New genetic baldness treatment offers hope

Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania lead by Dr George Costarelis believe they may have found the reason why we go bald. Dr Costarelis and his dermatological team have discovered the enzyme Prostaglandin D2 (PGD2) that is responsible for preventing hair follicles from maturing. The link between genetics and baldness has long been common knowledge but the cause has not.

When the team analysed the scalps of balding men, they found levels of PDG2 to be three times higher in areas in which the hair was thinning. The research suggests that PGD2 prevents the follicle cells from maturing, so blocking PGD2 would allow the hair to grow again.  Dr Costarelis found that bald men have cells capable of making hair, which adds weight to the argument that PGD2 is responsible for stopping otherwise healthy, capable cells of producing hair.

Back in March 2012 the journal Science Translational Medicine reported that in tests on mice the compound PGD2 stunted hair growth. Drugs that block this protein are already on the market as they are used to treat asthma and allergies, and that is good news according to Dr Costarelis: “The nice thing about dermatology and hair loss in general is that you can take compounds that maybe are being used as a pill, and put them into a topical formulation.”

Dr Costarelis went on to add: “We certainly think it would be good at preventing hair loss but we don’t know for sure that it would regrow”. Dr Costarelis has also announced this week that he is in talks with several pharmaceutical companies about developing a treatment that he says: “could be available in two years”.

Lab tests suggest the treatment may also help women who are losing their hair. Female hair loss carries an even greater stigma than the male condition, but is not as uncommon as many people believe. About 40 per cent of women suffer from some form of hair loss as a result of hormone changes during menopause.

For men this number is significantly higher, by the age of 50 nearly half of all men have some degree of male pattern baldness, a number which rockets to 70 per cent by the age of 70. It also seems that being famous or even royal doesn’t protect you from baldness. As we reported back in July 2012 Wayne Rooney and Louis Walsh have both undergone hair transplant procedures and in the news today Doctor Asim Shahmalak has predicted Prince William will be bald by the time he is 40.

While celebrities have undergone hair transplant procedures, these remain out of reach for most people due to their high price. In the meantime before this PGD2 blocker is released onto the market, there are licensed products on the market such as Propecia (Finasteride) and Regaine (Minoxidil) that have both been clinically proven to help with male hair loss.

Scientific breakthrough made for hair loss treatments

A new breakthrough by British scientists has raised hope for those suffering with hair loss, and the therapy may even provide help to victims of burns.

The results of the tests could pave the way for more hair loss treatments for both men and women, after results demonstrated it was possible to grow new hair follicles from human skin cells – basically the cells that contain the ‘instruction book’ for growing new hair.

Tests are still at an early stage, but the scientists from Durham University in the UK and Columbia University in the U.S. claim that their findings represent a huge breakthrough in treating hair loss that effects millions of men and women around the world, often causing a great deal of distress.

Not only this, but it seems a 40-year wait could be over in the futile efforts to successfully regenerate the crucial structures in the skin that enable hair to grow.

Human hair follicles are incredibly difficult to replicate in a laboratory environment, but the new technique has shown evidence they can be stimulated to grow in skin tissue and also to generate hair shafts.

Currently, expensive hair transplants notoriously used by footballer Wayne Rooney involve the surgeon transplanting hair follicles from the back of the head (where there is plentiful hair) to where it is needed at the front. Therefore, they are simply redistributing already present hair compared to the new technique, which could significantly boost the amount of hairs on the head.

Columbia University researcher Dr Angela Christiano, herself a sufferer of alopecia and experiences clumps of hair falling out, said the research “has the potential to transform the medical treatment of hair loss”.

“Our method…has the potential to actually grow new follicles using a patient’s own cells. This could greatly expand the utility of hair-restoration surgery to women and to younger patients – now it is largely restricted to the treatment of male-pattern baldness in patients with stable disease. It could make hair transplantation available to individuals with a limited number of follicles, including those with female-pattern hair loss, scarring alopecia and hair loss due to burns,” she said.

The team of scientists started extracting tiny cells called dermal papillae from strips of human hair cells. These cells are located at the base of a hair and contain the ‘instruction book’ for the successful growth of new hair.

Next, they cloned the cells in a dish, making sure they had several copies of each cell. Similar procedures have been done previously but without any results in getting the cells grow hair after they have been put back into skin.

