Hair loss Facts.Hair loss affects approximately 40% of men and 20% of women aged 50 and over. In the US there are an estimated 40 million men and 12 million women suffering from some degree of baldness. The estimated market size for hair regeneration products and treatments is over $1 billion for both men and women but only 2% of patients suffering hair loss currently seek any treatment.
Existing Treatments.
Hair loss treatments available today a few and far between, so far there is only two medicines which have been licensed for use as a Male hair loss product. 1 Propecia & 2 Regaine.
Propecia is the more successful treatment out of the two and has many papers and happy customers that have used the product who have either stop hair loss in its tracks or regained lost hair.
Regaine can be bought over the counter at most pharmacies & supermarkets and has worked on a smaller percentage to some degree.Hair Cloning
But now a company in Manchester called Intercytex have been busy working on cloning, hair cloning that is. Already phase 1 & 2 of the hair cloning trials have been completed and are showing some promising results.
The ICX-TRC procedureA small sample of hair follicles is taken from the patient during a simple 30 minute operation carried out under local anaesthetic at a hair or skin clinic. The clinic sends the biopsy to Intercytex’ GMP compliant manufacturing facility where the DP cells are dissociated from the rest of the follicle. These cells are cultured and expanded in proprietary media over three weeks and subsequently returned to the clinic in a sterile suspension.sing a specialised delivery system, the DP cells are microinjected intradermally into the patient’s scalp. The treatment is performed under local anaesthetic and comprises a single procedure of superficial injections, each injection delivering a minute volume of media containing DP cells. These cells are able to stimulate the generation of new hairs when injected in close proximity to the epidermal cells which generate the hair. Following the procedure, new hair growth should become evident after approximately three months.ICX-TRC clinical and commercial developmentPhase I clinical trials (safety) have been completed in seven volunteers at a single UK transplant centre. No safety issues have arisen and five out of seven patients have shown increased hair numbers. A Phase II study, which was conducted by Dr Bessam Farjo in Manchester, is now complete. This trial was designed to examine the effect of different DP delivery techniques and methods to ensure that the epidermal cells were in the correct state to respond to the signals and produce new hairs.In this study, subjects were injected 900 times with 1µl aliquots of DP cells in a large area which was photographed at the end of the study. Subjects were also injected in a smaller area, divided into two sections - counts were obtained by shaving and photographing the two small sections of scalp, injecting them multiple times (either 1 injection of 50 µl or 50 injections of 1 µl) with living DP cell suspension and then applying a specialised image analysis system to provide a total hair count. In these small sections, all 19 subjects in the trial were treated using a range of injection and scalp pre-stimulation techniques; the first 6 subjects were injected without stimulation of the scalp. In the remaining 13 subjects the resident hair producing (epithelial) cells were stimulated at the time of delivery of the DP cells in one of the two treatment sites.13 subjects completed the 48-week trial with 6 subjects lost to follow-up. Of the 13 subjects completing the trial the data showed that:• 65% (11/17) of the treated sites in the non-stimulated group responded to the treatment by increasing numbers of hairs of all sizes• 71% (12/17) of the treated sites in the non-stimulated group responded to the treatment by increasing numbers of hairs over 30 micron in diameter• 78% (7/9) of the treated sites in the stimulated group responded to the treatment by increasing numbers of hairs of all sizes• 100% (9/9) of the treated sites in the stimulated group responded to the treatment by increasing numbers of hairs over 30 micron in diameter• The overall take rate (number of hairs produced per 100 injections) in the stimulated areas waso 40% (n=6) for hairs of all sizeso 18% (n=6) for hairs over 30 micron in diameter
The results of these trials are a big leap in finding a permanent cure for hair loss.
Dr Bessam Farjo, the Principal Investigator for this study, said “We have learned a lot from this trial, including the different ways in which these cells can be delivered and that it is possible to do one thousand of these injections in a relatively short period of time and at little discomfort to the patient. I am very encouraged by this data both in the increase in the total number of hairs in the treated site but more importantly by the increase in thicker hairs, those over 30 micron.”
Tuesday 28 July 2009
Friday 16 January 2009
Healthy Hair Tips, Myths and Misconceptions
Our glorious hair. We sometime shave, curl, spike, dreadlock, blow dry, braid, and spray it within an inch of it’s life. We spend untold money on hair care products. Not to mention the world is awash in so called healthy hair tips, myths and misconceptions. Let’s discuss a few of them.
Hair Misconception #1: A stress filled life leads directly to subsequent hair loss.
Reality: It’s a fact we are all losing hair daily. Whether we are stressed to the max or not. On average you lose anywhere between 35 to 135 hairs each day. So maybe a few more strands might fall out if you're all tense and stressed out. But unless you have been pulling your hair out by the roots, it will all grow back!
