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Although chemotherapy is one of the most effective cancer treatments available today, it is frequently associated with a variety of physical and psychological side effects. Among the potential side effects is one condition notoriously dreaded by cancer patients: hair loss.

Because chemotherapy induced hair loss often makes cancer treatment more difficult and mentally damaging, scientists and physicians continually research ways to preserve native hair and prevent thinning hair during anti-cancer treatments.

Recently, two hospitals in the United Kingdom introduced a new invention that may prevent unfortunate chemotherapy induced hair loss and help cancer patients heal in a more comprehensive manner.

The invention, created by the daughter of a breast cancer victim, is tentatively called a “scalp cooler,” and works by literally lowering a patient’s scalp temperature and decreasing blood flow to the scalp. The reduced scalp blood flow helps minimize the interaction between the hair follicles and harmful chemotherapy drugs, which prevents damage and decreases the frequency of hair loss.

According to Julie Reed, a nurse at one of the trial hospitals:

They are a massive benefit to patients who will be able to use them during their cancer treatment because obviously it’s more evident to people that they are under going treatment when they have no hair.

Furthermore, Oncologist Larry Hayward agrees and states:

Obviously the most important thing is to control the cancer, get rid of it if we can, but allowing patients to get on with life is normal whilst they have what’s otherwise quite complicated treatment is going to be a huge advantage.

Although it’s been proven safe and effective for treating male pattern baldness in several research trials, many hair loss sufferers still insist that the hair restoration drug Propecia (finasteride) causes irreversible sexual dysfunction. Furthermore, these same individuals claim Merck Pharmaceuticals, the makers of Propecia, failed to adequately warn patients about the potential long-term sexual side effects associated with the drug.

As a result, over 51 different class action lawsuits have been filed against Merck Pharmaceuticals within the past several years. Although all cases focus on the allegedly permanent sexual side effects, each differs slightly and was scheduled for a unique day in court. However, Merck Pharmaceuticals recently altered the legal situation by deciding these individual complaints should be consolidated into one lawsuit and evaluated during a single proceeding.

Because 41 of the 53 complaints have been filed in New Jersey, Merck recommends the single trial take place in a New Jersey courtroom. A hearing, to determine whether the consolidation will occur, is scheduled to take place on March 29th, 2012 in San Diego, California.

Legal experts claim the consolidated proceeding would help prevent contradictory decisions and unnecessary pretrial rulings.

In an interesting turn, the official Propecia website is “down” and contains the following message: Thank you for visiting propecia.com, this website is currently not available; You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA.

While it’s uncertain whether the website content is related to the current lawsuits, many hair loss patients cannot ignore the coincidental timing.

Because of its recent spike in popularity and versatile nature, many practitioners are currently researching alternative uses for the Botox injectable serum. One area, continually researched and examined by medical experts, is the potential link between hair loss and Botox injections. However, despite ongoing research, the question still remains: can Botox treat hair loss?

“Botox” is a purified form of Botulinum Toxin A, used medically to treat headaches and cosmetically to decrease the appearance of facial wrinkles. The serum works by temporarily paralyzing muscles, thus decreasing the excessive contractions that cause painful headaches and, cosmetically, wrinkle-inducing tension.

Because Botox’s mechanism of action involves reduced muscle tension and a likely increase of oxygenated blood flow to the treated area, many wonder if the injectable could prove useful in treating hair loss. Until recently, most evidence involving Botox and baldness seemed anecdotal and inconclusive, but a new Canadian study finds a correlation between Botox injections and increased hair growth/reduced hair loss.

During the study, 50 patients with Norwood Scales ranging from level II to level IV were treated with a total of 300 units of Botox over a 24 week period. Using a 2 cm strip of injected scalp (to monitor new hair growth) and a lint roller dragged over participant’s pillows (to monitor progressive hair loss), researchers analyzed the results of the study and found a positive correlation between Botox injections and new growth/reduced loss.

