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When people are asked to defined what aging means, most of them would start on describing how a person changes physically as he or she grows older. The pressing concern of growing old or aging is one of the pillars that drive the cosmetic industry.

In the recent stem cell research update, researchers from Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania discovered the potential benefits of using human fat cells in anti-aging treatment.

Aging does not only affect an individual's physical appearance but also affects the fundamental blocks of life which are the cells. While developing a model to study chronological aging, or the natural life cycle of cells, the team of researchers under Dr. Ivona Percec, found the potential use of human fat cells in slowing down aging.

The study, published in this month's issue of Stem Cells, initially focused on the investigation on how chronological aging works. In order to further understand the mechanisms of chronological aging, the researchers developed a model of collection and preservation of human cells.

Over the course of the study, they found that stem cells derived directly from human fats had the ability to replicate more cells and maintain stability.

In fact, the stem cells derived directly from human fat or also known as adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) are found to maintain the same ability from all samples taken from human patients of various ages. Moreover, the study also found the adipose-derived stem cells require minimal maintenance and manipulation and found to be able to consistently replicate regardless of age.

The researchers find the potential use of adipose-derived stem cells not only in the further understanding of how chronological aging works but also in safer anti-aging treatments. However, the use of ASCs in stem cell therapies is not currently approved by the U.S Food and Drug Administration. Fortunately, this does not deter the researchers who are looking to further their study to include the investigation of the relationship between chromatin and ASCs.