Snippet from the non-hair-loss-related article:

Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) have become a popular potential therapy for numerous autoimmune and neurological disorders. But while these bone marrow-derived stem cells have been studied in great detail in the dish, scientists know little about how they modulate the immune system and promote tissue repair in living organisms.

Now, one research team has uncovered a molecular mechanism by which hMSCs promote recovery in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS).

According to research, published online Sunday (May 20) in Nature Neuroscience, a growth factor produced by hMSCs fights MS in two ways: blocking a destructive autoimmune response and repairing neuronal damage. The finding could help advance ongoing clinical trials testing hMSCs as a therapy for MS.

Read the rest at The Scientist — Could Stem Cells Cure MS?

Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease that affects the brain and central nervous system, with millions of sufferers all over the world. I know this post isn’t hair-related, but regular visitors to this site know that I like to post interesting general health news/opinion.

Snippet from the press release:

Bald is beautiful. MGA Entertainment Canada will launch a new range of hairless Bratz® dolls this summer at Toys”R”Us, Canada to support children dealing with hair loss due to illnesses such as cancer and alopecia, donating a portion of every sale to Starlight Children’s Foundation.

Under the banner True Hope Bratz®, MGA will release hairless versions of its hit dolls Cloe™, Yasmin™ and Cameron™, who will each come with one hat, a second outfit and a beaded bracelet.

Read the rest — Bratz dolls go bald to support kids battling illnesses

Following in the footsteps of the bald Barbie doll for kids battling hair loss, the Bratz dolls will be produced without hair in Canada. I’ve only seen the announcement about the dolls being released in Canada, so no word on the rest of North America.

While I realize that a bald doll isn’t something most of the readers of this site are interested in, I know we have some visitors that are parents of children battling various hair loss causing illnesses.

What does Ultherapy do to hair follicles?

I am very curious what effect the FDA approved Ultherapy has on the follicles at the frontal hair line. Ultherapy is said to stimulate collagen in the deep layers of the skin.

Can this procedure possibly hurt follicles, invigorate them or just not affect them at all?

i would very much appreciate your opinion on this. Thanks!

I hadn’t heard of Ultherapy before, but it appears to be a skin tightening / lifting procedure. After reading that the FDA approved the technology, that must mean that it is safe and effective, but I am not sure what that means from a practical point of view. It appears that the focus is on collagen changes and stimulation, but again I am not sure what that means either. They do not say it helps grow hair, just that it heats up the deeper level of the skin where the collagen is.

Snippet from the article:

In response to an inspirational online campaign urging Mattel to make a Barbie for kids with cancer, the toy maker announced on its Facebook page today that it will introduce a bald Barbie.

The doll, who will be a friend of Barbie, will be donated to hospitals treating children affected by hair loss throughout the U.S. and Canada. The company will also give dolls and monetary donations to CureSearch for Children’s Cancer and the National Alopecia Areata Foundation.

Mattel posted on its wall:
We are pleased to share with our community that next year we will be producing a fashion doll, that will be a friend of Barbie, which will include wigs, hats, scarves and other fashion accessories to provide girls with a traditional fashion play experience. For those girls who choose, the wigs and head coverings can be interchanged or completely removed.

Read the rest — Barbie will go bald for kids with cancer

We wrote about the campaign earlier this year, so it’s good to see Mattel was paying attention and willing to step up to support these kids.

In the article recently published in Science Translational Medicine, it was shown that the enzyme prostaglandin D2 (PGD2) was elevated in bald scalps at the mRNA and protein levels.

In a group of 17 men, bald scalp was compared with haired scalp and showed elevated PGD2 levels. The authors also found that PGD2 and a related metabolite 15-dPGJ2 inhibited hair growth in both mice and men, providing insights into the prostaglandin pathway in genetic balding. They found a receptor in the bald scalp which is responsible for mediating the negative effects of PGD2, suggesting that therapeutic drug targets could be developed for a possible topical treatment. They have determined that this receptor may impact the hair characteristics (i.e. straight or curly).

Dr. Walter Unger wrote his take as follows:

Unfortunately, baldness is not caused by a single factor but rather multiple ones. The most important and well-known one is the correlation of balding with a male hormone called dihydrotestosterone (which is a byproduct of the more well-known testosterone). Specifically, we have known for many years that you cannot develop MPB unless you have an excess production of that hormone in the affected areas. Yet, many years later, we still do not have a “cure” for everybody’s baldness either in terms of stopping the progression in everybody or regrowing hair in everybody though anti-dihydrotestosterone drugs such as finasteride (Propecia) and Dutasteride certainly help many people with male pattern baldness (MPB) and female pattern hair loss (FPHL)—to varying degrees.

Dr. Garza’s and Dr. Cotsarelis’s announcement of the role of another factor, Prostaglandin D2 synthase, appears to represent another building block towards the ultimate goal of medical treatment of MPB and perhaps FPHL. However, we have no idea as yet, if it is, for example, more or less important than dihydrotestosterone or any other of the substances already implicated in MPB and FPHL. Unfortunately, despite the media frenzy, “the end of baldness” likely remains well down the road.