, health factors into looks and how someone fells about them self. Next time you're thinking of going to a botox factory clinic, think again and come to a clinic where you health and beauty needs are met inside and out.

Many patients rush into my Chicago area office for procedures like photofacial and lipodissolve once the weather gets nice. They realize they're going to be showing more skin and want that skin to be smooth and beautiful.

In reality, the best time for treatments is the middle of winter when it's easy to either hide areas that are swollen as after a lipodissolve treatment, or avoid the sun on skin that has been treated with photofacial.

I have numerous patients that are sculpting their thighs or arms and winter makes it easy to hide them for the few days they are swollen. Saddle bags and muffin tops are easy to erase but there are a few days of swelling and it's best to wear lose fitting clothes or a long sweater those first days of recovery.

As well, many patients come to me in order to rid themselves of those dark sun spots on their face, neck and arms. It is best to treat when the patient is neither tan nor tanning. In addition, the spots appear darker for the first few days after treatment.

It's only natural to think about taking care of bothersome issues when they become obvious, but planning ahead and resolving these issues before they are obvious is a smarter choice.

If you are thinking about any procedure including fillers and botox, it's smart to plan ahead. it can often take two whole weeks for filler or botox to settle in. In addition, procedures where we are promoting collagen production takes two to three weeks. Radiesse, a calcium based filler, promotes collagen growth and is often used on the lateral cheek area to promote fuller cheeks which in turn lessen the folds around the nose and mouth. But, this takes about two weeks to see its' full effects.

If you are thinking of having any of these non-surgical procedures, make an appointment for a consultation. In my office, these consults are free for patients and planning a schedule in time for an event such as a wedding or a reunion is common.

Planning ahead is always best and winter can be the perfect time to get started on the road to a better looking you in the spring.

Peyronies is a disorder of the connective tissue of the penis. It affects at least 5% of the male population, is disfiguring and can be painful or desensitizing in some cases.

I am writing about it in my blog as it pertains to aesthetics and lifestyle changes as well as overall health and wellbeing.

I have had male patients walk into my chicago area office complaining of many things they want to address, but one of the more difficult things for them to speak about are issues regarding sexuality and their genitalia.

It has been common for men to come in for lipodissolve for fatty breast tissue or love handles. And it has been common for men to come in complaining of low libido but only recently have I been seeing more and more men with a diagnosis of Peyronies.

As it turns out, the reflex-biofeedback that I have mastered is incredible for tackling this horrible disorder. Not only does it address pain or de-sensitivity, it appears to address the abnormal connective tissue problem immediately.

The reflex biofeedback I'm speaking about is Russian in origin and has been around for over 25 years. It is FDA approved as a prescription device for pain management. However, it is commonly used "off-label" for all kinds of problems and has research backing much of the "off-label" use.

I would not have known it was useful for Peyronies if one of my patients hadn't suggested trying it on him after I successfully treated a shoulder and hip injury of his.

To our amazement, he had a 90% improvement after only one treatment. The rest is history.

Most patients would be happy with just the aesthetic component of this disorder improved, however, having function and size improved is an added bonus that can not be overlooked.

The traditional "treatments" for Peyronies are painful and in almost all cases, a waste of time.

Information regarding SCENAR or INTERX can be found on my medical website at
www.disease-reversal.com
the link to SCENAR is in the top left corner of the home page.

I am in the process of setting up research with reflex-biofeedback in a neurobiology lab in Boston with returning veterans and different disabilities. I look forward to sharing the research with my readers.

In my Chicago area clinic, I see many people with dull or sagging, lifeless looking skin.

There are many reasons for this; enlarged pore size, poor nutrition, disease, inflammatory processes, sun damage and hormonal changes.

Whether we like it or not, first impressions are often the main reason we get chosen for a job, a date, or picked for a team.

People unconsciously gravitate towards others who look healthy whether it's for a mate, a date, an employee or a teammate. It is not just human nature, but animal nature to be attracted to others who appear vital.

Woman prefer men who appear powerful, healthy and virile. Men prefer women who look youthful, healthy and fertile.

Large pores absorb light and create a dull looking face, fading hormones or poor nutrition can lead to loose collagen and sagging skin. UV light damage and oxidative damage clearly lead to pigment changes.: darker skinned people create areas of darker pigmentation in response to damage, and very light skin develops capillary damage and red spots.