Hair Misconception #2: Using several shampoos keeps your hair healthy.
Reality: Of the so called healthy hair tips this one makes me laugh it’s so far fetched. Hair doesn’t remember what shampoo was used on it last. It’s basically just dead cells. So how’s it gonna know what kind of shampoo you’re using? But it is true that people with different hair types need to use shampoos suited to their type of hair. Focus on that rather than rotating shampoo.
Hair Misconception #3: There's nothing you can do for fine hair to keep it from going limp.
Reality: Two words: Hot rollers. They make it easy to add body to fine hair. Afterwards just apply mousse and brush out well.
Hair Misconception #4: Coloring is hard on your hair.
Reality: Nonsense! If that was the case most hair stylists would be out of a job. Coloring is safe if you know what you’re doing and follow the instructions to the letter. (That’s one of the healthy hair tips to remember.)
It also helps to use gentle coloring products and conditioners and shampoos specifically designed for colored hair. In fact it’s wise to use extra conditioner whenever you wash your colored hair.
Hair Misconception #5: Pull a gray hair and it will be replaced by more than one.
Reality: Ever heard that? No way is that true. Still you should never pull out hair by the roots. You can scar yourself or you might develop a scalp infection trying that. It’s better to banish the gray by coloring your hair.
Hair Misconception #6: All hair reacts to humidity in the same way.
If you have curly hair you don’t need me to point out that this is a big lie. Once the humidity hits it, uncontrollable curls or worse, the dreaded frizzys results. To strike back you need a product that will lock down the cuticle layer. One that blocks out unwanted moisture. So look for styling products with words like anti-humectant, smoothing, anti-humidity on the label.
Hair Misconception #7: It’s best to shampoo twice for clean hair.
Reality: This is just not so. In fact over use of shampoos can damage your hair. Unless your hair is extremely oily shampooing once should suffice.
How about those seven healthy hair care tips?How about if we continue our discussion of healthy hair care tips with an overview about how to go about the task of repair of damaged hair.
Author Info:
How about if we continue our discussion of healthy hair care tips with an overview about how to go about the task of repair of damaged hair.
Hair Misconception #1: A stress filled life leads directly to subsequent hair loss.
Reality: It’s a fact we are all losing hair daily. Whether we are stressed to the max or not. On average you lose anywhere between 35 to 135 hairs each day. So maybe a few more strands might fall out if you're all tense and stressed out. But unless you have been pulling your hair out by the roots, it will all grow back!
Hair Misconception #2: Using several shampoos keeps your hair healthy.
Reality: Of the so called healthy hair tips this one makes me laugh it’s so far fetched. Hair doesn’t remember what shampoo was used on it last. It’s basically just dead cells. So how’s it gonna know what kind of shampoo you’re using? But it is true that people with different hair types need to use shampoos suited to their type of hair. Focus on that rather than rotating shampoo.
Hair Misconception #3: There's nothing you can do for fine hair to keep it from going limp.
Reality: Two words: Hot rollers. They make it easy to add body to fine hair. Afterwards just apply mousse and brush out well.
Hair Misconception #4: Coloring is hard on your hair.
Reality: Nonsense! If that was the case most hair stylists would be out of a job. Coloring is safe if you know what you’re doing and follow the instructions to the letter. (That’s one of the healthy hair tips to remember.)
It also helps to use gentle coloring products and conditioners and shampoos specifically designed for colored hair. In fact it’s wise to use extra conditioner whenever you wash your colored hair.
Hair Misconception #5: Pull a gray hair and it will be replaced by more than one.
Reality: Ever heard that? No way is that true. Still you should never pull out hair by the roots. You can scar yourself or you might develop a scalp infection trying that. It’s better to banish the gray by coloring your hair.
Hair Misconception #6: All hair reacts to humidity in the same way.
If you have curly hair you don’t need me to point out that this is a big lie. Once the humidity hits it, uncontrollable curls or worse, the dreaded frizzys results. To strike back you need a product that will lock down the cuticle layer. One that blocks out unwanted moisture. So look for styling products with words like anti-humectant, smoothing, anti-humidity on the label.
Hair Misconception #7: It’s best to shampoo twice for clean hair.
Reality: This is just not so. In fact over use of shampoos can damage your hair. Unless your hair is extremely oily shampooing once should suffice.
How about those seven healthy hair care tips?How about if we continue our discussion of healthy hair care tips with an overview about how to go about the task of repair of damaged hair.
Author Info:
How about if we continue our discussion of healthy hair care tips with an overview about how to go about the task of repair of damaged hair.
Wednesday 14 January 2009
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