Regrowing hair with self-mutilation, Jackalopes and stem cells
[2 Mar 2008 | 5 Comments]
Regrowing hair with self-mutilation, Jackalopes and stem cells

50 years ago, the late cancer researcher Charles Breedis was taking a scalpel to the backs of rabbits at a University of Pennsylvania lab. Under a grant by the National Cancer Institute, he was investigating the link between healing and the Shope papilloma virus, a carcinogenic pathogen similar to HPV in humans .. Dr. Breedis had observed the first recorded instance of follicular neogenesis, a phenomenon in which new, fully functioning hair organs develop as a biproduct of trauma to the body.

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[ 4 May 2009 | 7 Comments ]
Hair Loss Video – MTV True Life: “I’m Losing My Hair”

MTV recently highlighted emotional struggles with hair loss in a documentary they regularly air, called “True Life”. This segment was about a 25 year old Floridian male coping with pattern loss that began in his teens. He had previously employed well-tread baldie tricks like sunglasses-on-the-hairline, which is a bit like bedazzling your goiter with diamonds, [...]

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[ 3 May 2009 | 4 Comments ]
Trial Volunteers Needed For Natural, Topical Hair Loss Treatment

The goal of HairGen is to reduce hair loss to non-MPB levels, while also creating a healthy scalp environment that may potentially promote thicker hair and/or regrowth.

The herbs used in HairGen are all wild-harvested, which, while more costly, ensures that each ingredient is of the very finest quality. All of the herbs are distilled into liquid extracts via pure organic grape spirits, and the alcohol will then be removed to ensure that no damage is done to the scalp.

The alcohol can be removed due to the unique cutting-edge liposomal delivery system that uses phospholipids to increase scalp permeability.

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[ 20 Jan 2009 | 10 Comments ]
Some Guy Says He’s Going To Do Some Thing To Cure Hair Loss

Telegraph out of the UK reports that 27-year-old Oxford grad Thomas Whitfield (Myspace) is heralding an end to baldness as we know it, with a secretive new venture called TRX2:
Still in stealth mode as the intellectual property is in the process of being protected, Whitfield plans to have his “product and service” [...]

News »

[ 13 Aug 2008 | 4 Comments ]
Follica raises $11mil, reveals secret 11 herbs and spices

Right on the heels of previous funding, Follica has just announced the completion of a second round of funding, grabbing 11 million USD and G. Kirk Raab, ex-CEO of biotech giant Genentech as a chairman. Follica CEO Daphne Zohar heads up the publicity with an overview on Xconomy.com: “Our research has been progressing in a very positive way. We have had significant interest from the venture community and while we just closed the Series A round a few months ago …

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[ 8 Aug 2008 | One Comment ]
Platelet Rich Plasma – Industry magazine excerpts

Joseph Greco has been sending out some scans from a hair transplant industry magazine regarding Platelet Rich Plasma as used in hair transplant surgeries.