In my Evanston clinic, I offer skin enhancement from the inside out, or outside in.
We employ Syneron Photofacial and Syneron Refirme. Syneron is the industry leader in aesthetic technology, specifically for skin clearing, pore shrinking and skin tightening via bipolar radio frequency and intense pulsed light.

Blood tests that look at intracellular levels of vitamins, minerals and co-factors are the gold standard in nutrition. Hormone profiles help determine what is lacking or excessive, and along with inflammatory markers aid us in determining what supplements are needed.

Look as good as you feel, and feel as good as you possibly can.

Why chose a non-surgical procedure involving many injections that might involve a few visits over a single surgical procedure?

The answer is the risk/benefit ratio.

Liposuction, also known as lipoplasty or suction-assisted lipectomy, is cosmetic surgery performed to remove unwanted deposits of fat from under the skin. The doctor sculpts and recontours the patient's body by removing excess fat deposits that have been resistant to reduction by diet or exercise. The fat is permanently removed from under the skin with a suction device. The patients is typically under general anesthesia.

The morbidity and mortality from liposuction is reported from several studies to be on average, 20-100 deaths per 100,000 surgeries. Higher with general anesthesia and higher when combined with other procedures like a tummy tuck. Tummy tucks have a death rate of 1 per 600 procedures just by itself.

Lipodissolve is a non-surgical procedure where phosphatidyl choline (lecithin) and deoxycholate (bile salt) is injected directly into the subcutaneous storage fat. The fat cells are lysed open from the substances and the patient's immune system sends macrophages to the area to clean up the debris. Swelling ensues enabling many macrophages or clean up cells to enter the area and the body then eliminates the macrophages and dead fat cell debris via the lymphatic system and the intestinal tract. This procedure is performed for the same reason liposuction is performed and in the same areas.

There is a zero mortality risk from lipodissolve. Thousands of procedures have been performed world wide without any death risk. The morbidity is also close to nil. There have been a few cases of infection of the area treated, but these cases were not performed by medical personnel.

The results from lipodissolve can be remarkable. The skin shrinks over the area where the fat has been lysed as needles promote skin tightening and the fat disappears over a few weeks allowing the skin to shrink as well.

There is swelling and some bruising, this is part of the process and necessary for the process, but not a risky side effect.

Lipodissolve can be done in small areas such as the jowls, under the chin and on knee fat pads, liposuction is difficult in such small areas.

With a desirable outcome and little risk, lipodissolve is preferable to the surgical procedure liposuction.

In my Chicago area office, I see many patients with thick unsightly scars and keloids.
Many of the patients think they have to have a surgical procedure to remove them. And, if they make keloids, they often avoid the surgery because there is a good chance they'll form another keloid.

Another option for removing these scars is to inject a naturally occurring enzyme called collagenase. This breaks down the peptide bonds in the scar and the scar levels out. Once the scar is flat, an intense pulsed light and radio frequency is used to reduce the abnormal pigment or redness.

It is common to see these scars after a tummy tuck or a mini face lift.

Another common disfigurement that I commonly see are lipomas. Lipomas occur for mostly unknown reasons although they can occur in an area that had been physically traumatized.

Lipomas respond very well to either collagenase, or another substance we use in lipodissolve called phosphatidylcholine/deoxycholate or PCDC. In hard lipomas I employ collagenase, in soft ones the PCDC mixture.

An unfortunate but common location for woman to accumulate fat is in the back of the neck. This phenomenon has a few names: dowagers hump, buffalo hump and protease hump. Men can form these as well,but it is less common.The formation of this hump or fatty deposit can be in response to corticosteroid use or cushings syndrome. But I have seen it in patients who tend to accumulate fat in an apple body type fashion, in patients with metabolic syndrome (pre-diabetic) and in woman with underlying kyphosis or rounding of the spine.

The fatty prominence of "dowager hump" is responsive to the treatment mentioned above, but the procedure does nothing to straighten out the spine.

I do tend to address the underlying reason for the hump and try to reverse the process so it will not return.

Growth factors are naturally occurring proteins that promote tissue growth. They are the hottest trend in upscale skin care lines.

The growth factors that are being used have been shown in the lab to promote collagen generation and to decrease collagen degeneration.

Skin is a wonderful impermeable protective organ. Water soluble topical applications to not absorb well.

Mesotherapy with needles or with an electric current greatly improve delivery of product.

The newest form of mesotherapy to hit the medical spa market is the microneedle derm roller. This is typically accompanied by pharmaceutical growth factors EGF and TGF, often with copper peptides.

