Podcast episode 148 (in German)
Exosomes – the cells’ mail and how much of it arrives in the bottle
November 25, 2026
Exosomes were once considered the cell’s garbage; today they are considered its letters. People who have them applied after microneedling are often very satisfied. The episode shows how much of that is down to the needle and why injection and infusion are a completely different question.
What it is about
Exosomes are tiny vesicles with which cells send each other proteins, fats and snippets of genetic information; they were described in 1983 in maturing red blood cells and were long thought to be waste. The hope behind them: perhaps stem cells work mainly through this mail. In old mice, such vesicles brought more strength, fur and kidney function for a month. In humans it is almost exclusively about skin and hair, and treated people report high satisfaction; that is a report and not evidence of efficacy, but with skin and hair it is often exactly the goal. The episode separates topical application, injection and infusion and ends with a question for practice: How is it applied, and what exactly is in the bottle?
Key points
- Old mice that in Spain in 2022 received vesicles from fat stem cells of young animals twice were stronger after 30 days and none of them were frail any longer; after 60 days the advantage had disappeared.
- A clinic in South Korea evaluated 40 people treated with microneedling and exosome serum: 87.5 percent were satisfied, 82 percent would repeat it, 85 percent would recommend it — a survey without a comparison group.
- A meta-analysis of 39 studies found on average 20 percent shallower wrinkles and just over 23 percent more hair density; most of the studies, however, compare before with after, without a second group.
- That the needle alone achieves a lot was shown in 2013 by a randomized study with 100 men in Mumbai: with needles, 82 percent reported a clear improvement, without needles 4.5 percent.
- In the first double-blind comparison of needle against needle, published in July 2026, no hair measure differed among 48 people with hereditary hair loss; both groups reported a better quality of life afterwards.
- For skin, a split-face comparison in 28 people turned out more favorably: after 12 weeks the exosome side was ahead on wrinkles, firmness and pigment spots.
- A placebo-controlled infusion study in severe Covid lung failure with 102 patients missed its primary goal; a study on lung failure with almost 1,000 planned patients is ongoing, with completion in 2027 according to the registry.
Where the data stop
As of September 2026, no exosome product is approved in the US, and none in Germany as a medicine or medical device. The harms described came from injected and infused preparations: 4 women who had exosome products injected into their skin outside a medical practice developed persistent nodules and were left with scars; in Nebraska in December 2019, several people fell ill after an unapproved product made from placental tissue. That was due to manufacturing, not to biology, but every bottle is different. A press release from Tijuana in 2022 promised 150 billion exosomes in its headline; in the text below it was 100 billion.
For hair, according to the best comparison so far, the serum does no more than the needle alone. For skin there is 1 small positive study. For an infusion against aging, the research found no study in humans, not even a planned one. Anyone who is offered exosomes for the vein should ask about an approved study; outside of one, it is an unapproved medicine.
Listen (in German)
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Published on November 25, 2026.
The topic in the database
- Tiny cellular messenger vesicles carry growth and repair signals – in clinics often derived from plant cells or culture supernatant; in humans …Exosome therapy
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Information only, not medical advice and not a usage or dosage recommendation. Prescription-only and unapproved substances belong in the hands of a physician. Content as of: 2026-09-25.