This question comes from a member of our Hair Loss Social Community and Social Network:

Obviously, the rapid evolution of minimally invasive hair restoration solutions (such as stem cell hair loss therapies, injectable hair loss solutions, et cetera) is very promising, but I’m wondering if we will ever see permanent hair restoration via a single medication (tablet) or procedure?

I don’t know if the “tablet theory” (i.e. take a single tablet and cure your ailment) will ever be true for any complex medical condition, but this does not mean we won’t see some “miracle” treatments in our lifetime.

All discussions about highly debilitating conditions (AIDS, Cancer, MS) aside, I personally think baldness is too unique and complex of a condition to ever be “cured” with a single therapy. However, I definitely think we’re going to evolve and invent to a point where a combination of treatments and therapies will allow for an non-invasive, satisfying reversal of genetic hair loss.

In my opinion, I think we’ll probably progress somewhere along the following lines:

1. An injectable hair loss solution that helps regrow around 15-20% of lost/miniaturized hairs. I feel like this will be somewhere along the lines of the current reversal seen with Rogaine (minoxidil) and Propecia (finasteride), but without the need to stay on the medications for the same duration of time. Frankly, I believe this therapy is probably the furthest away.

Recently, an article published in the British Journal of Dermatology revealed new theories explaining why scalp hair turns gray. After reviewing this information, recommended hair restoration surgeon Dr. Parsa Mohebi decided to investigate further and provide his own analysis of the graying hair phenomenon:

Scientists and doctors have always known that graying hair may grow slightly better than pigmented, or dark, hair and is also thicker. A recent article published in the British Journal of Dermatology, explained about a study which is focused on the correlation between why hair turns gray by examining the genes, proteins, or both which correlate to hair growth in white and black hairs.

This was accomplished by taking proper notation of the different morphology patterns seen in human scalp hair and eyebrows. Another method used is what is called a microarray analysis where the black and white hairs were observed while looking at the genetic differential expressions.

These observing scientists showed the keratin and keratin-associated protein genes in gray hair were increased at least double in comparison with black or pigmented hair in their study.  Their conclusion was that the final product of genes or proteins associated with hair growth that is active is up-regulated in white or non-pigmented hair compared with average pigmented or black hair. These results show the process of graying hair is tied to active hair growth.

For more information on the published article, go to: Hair Greying is Associated with Active Hair Growth.

In 1992, Merck Pharmaceuticals obtained FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) approval for a new drug, which utilized finasteride to treat Benign Prostate Hyperplasia (enlarged prostate) in older male patients. However, during the course of the prostate study, the Merck researchers noticed something unusual: along with decreased prostate size, male study subjects also reported an increase in new scalp hair growth while taking finasteride.

After evaluating these claims, Merck launched a new study to test both the safety and efficacy of treating male pattern baldness with finasteride. The study concluded that finasteride halted and, in numerous cases, reversed progressive hair loss, and, in 1997, Merck launched Propecia – a 1 mg finasteride tablet for treating androgenic alopecia in men.

The drug demonstrated significant results, but many began to question the potential sexual side effects associated with prolonged use of the medication. During the initial FDA trials, researchers concluded that finasteride could cause sexual side effects, such as diminished libido and erectile dysfunction (ED), but these reactions were only seen in 2% of subjects and subsided after stopping the medication. However, many hair loss sufferers weren’t convinced and asked for new studies to test both the efficacy of the medication and the impact of the potential sexual side effects.

Recently, a research team in Japan answered these requests with one of the largest and most conclusive finasteride studies since the initial FDA trials.

Recently, a member of our Hair Loss Social Community and Discussion forums, and practicing permanent tattoo artist, shared his opinion of Scalp Micropigmentation (scalp tattooing). Below, the member discusses the advantages and disadvantages of the increasingly popular new procedure:

For the last 13 years I have performed permanent make-up tattooing. I have thoroughly researched the use of tattooing in the setting of thinning or balding hair patients. . To understand the rationale for Scalp Micropigmentation (sometimes called Pigment Substitution Hair Replacement Treatment, scalp tattooing, et cetera) you must understand two basics, pixelation and illusion. I am sure most of you have seen the street art of the person who develops a chalk drawing on concrete that appears to be 3-dimensional. This is the illusion portion, proper shading, dimension and positioning will tell your brain that the image is real – no matter that you see it on a two dimensional surface, this works and is not disputed. The second component is pixels. If you have a good television, you are completely unaware of the millions of “dots” which comprise your picture – yet that is all it is, a group of dots making your brain see an image as a whole – thus the illusion again.

