Manila (AFP) Cynthia Carrion-Norton flits high-heeled around the Philippine capital with energy levels belying her years, thankful for a controversial treatment she highly recommends to fellow sixty-somethings. <\/p>\n
Carrion-Norton, 66, a member of the Philippine Olympic Committee and a former undersecretary for medical tourism, credits her vitality to adult stem cell therapy. <\/p>\n
The day I got the therapy I went to a dinner party and everyone told me: Cynthia, youre blooming! Carrion-Norton told AFP. <\/p>\n
The procedure involves harvesting the patients stem cells from their own fat and injecting them into their blood, which she likened to being injected with intravenous fluid in the arm. <\/p>\n
In a country where many elite are obsessed with anti-ageing, wealthy Filipinos are shelling out between $12,500 and $18,000 per session of stem cell therapy in the belief it will improve their overall health and make them look younger. <\/p>\n
Rich businessmen and public officials mostly male are the most eager customers, according to Florencio Lucero, a doctor in Manila who said he started performing adult stem cell therapy in 2006. <\/p>\n
Thai medical entrepreneur Bobby Kittichaiwong says he has a lucrative business catering to the Filipino elite, who pay $20,000 to visit his Villa Medica clinic in Germany for a more controversial form of stem cell therapy. <\/p>\n
The clinic harvests cells from unborn sheep to be injected into a patients muscles, known as fresh cell therapy, and Kittichaiwong said 400 Filipinos visited last year. <\/p>\n
High-Profile Patients <\/p>\n
Among Villa Medicas high-profile clients is former president Joseph Estrada, 76, who has staged a remarkable political comeback in recent years after being forced to stand down from the nations top job in 2001 because of corruption. <\/p>\n
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Manila\u2019s elite fight ageing with stem cell therapy<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Manila (AFP) Cynthia Carrion-Norton flits high-heeled around the Philippine capital with energy levels belying her years, thankful for a controversial treatment she highly recommends to fellow sixty-somethings. Carrion-Norton, 66, a member of the Philippine Olympic Committee and a former undersecretary for medical tourism, credits her vitality to adult stem cell therapy. Continue reading