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RSS News From Elsewhere

  • Balding Blog - Physiological Difference Between Crown and Hairline Balding?
    Dear Dr. Rassman, My question is regarding the non-approved use of minoxidil for frontal balding. In your response here your thoughts were that it might work to some degree. My question is whether there is a physiological difference between balding at the hairline and on the crown? If not, is there some other reason why minoxidil [...]
  • Balding Blog - New Study - Body Dysmorphia Due to Visual Processing Abnormality
    From the study abstract published in the Archives of General Psychiatry: Results: Subjects with BDD showed relative hyperactivity in the left orbitofrontal cortex and bilateral head of the caudate for the unaltered own-face vs familiar-face condition. They showed relative hypoactivity in the left occipital cortex for the low spatial frequency faces. Differences in activity in [...]
  • Balding Blog - In the News - Fake Doctor Claimed He Could Cure Hair Loss
    Snippet from the article: Timothy Syed Andersson billed himself as dermatologist to the stars. Andersson, known to his patients as Dr. Syed, had a wall of photos at his home office in San Francisco’s Lakeshore district, showing him with actress Julia Roberts and actress-model Elizabeth Hurley, Nobel laureate Linus Pauling and other notables. His Web site boasted [...]
  • Balding Blog - Releasing Clinical Trial Results, Follow-Up
    Note: One of my favorite contributors to this site is a reader (that wishes to remain nameless) that has provided wonderful insight into areas like LLLT (hair lasers) and the FDA. I’m admittedly not an expert in everything (no matter how much I wish I was), and he’s corrected my initial thoughts about
  • Balding Blog - A Heath Website Says Over-Masturbation Causes High Levels of DHT
    Here is a quote I just found on a health & fitness website: “Over-masturbation or over-ejaculation converts too much testosterone into dihydrotestosterone(DHT). High levels of DHT overload the body causing baldness and possible prostate enlargement. Reducing the frequency of masturbation or ejaculation will help maintain low levels of DHT and avoid hair loss.” So should I really [...]
  • Balding Blog - Does 2mg Finasteride Help Once 1mg Finasteride Effectiveness Levels Out?
    Hello Doctor, Firstly I’d like to thank you very much for maintaining such a very informative blog. I have read that in cases where 1mg finasteride has lost its “effectiveness” in patients over the years you have prescribed 2mg instead of avodart. In the majority of these cases do you see a halt to hair loss, or [...]
  • Balding Blog - Scratching Out FUE Grafts a Month After Surgery?
    Hi Dr. Rassman, I’ve had a hair transplant a month ago. Is it still possible for me to scratch my implanted FUE out? Thank you I would usually say no, but I have seen some strange results and methods of hair transplants over the years. Not all FUE (follicular unit extraction) is the same and not all [...]
  • Balding Blog - I’m Losing Hair Before I Can Even Grow a Beard!
    Hi Doc I am a 22 male with fine blond hair, and ever since I can remember I have always had fine hair (used to be able to pull out chunks of my hair) however since the age of 16 I have become obsessed with my receding hairline. Don’t get me wrong, I accept the fact [...]
  • Pubmed - Dehydroepiandrosterone to Enhance Physical Performance: Myth and Reality.
    Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) is secreted by the zona reticularis of the adrenal cortex and is converted into potent sex steroids in peripheral target cells. As oral DHEA administration can lead to dose-dependent increases in circulating androgens, which may reach high supraphysiologic levels in women, it has been included in the list of prohibited substances by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). However, evidence for an ergogenic activity of DHEA is still largely nonexistent. Randomized trials in elderly subjects with an age-dependent decrease in DHEA have provided little or no evidence for enhanced physical performance after long-term administration of DHEA, 50 mg/d, and smaller short-term studies in healthy male athletes using higher doses were completely negative. Thus the widely perceived performance-enhancing activity of DHEA is still more myth than reality. However, because studies in female athletes are still lacking, an ergogenic activity of high-dose DHEA in this population cannot be excluded but is expected to be associated with adverse events like hirsutism, acne, and alopecia. Hahner S., Allolio B. (Endocrinol Metab Clin North Am. 2010 Mar; 39(1):127-139)
  • Pubmed - A randomized phase III study of adjuvant platinum/docetaxel chemotherapy with or without radiation therapy in patients with gastric cancer.
