‘Only a tool’

Stress is on the rise worldwide, with 79 percent of people struggling with varying degrees of stress that has so far cost US employers billions annually, said a 2025 study published in the scientific publication Journal of Affective Disorders.

Changing modern lifestyles, such as increased gadget use, migration and work demands, are pushing more people globally to experience stress, the study added.

Stress hormones, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and a Harvard University study, impair hair growth cells, so over 40 percent of stressed people were found to have suffered hair loss.

US medical journals add that chronic stress can accelerate aging and this goes beyond getting more wrinkles and sagging skin — but also the advanced development of aging-related illnesses like heart disease, arthritis and cancer.

Amid all these, however, there is a silver lining — Exosomes.

A favorite medical and aesthetic medicine byword today alongside Artificial Intelligence (AI), Exosomes have been hailed as a “miracle” cure for hair loss and aging, although these “are not FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approved for cosmetic use and are still in the early stages of research and development,” warns the US FDA.

Among those that champion Exosomes in the Philippines is Biovitalis, a new wellness center that opened this year in S Maison, Pasay City.

Biovitalis’ doctor Ysabella Espino, in an exclusive interview with DAILY TRIBUNE, explained that “Exosomes are made of cells. Compared to a stem cell, it’s actually a cell.”

“Exosomes are encapsulated molecules and they contain things inside. And those things, they are proteins, they are RNA (ribonucleic acid), DNA micro-RNA. So those cells, they can communicate to other cells for example, if they need help or need repair, so they are able to bring good messaging to those in-need cells that are required of repair,” she continued.

Exosomes are extracted from different sources, including plants, animals and human cells, but the ones that are used at Biovitalis are from plants.

“In regenerative medicine, it (Exosomes) is one of the tools that we used to help repair or regenerate an inflamed cell or diseased cell or tissue in a way,” Dr. Espino said.

Although promising in treating hair and skin, usually the face, Exosomes have prerequisites and contraindications for these to be effective, said Espino.

An Exosomes treatment starts with consultations since there are contraindications like those with joints problem.

“Absolute contraindication is cancer patients. So we want there’s no contraindication in terms of that,” said Espino.

Cancer cells, said NIH, may release Exosomes to communicate with other cells and this might contribute to tumor growth and metastasis.

Therefore, the prospecting Exosomes patient should have “a foundation” that is “less toxic,” said Dr. Espino. For this to happen, the patient should first undergo detoxification and maintain a healthy diet and lifestyle that is free from chronic stress.

Exosomes are then directly injected, applied as topicals, or administered intravenously in case-to-case basis, she said.

“We are into providing a good environment first then when Exosomes are incorporated, the healing is faster because it’s only a tool that we use,” the doctor explained. “It’s really the body that is healing itself.”