The Anglo-American team decided to turn the dish of cells upside down, to help them to form into the clumps found in nature. These clumps were transplanted into human skin grafted onto the backs of mice.

It was found that the cells from each of the seven human donors grew hairs and in some cases, the tufts broke through the skin.

Although the hairs were white in colour, Durham researcher Professor Colin Jahoda is optimistic it should be possible to create coloured hair and by using a sample of a person’s own cells, any new hair should be very similar in texture and curliness.

“It’s a key step because it is saying that you can multiply the process. It’s not just about one-for-one replacement. But you need to get hair that is the right colour and texture and this will need further work before human clinical trials can begin,” he said.

The cost to patients is still yet to be determined as clinical trials need to be carried out first. However, it is likely to be cheaper than hair transplants which can range anywhere in price from £6,000 all the way up to £30,000 per patient.

Miracle cures - miracle or myth?

Most herbal hair loss remedies contain Saw Palmetto berries. They are said to be an effective treatment for baldness, as well as relieving the symptoms of an enlarged prostate.

No authentic clinical studies support the claim that Saw Palmetto berries effectively treat hair loss and its dosage/application is based on conjecture, rather than scientific evidence.

Therefore Saw palmetto berries cannot legally be sold or claim to promote hair growth as its all just hear say. How ever there are to products on the market that can claim to grow hair back Propecia & Regaine

These are the two only drugs which are licensed for hair loss or male pattern baldness.

Good news for bald men at last: Hair loss 'almost halves the risk of prostate cancer'

One thing that men any age don't really want to see in the mirror is bald bald patches and receding hair lines. But research suggests those who, like Wayne Rooney, are facing a future with less hair should stop fretting at that retreating hairline and slapping on the propecia.

Men who start going bald at a young age are up to 45 per cent less likely to fall victim to prostate cancer later in life, scientists have found.

Although half of all men suffer significant hair loss by the age of 50, an American team has linked the high levels of testosterone in those who go bald earlier to a lower risk of tumours.

The scientists studied 2,000 men aged between 40 and 47, half of whom had suffered prostate cancer. They compared the rate of tumours in those who remembered their hair thinning by the age of 30 with those who did not suffer hair loss.

Men who had started to develop bald spots on the top of their heads as well as receding hairlines had the least risk of cancer.

'At first, the findings were surprising,' said Professor Jonathan Wright, an expert in prostate cancer at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle. 'But we found that early onset baldness was associated with a 29 per cent to 45 per cent reduction in their relative risk of prostate cancer.'

Dr Helen Rippon, head of research management at The Prostate Cancer Charity, said: 'If these results are correct, they could be useful in providing us with a greater understanding of how testosterone behaves in the body and how it can affect different tissues.'

Gooch and Warne's bald-cure ad ban

Hair-replacement adverts featuring cricket legends Shane Warne and Graham Gooch have been banned by an advertising watchdog.

The Australian spinner and former England captain have been featured prominently in advertising for the Advanced Hair Studio for several years, usually with close-ups of Gooch's head in 'before and after' condition following strand-by-strand replacement.

But a new advert that also featured the company's laser hair treatment has fallen foul the Advertising Standards Agency, with the watchdog ruling that it is misleading.

The advert - featuring a grinning Warne with the line "I stopped worrying about my hair when I heeded the Warne-ing signs and saw Advanced Hair Studio" - was deemed to imply that the laser procedure would produce the same hair replacement results as the strand-by-strand method.

The shine was taken off the advert when an examination of the bald facts showed this not to be the case, and the advertisement - unlike Warne and Gooch - will need a bit of a trim before it can appear again.

Shane MacGowan uses Guinness to combat hair loss

he Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan has admitted he has a strange way of battling male pattern baldness, alcohol! Not only is the “Fairytale of New York” star widely well known to enjoy many an alcoholic beverage, he also actually washes his hair in Guinness.