Dr. Jerry Cooley, world renown hair transplant surgeon and esteemed member of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians, was recently interviewed by the NBC News program Morning Edition in Anchorage Alaska. Dr. Cooley, last year’s president of the International Society of Hair Restoration Physicians (ISHRS) was in Anchorage, along with approximately 500 of his colleagues from around the globe, attending the annual 2011 ISHRS 19th Annual Scientific Meeting.

The ISHRS is the world’s largest organization dedicated to hair loss with more than 850 hair surgeons as members.  The ISHRS provides ongoing education to novice and expert physicians specializing in hair transplant surgery and gives the public the latest information on surgical hair restoration and non-surgical hair loss treatments.

Below, Dr. Jerry Cooley provides us with a preview of what will be discussed at this year’s 2011 ISHRS (International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery) Scientific meeting in Anchorage Alaska.

In the above interview, Dr. Cooley touches on the latest advances in surgical and non-surgical hair restoration as well as research into future treatments like Histogen, Inc.’s Hair Stimulating Complex (HSC) and hair cloning. Dr. Cooley further states that treating hair loss in the future will likely consist of a combination of new and current techniques and procedures like Rogaine (minoxidil) and Propecia (finasteride) rather than a single “hair loss cure“. Rogaine and Propecia are currently the only clinically proven and FDA approved treatments for androgenic alopecia (male pattern balding).

To view the full interview with Dr. Cooley click here.

Earlier this week, researchers from Yale University demonstrated a connection between fat derived stem cells (“fatty” or adipose stem cells) and hair follicle stimulation and new hair growth in mice.

During the experiment, the team found a correlation between the number of “precursor fat cells” (fatty stem cells) surrounding hair follicles and the number of follicles capable of entering the anagen growth phase and producing terminal hairs in mice.

In fatty stem cell deficient mice (with little to no fat cells surrounding the hair follicles), the follicles remained in the dormant, telogen phase and caused noticeable baldness. The researchers injected these deficient mice with fat (containing the fatty stem cells) derived from healthy donors and found normal follicle function and new hair growth within two weeks.

According to the research team, the new hair growth and reversal of follicle dormancy, which was noted in 86% of resting hair follicles treated with the injected stem cells, is likely caused by a platelet derived growth factor produced by the fatty stem cells in amounts 100 times greater than the average cell.

In an interview with BBC news, Dr. Valerie Horsley, a member of the Yale research team, claimed: If we can get these fat cells in the skin to talk to the dormant stem cells at the base of hair follicles, we might be able to get hair to grow again. 

Men’s Health Online, the online version of the popular men’s health, wellness, and lifestyle magazine, recently featured an article discussing modern hair transplant surgery and exciting future hair restoration treatments.

The article covers topics ranging from the evolution of hair multiplication research, Aderans Research Institute‘s “ARI Process,” automated follicular unit extraction (FUE) devices (including an interview with recommended hair transplant surgeon Dr. James Harris discussing the SAFE Powered Scribe and ARTAS Hair Restoration System), and the potential integration of surgical, medical, and stem cell hair loss treatments in the near future.

Although the article does contain some (recently) outdated information and slight misconceptions, it’s still a well researched piece and may be interesting for hair loss sufferers researching current trends in surgical hair restoration and future hair loss treatments.

To read the Men’s Health Online article, click here: The New Science of Hair Growth. 
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Blake – aka Future_HT_Doc

Editorial Assistant and Forum Co-Moderator for the Hair Transplant Network, the Hair Loss Learning Center, the Hair Loss Q&A Blog, and the Hair Restoration Forum

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