    The optimal adjuvant treatment for gastric cancer remains controversial. We compared the efficacy of a docetaxel and platinum adjuvant chemotherapy regimen, in patients with high-risk gastric cancer, with that of the same chemotherapy plus radiation therapy (RT). In addition, we evaluated the prognostic and/or predictive value of a panel of molecular markers. Patients with histologically proven, radically resected gastric cancer, stage >/=T3 and/or N+ were randomized to 6 cycles of docetaxel with cisplatin, both at 75 mg/m(2) every 3 weeks (arm A) or the same treatment with RT (arm B; 45 Gy). Due to excessive nausea and vomiting, cisplatin was substituted by carboplatin at AUC (area under the curve) of 5 after the first 45 patients (22 group A, 23 group B). The prognostic value of EGFR, ERCC1, HER2, MET/HGFR, MAP-Tau, and PTEN expression was also studied in a subset of 67 patients using immunohistochemistry on tissue microarrays (TMAs). A total of 147 patients were randomized. After a median follow-up of 53.7 months, no differences in overall (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were found between the two arms. The most common grade 3/4 toxicities for arms A and B (excluding alopecia) were non-febrile neutropenia (11 and 17%, respectively), febrile neutropenia (9 and 7%) and diarrhea (7 and 4%, respectively). Patients with ERCC1 positive tumors had significantly longer median DFS (33.1 vs. 11.8 months, Wald P = 0.016) and OS (63.2 vs. 18.8 months, Wald P = 0.046). Our results indicate that the addition of RT to platinum/docetaxel adjuvant chemotherapy does not appear to improve survival in high-risk, radically resected gastric cancer. However, the possibility that a benefit by the addition of RT was not detected due to decreased power of the study should not be excluded. Bamias A., Karina M., Papakostas P., Kostopoulos I., Bobos M., Vourli G., Samantas E., Christodoulou C., Pentheroudakis G., Pectasides D., Dimopoulos M., Fountzilas G. (Cancer Chemother Pharmacol. 2010 Feb 4; )
  • TheBaldTruth - Hair Loss Has Its Perks - Tulsa Restaurant Discounts On “Bald Tuesdays”
    Hair Loss can be devastating, but at least balding guys wont starve in Tulsa Oklahoma. Customers of the Arizona Mexican Restaurant, at 6605 South Lewis Avenue in Tulsa, who meet their “balding criteria” receive between 10 to 30 percent off of their meals every Tuesday. The brain child of Heyka Zambrano, the restaurant’s owner, Bald Tuesdays has been in effect for [...]
  • Pubmed - Expression of Snail1 in the fibrotic dermis of postmenopausal frontal fibrosing alopecia: possible involvement of an epithelial-mesenchymal transition and a review of the Japanese patients.
    Nakamura M., Tokura Y. (Br J Dermatol. 2010 Feb 3; )
  • TheBaldTruth - And The Survey Says…Hair Loss Sucks!
    According to a national survey conducted by Wakefield Research on behalf of the makers of Rogaine, Americans have a “surprising” lack of understanding concerning the prevalence, incidence, causes, and how to effectively treat hair loss. The survey concludes that more than 75 percent of Americans incorrectly cite stress as a leading cause of hair [...]
  • Pubmed - Alopecia areata update Part I. Clinical picture, histopathology, and pathogenesis.
    Alopecia areata (AA) is an autoimmune disease that presents as nonscarring hair loss, although the exact pathogenesis of the disease remains to be clarified. Disease prevalence rates from 0.1% to 0.2% have been estimated for the United States. AA can affect any hair-bearing area. It often presents as well demarcated patches of nonscarring alopecia on skin of overtly normal appearance. Recently, newer clinical variants have been described. The presence of AA is associated with a higher frequency of other autoimmune diseases. Controversially, there may also be increased psychiatric morbidity in patients with AA. Although some AA features are known poor prognostic signs, the course of the disease is unpredictable and the response to treatment can be variable. Part one of this two-part series on AA describes the clinical presentation and the associated histopathologic picture. It also proposes a hypothesis for AA development based on the most recent knowledge of disease pathogenesis. LEARNING OBJECTIVES: After completing this learning activity, participants should be familiar with the most recent advances in AA pathogenesis, recognize the rare and recently described variants of AA, and be able to distinguish between different histopathologic stages of AA. Alkhalifah A., Alsantali A., Wang E., McElwee K., Shapiro J. (J Am Acad Dermatol. 2010 Feb; 62(2):177-188)
  • Pubmed - Update on Intralesional Steroid: Focus on Dermatoses.