The Irish singer, who at 52 does still actually sport a full head of hair, has advised men who are worried about succumbing to losing their hair to try the old Irish method of running Guinness through their hair.
He says, "They sell all those lotions to cure you of baldness, they don't work. There is only one way to cure baldness. You pour Guinness over your head, collect it in a bucket, and drink it in the morning. It's proven to work."
In addition, MacGowan refuses to wash his locks when he’s away from his homeland of Ireland. He added: "I don't wash it, only in Tipperary water."
However, I assume there are people out there who are understandably reluctant to have a Guinness odour when going to the workplace or when trying to chat up a potential partner, so if you think you are starting to succumb to male pattern baldness and would like help then why not try one of the only few proven medications available today that has been shown to be successful – Propecia.
Propecia is a 5 alpha reductase inhibitor and it works by stopping or reducing the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone (DHT) in the hair cell, thus helping to reverse the balding process. It increases hair growth and prevents further hair loss associated with male pattern baldness.
Over at Medical Specialists Company Ltd., we offer quick and easy online consultation and once approved by the doctor you could be in possession of your Propecia tablets in as little as 48 hours. So head over to www.hairtreatment4u.co.uk where the prices start from as little as £67.25 (1 months Propecia tablets).

Georgetown boy donates hair to Locks of Love

Nine-year-old Trevor Drillis, a third grader at the Penn Brook School, has a whole new look after getting more than 10 inches of hair cut off two weeks ago at Karen’s Barber Shop.

Drillis, who suffered through strangers thinking he was a girl for many months due to his long locks, didn’t mind the confusion because he knew his hair would be used to create a wig for a child suffering from hair loss due to diseases like cancer.

Source:http://www.wickedlocal.com/georgetown/features/x190614374/Georgetown-boy-donates-hair-to-Locks-of-Love

The Bald Truth About Hair Transplant

If you're a man who is losing his hair, you have plenty of company.

Two-thirds of men in the UK will have some degree of appreciable hair loss by age 22, according to the American Hair Loss Association. And roughly 85 percent of U.S. men have significantly thinning hair by age 50.

Male pattern baldness, known medically as androgenetic alopecia, is responsible for more than 95 percent of hair loss in men. Twenty-five percent of men start down the road toward baldness before they hit age 21. And it's a hard thing to accept in a society where your appearance counts and youth is valued.

Of course, you can blame your tendency to lose hair on your genes and to male sex hormones, which cause hair follicles over time to shrink in size and produce hair that's shorter, thinner and lighter in color. As the miniaturization of men's hair follicles continues, the follicle gets so small that no hair can grow inside of it.

As hair loss becomes more noticeable, men may start thinking about what they can do about it. Acceptance is one way to deal with hair loss, but it's unlikely to be a first choice and, more likely, to be a last resort.

An over-the-counter hair restoration product, such as Rogaine, might be tried to see if it can help preserve the hair you've got. There is also a prescription drug, a pill called Propecia, that you can ask our doctors about. It may help prevent hair loss and encourage some regrowth as well.

Some men look into everything from laser combs and hair pieces to specialized shampoos and surgical restoration, but for most Propecia is the only medication that works the best. http://www.hairtreatment4u.co.uk/buy-propecia.html

Some Bald Facts: Hair Fall And Premature Balding

Throughout our lifespan our hair constantly keeps on dying, falling out and getting renewed. But with the passing of age, hormonal changes occur in our body. These changes restrict the natural process of hair reproduction, leading to baldness in males and females. The question is whether this problem can be cured?

Losing hair is a natural phenomenon and it is a part of the body’s ageing process. But over the course of time the hair follicle becomes fatigued and withers making it increasingly arduous to produce new hair. Almost 70% of the people suffer from premature hair loss. Men are most likely to get affected with premature balding.

The baldness which occurs in men is called ‘male pattern baldness’. It is characterized by loss of hair in the crown area. The hairline also decreases a lot in this case. Most men experience this after the age of 25.

The reason for male pattern baldness is an increased production of testosterone after puberty sets in. When testosterone comes into contact with the skin, it gets broken down into the hormone dihydrotestosterone (DHT). DHT is responsible for decreasing the ability of the hair follicle to produce new hair in the crown region and upper forehead.

DHT is produced by stress, caffeine, hormonal imbalance and masturbation. In most cases, the production of DTH is linked with genesdefine of a person.

On the other hand, the baldness which occurs in women is called ‘female pattern baldness’. The symptoms include overall thinning of hair on the scalp combined with a little loss of hair on the crown or hairline. This condition can begin at puberty but usually occurs after menopause.

There are many reasons for premature balding and hair loss. Some of these can be:

1.Stress

2.Thyroid hormone imbalance

3.Excess of vitamin A ...

Complete article:

http://www.themedguru.com/articles/some_bald_facts_hair_fall_and_premature_balding-8615648.html