By Jackie Peterson

There’s no such thing as eternal youth, even Ponce de Leon figured that out. But the next best thing, maybe, is regeneration. A promising road to regeneration is available here in Mazatlán, thanks to the importation of human placenta from France and Dr. Angeles Neri Sayago of Mexico City. Dr. Neri frequently flies to Mazatlán on weekends to visit her sister and family, and it just so happens she has gotten everybody excited about some new techniques she has learned that qualify her to work with the placenta. Human placenta? It all started a couple of years ago when the doctor, a dental surgeon, attended a conference on alternative medicine. There were medical people in attendance from all over Mexico, gathered to hear various experts speak about anti-aging treatments using placenta. “Originally,” she says, “the human placenta was in liquid form and given as injections to help the regeneration process in patients who were in weight loss programs.”  That was years ago, long before such treatments were first being used in Mexico. More recently, the substance has been freeze-dried and implanted under the skin where it works slowly, slowly, like a time-release capsule.  At this conference, recalls Dr. Neri, the doctors were asking themselves “What chemical elements in the placenta can be giving patients such regenerative benefits?” She says that some thirty of the doctors decided to give one another implants to study the results for themselves. They were decidedly pleased. Dr. David Huesca, a general surgeon from Veracruz, and Dr. Silvia Luna, of the Iztacala Medical College at the University of Mexico, have been among the leaders in using the placenta implants in Mexico and in training other medical specialists in exactly how to insert the material. Dr. Angeles Neri was among those who received the training and has