    BACKGROUND:Intralesional steroid (ILS; usually triamcinolone acetonide) is commonly used, and the literature contains much information about its use in keloids, hemangiomas, and alopecia areata. Little has been written about its use in inflammatory dermatoses such as psoriasis and localized dermatitis since the 1960s, the conditions for which it was originally most studied and used.OBJECTIVE:To clarify the use of ILS and to encourage its use in psoriasis and localized dermatitis.METHODS:Medline peer-reviewed literature in English (1956-2008) was searched for the use of ILS in all skin diseases. Six standard textbooks of dermatology were reviewed. Information as to how they used ILS was obtained from a questionnaire completed by 33 dermatologists and from personal discussions with 15 other dermatologists. Additional information was obtained from 40 years of personal ILS use and from observation of 42 dermatologists working intermittently in our office over the past 25 years. ILS product package inserts and company drug monographs were reviewed.RESULTS:ILS is used by most dermatologists, but there are considerable divergences in technique and dosing. Current textbooks contain little on its use in psoriasis and localized dermatitis. There have been no clinical studies since the 1960s, and their end points and descriptions were somewhat vague by today's standards. Product package inserts are dated and not helpful. Nevertheless, the use of ILS is safe and economical, and the original authors and our office have found it consistently to be virtually 100% effective at 2.5 mg/mL in small plaques of psoriasis on the trunk and limbs and highly effective in localized dermatitis (such as lichen simplex chronicus, prurigo nodularis, and nonspecific eczema). Clinical studies indicate that we can safely increase our ILS from the usual 3 cc (7.5 mg) to 6 cc (15 mg) or even to 8 cc (20 mg) for patients over 50 kg every 3 to 4 weeks. Serum cortisol can be performed if there are concerns about adrenal suppression, with use in periorbital hemangiomas and with intranasal ILS. Blindness (from central artery occlusion) was reported with injections of ILS around the eyes wih older products during the early development stages; and more recently with the use of ILS for periorbital hemangiomas and with ILS used intranasally. It has never been reported with low pressure injections of ILS using triamcinalone acetonide at 2.5 mg around the eyes.LIMITATIONS:No formal clinical studies since the 1960s. Poor statistical end points.CONCLUSIONS:ILS at 2.5 mg/cc is safe, economical, and effective and its greater use should be encouraged in inflammatory dermatoses such as psoriasis and localized dermatitis. Further well-designed research would be helpful. Richards R. (J Cutan Med Surg. 2010 Feb 1; 14(1):19-23)
  • Pubmed - Alopecia areata update Part II. Treatment.
    Various therapeutic agents have been described for the treatment of alopecia areata (AA), but none are curative or preventive. The aim of AA treatment is to suppress the activity of the disease. The high rate of spontaneous remission and the paucity of randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies make the evidence-based assessment of these therapies difficult. The second part of this two-part series on AA discusses treatment options in detail and suggests treatment plans according to specific disease presentation. It also reviews recently reported experimental treatment options and potential directions for future disease management. LEARNING OBJECTIVES: After completing this learning activity, participants should be able to compare the efficacy and safety of various treatment options, formulate a treatment plan tailored to individual patients, and recognize recently described treatments and potential therapeutic approaches. Alkhalifah A., Alsantali A., Wang E., McElwee K., Shapiro J. (J Am Acad Dermatol. 2010 Feb; 62(2):191-202)
  • Pubmed - FRONTAL FIBROSING ALOPECIA IN TWO SISTERS.
    Pereira A., Vincenzi C., Tosti A. (Br J Dermatol. 2010 Feb 1; )
  • Pubmed - Female Pattern Hair Loss in Complete Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome.
    Abstract Female pattern hair loss, also known as female androgenetic alopecia, is generally regarded as an androgen-dependent disorder representing the female counterpart of male balding. Here we describe female pattern hair loss occurring in a patient with complete androgen insensitivity syndrome suggesting that mechanisms other than direct androgen action contribute to this common form of hair loss in women. Cousen P., Messenger A. (Br J Dermatol. 2010 Feb 1; )
  • Delicious.com - Proscar now being recommended for cancer prevention
    Doctors are now advising healthy men over 55 who are regularly screened for prostate cancer to consider taking the drug finasteride (sold in generic form and as Proscar) to prevent their likelihood of getting the disease. About 186,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year.
  • Pubmed - Triad of trichomegaly, alopecia and male-pattern hair growth during treatment with erlotinib in non-small-cell lung cancer.
    INTRODUCTION: Description of the cutaneous side effects of erlotinib. MATERIALS: Report with images of a single case. METHODS: Case report and review of the literature. CONCLUSION: Erlotinib is associated with significant cutaneous toxicity which should be recognised and managed appropriately. Forde P., Murphy C., O'Sullivan C., Carney D. (Ir J Med Sci. 2010 Jan 28; )