ABC News Says Balding Cure is a Decade Away?

/by William Rassman, M.D./2 /

Snippet from the article:


Stem cells produce progenitor cells, or so-called workhouse cells.

“If we figure out a way to wake up those stem cells, get them to make hair for progenitor cells, that would go a long way toward developing a treatment,” Dr Cotsarelis told ABC News.

Researchers predict they’ll be able to do that within a decade. But until then, millions of customers will be left waiting, and spending.

Read the full story at ABC — Baldness Breakthrough: Scientists to Find a Cure to Male Balding in 10 Years?

The article itself just rehashes what was written about the recent stem cell announcement, except with this additional sentence — “Researchers predict they’ll be able to do that within a decade.” Which researchers? When was this prediction made? What was the basis for the prediction? Seems like more lazy reporting.

To me, the interesting part was about the stem cells, yet the headline was about a single sentence that had no further information attached to it; an obvious attempt to be sensational and attract eyeballs. While I hope the cure will be here within 10 years, I see this type of proclamation every few months as the timeline moves again and again.

Tags: stem cells, hairloss, hair loss, balding, cure, hair loss cure

Ethics in Medicine – What Do Doctors Do?

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /

In a recent ethics article summarizing questionnaires from 10,000 doctors, the findings showed that doctors are human with the limitations that go with it. From the article:

“Honesty is the best policy” and “the patient always comes first.”

As absolute and correct as those aphorisms may be, they can be hard for doctors to apply in the complex world of modern medicine.

A recent Medscape medical ethics survey of over 10,000 physicians found that when it comes to patient treatment, a significant number of physicians struggle when it comes to topics relating to honest, straight-forward communication, and even pain management.

Areas that are particularly focused and difficult to deal with include death and the ability to openly discuss the subject of death with patients. The article continues:

From the patient’s point of view, “If I don’t know my time is limited I can’t put my affairs in order. I can’t say, ‘I’m sorry,'” …. What’s more, “it’s not like patients are asking Dr. Kildare, ‘What are my chances, Doc?’ Patients are increasingly educated. If you don’t tell them, they’re going to be looking it up on the internet the next day, so you should probably be the source of the data, because you’re a human and you care about them.”

Read the full story at Medscape — ‘Doctor, Are You Telling Me the Truth?’ Exclusive Ethics Survey Results

Tags: medical, ethics, doctor, physician

Stem Cell Injections for Hair Growth

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /

Hi Doc,

Some doctors in India are offering very expensive stem cell injections for the scalp which they claim will promote hair growth? Is this possible or is it a scam?

The idea is good, but I would be skeptical unless I saw a proper scientific review of the process that they are using. Seeing is believing and scams are a dime a dozen.

Tags: stem cells, hairloss, hair loss, hair growth

Do Blondes Have More Hair Than Brown or Red Heads?

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /

What do you think of the comment in the side box, “Do blonds have more fun ? No – but they do have more hair. People with blond hair have more hair on their head than people with brown or red hair“.

Link: KidsHealth.org – Taking Care of Your Hair

That’s wrong, Isnt it?

Blonde hairI don’t know that there is a significant difference in hair densities between blondes and those with darker hair, even though it is recorded in various places on the web. I’ve seen pages like this one, but can’t find a source for their information. I have made a point to check the hair densities of the blondes who have come into the office to see me over the years since I started the hair practice nearly 20 years ago, and I couldn’t find any real difference.

However, there is a difference in hair densities between different ethnic/racial groups. Caucasians have the most hairs on their head. African/black hair types have the least amount of hair on their head. Asians fit somewhere in the middle. The reason for this difference is not clear, but Caucasians probably need the most hair on their head because their hairs are the finest. This fine character requires more hair to look like the equivalent of say, Africans, who have the least amount of hair, but their curly hair makes up the volumes. Asian hairs are often coarse, so they may make up for the less numbers that way.

Tags: hair color, density, blonde, blond, red head

In the News – The Fountain of Youth in a Pill?

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /

Snippet from the non-hair article:

UCSF researchers have identified an existing medication that restores key elements of the immune system that, when out of balance, lead to a steady decline in immunity and health as people age.

The team found that extremely low doses of the drug lenalidomide can stimulate the body’s immune-cell protein factories, which decrease production during aging, and rebalance the levels of several key cytokines – immune proteins that either attack viruses and bacteria or cause inflammation that leads to an overall decline in health.

The initial study, which was designed to define the dose range of such a therapy in a group of 13 patients, could lead to a daily pill to boost immunity in the elderly, the researchers said. Data will appear in the January issue of the journal Clinical Immunology.

Read the full story at ScienceDaily — ‘Fountain of Youth’ Pill Could Restore Aging Immune System

This is all great stuff with the research done at UCSF medical school. Worth a read!

Tags: fountain of youth, ucsf, health

In the News – Baldness Cure from Stem Cells Within 5 Years?

/by William Rassman, M.D./6 /

Snippet from the article:


For the first time, scientists in Germany have grown hair follicles from stem cells. The feat has brought scientists a step closer to creating a cure for baldness. The study used cells taken from animals, but researchers hope to create human hair follicles from human stem cells within a year.