In my Chicago area office in Evanston, I employ the use of full needle mesotherapy, electric mesotherapy which has the added benefit of an electrical current that contracts the muscles and tightens them, and microneedle derm rollers.

All the above methods greatly improve delivery of often expensive products that one would not want to waste by just applying them topically.

I can achieve lightening of dark skin spots while avoiding the use of hydroquinone by applying safer water soluble products.

By placing patients on oral astaxanthin which reduces collagen breakdown by 30%This accompanied by pharmaceutical EGF and TGF used with dermal rolling can not only prevent collagen loss, but can actually promote new collagen growth to the point of filling in small vertical lines.

Mesotherapy is not well known or frequently practiced in the states. However, it is a popular procedure in Europe where aesthetic medicine is a medical specialty. And, it is popular in my Chicago area office.

Typically mesotherapy is performed with small needles attached to a syringe in order to inject growth factors and vitamins just under the top layer of skin. This is performed to either enhance the collagen growth, reduce wrinkles or lighten dark spots.

Needleless machines which use a microcurrent to pulse the product under the skin have become popular as have meso guns and dermal rollers. The products that are used to encourage dermal growth and reduction of wrinkles have grown into a large list based upon ongoing research in skin repair and clinical outcomes.

Very fine needles are used as a method of getting product into the skin, but needles also stimulate the growth and repair cycle of skin as well as encourage tightening. Needleless machines use a current to open micropores in the skin in order to achieve similar results.

One of the benefits of mesotherapy on the face and neck, is a reduction in fine lines and an increase in the glow of the skin. The fibroblasts or cells responsible for the growth of collagen, become bathed in vitamins, minerals and growth factors. Micro trauma promotes new collagen growth even on its' own.

The mesotherapy technique can be used for cellulite reduction very effectively by using collagenase, a naturally occuring enzyme. The collagenase is injected into the abnormal collagen fibers that trap the fat cells, creating a smoother surface.

This technique can also be used for pain management by injecting lidocaine or traumheel or even just sterile saline as the needling itself often breaks an abnormal pain cycle.

There are so many products out there professing to turn back the clock. And, the barrage of supplements you "must" take lest you fall apart is mind boggling. However, for improved collagen and young looking skin, there are not many supplements that compare to red micro algae or "astaxanthin".

This is a naturally occurring plant called hematococcus pluvialis. It creates a red pigment which turns out to be the most potent of all carotenoids on the planet. It has many effects on the body.

When taken orally, it is one of the most potent antioxidants known to man, without any pro-oxidant state. It is one of the most known potent anti-inflamatory agents that has no negative side effects such as gastrointestinal bleeding. It stimulates collagen production in skin and joints.

When used topically, It slows down collagen breakdown and decreases wrinkle formation by its' prevention of reactive oxygen species (ROS) from damaging the top layer of skin and its' reduction of inflammation from UVB light.

Astaxanthin is one of the key supplements I recommend to patients in my Chicago area office who either want younger skin, have elevated inflammatory markers, or have known decrease of collagen in their joints.

I also add this ingredient to the natural skin care and sunscreens that my patients buy.
Many of the commercial products on the market that claim to have astaxanthin as an ingredient, have too little to make a real difference.

Many prospective patients come to my Chicago area clinic asking for botox and fillers in the hope that their skin will look younger. The truth is that botox and filler can make a huge difference but not in enhancing the look of one's skin.

As we age, our skin becomes less reflective to light due to enlargement of pores and hyper-pigmentation in the deeper layers of skin. Both of these events happen secondary to damage. The abnormal pigmentation can be either red or brown.

I have found that the best way to brighten up the skin is to use intense pulsed light or IPL, and bipolar radio frequency (ELOS technology). I can get very good results using LED light, facial ultrasound and mesotherapy but it would take more treatments to get the same results as compared with ELOS technology. Occasionally, I might choose to use one of the other technologies if I need to achieve a specific goal.

There are many med spas offering "fotofacial" but only ELOS technology is "fotofacial". The other machines or lasers are not IPL coupled with bipolar radio frequency and therefore are either uncomfortable or not as potent.

While filler and botox are temporary, facial rejuvenation is not. Once the damage is removed and the pore size corrected, this is permanent until the skin might get damaged again. I always council my patients on what supplements to take and what to avoid on the skin in order to protect it in the future.