Stem cells are the body’s master cells. With manipulation in the lab, they can be grown into any tissue in the human body from blood to bone and even whole organs. Although stem cells are seen as the holy grail for medicine, progress has been slow and very few treatments are widely available.

However, Professor Roland Lauster at Berlin’s Technical University believes his work could be a step towards providing treatment for the 80 per cent of people who suffer from hair loss worldwide. Lauster claims the treatment – which would probably require the hair follicles to be implanted on to the head – could be available in five years.

Read the full text — A cure for baldness ‘could be available in 5 years’

This is quite interesting and I’d love to learn more about their achievements. I’m not sure that we’re ready to say a hair loss “cure” is coming in 5 years, though. I’ll keep my fingers crossed, but as the article mentions, progress with stem cell treatments has been very slow. Anyone can guess about the timeline, but I will believe it when I see it.

(Thanks to all the readers that brought the link to my attention.)

Tags: stem cells, cure, hair loss, hairloss

Miniaturization Within a Growth Cycle

/by William Rassman, M.D./1 /

Hi,

A lot of the hair I see falling out seem to be thick and black at the far end narrowing in diameter towards the root, turning thin and blond. Everything I’ve read, including posts on this blog, seem to say that miniaturization of hair follicles happens from cycle to cycle. Is it possible for hair follicles to miniaturize within a growth cycle or is that most likely caused by something else?

The newest part of the hair near the root may be thinner than the oldest part at the end of the hair shaft, but I am not sure that I would call this miniaturization without examining you. I would think that once a hair is miniaturizing, it will continue in that process with time.

Tags: hairloss, hair loss, miniaturization

Finasteride, FDA, and Prostate Cancer Prevention

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /, , , , ,

One of my favorite BaldingBlog contributors (who shall remain nameless) sent in some great insights about FDA advisory committees. We’ve previously posted his thoughts on the LaserComb, clinical trials, and FDA trials. This post will be used in the future as a point of reference:

—

    Dr Rassman,
    Given the many questions related to consideration of FDA expansion of the finasteride label for prevention of prostate cancer, your readers may wish to access the data themselves and better understand the process (which becomes more transparent and less “conspiratorial”).

     
    The recent finasteride and dutasteride opinions noted in the Dec 3 Balding Blog posting are not from the FDA, but are from an independent group termed the Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee. The committee is composed of 18 voting members (and several non-voting members) – mainly oncologists, with some statisticians, epidemiologists, and a patient representative, the former mainly from academic institutions.

    The FDA eventually considers the committees opinion in approval or withdrawal of drugs (or “expansion” of a drug label for a new indication). The FDA usually follows the recommendations of advisory committees, as the committees’ recommendations are presumably “data-driven” and the FDA typically comes to similar conclusions. However, as in the case of many decisions that are split or where significant differences in interpretation of risk-benefit exist, the FDA has occasionally approved or rejected a drug against the recommendation of an advisory panel. Examples of split Advisory decisions (where a majority vote did occur) are the opinions this year related to several weight loss drugs.

    The Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee voted 17-0 against expanding the label for finasteride to include prevention of prostate cancer. A unanimous vote by FDA Advisory Committees is rare. I have no special knowledge of the meeting. This decision was based in part on data from the 19,000 patient Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial and the belief that the data did not support the risk benefit profile (i.e. possibility of increased aggressiveness of tumor did not outweigh reduced risk of low-grade tumors). As with all such committee meetings, which are open to the public (including listening via live webcasts), the transcript will be published and available within a few weeks at the FDA’s web site.

    However, interested readers can go to the FDA web site now and access the Briefing Document and presentations given to Committee members from the drug company seeking approval. This information is public and typically posted several days before the meeting. The meeting was held on Dec 1, but the date of posting was Nov 26 (see under Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee). The info can be found at the following links [note – all are PDF files]:

  1. Draft Agenda for the December 1, 2010 Meeting of the Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee
  2. Briefing Information for the December 1, 2010 Meeting of the Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee
  3. Draft Questions for the November 30, 2010 Meeting of the Pediatric Oncology Subcommittee of the Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee
  4. Merck Briefing Information for the December 01, 2010 Meeting of the Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee
  5. FDA Briefing Information for the December 01, 2010 Meeting of the Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee
  6. GlaxoSmithKline Briefing Information for the December 01, 2010 Meeting of the Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee
  7. Draft Questions for the December 1, 2010 Meeting of the Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee
  8. Draft Meeting Roster for the December 1, 2010 Meeting of the Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee
  9. Webcast Information for the December 1, 2010 Meeting of the Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee
Tags: fda, dutasteride, finasteride, proscar, avodart, merck, glaxosmithkline, prostate, cancer

In the News – Aspirin Linked to Lower Cancer Risk

/by William Rassman, M.D./1 /,

Snippet from the non-hair-loss health article:


Long-term use of a daily low-dose aspirin dramatically cuts the risk of dying from a wide array of cancers, a new investigation reveals.

Specifically, a British research team unearthed evidence that a low-dose aspirin (75 milligrams) taken daily for at least five years brings about a 10 percent to 60 percent drop in fatalities depending on the type of cancer.

The finding stems from a fresh analysis of eight studies involving more than 25,500 patients, which had originally been conducted to examine the protective potential of a low-dose aspirin regimen on cardiovascular disease.

Low dose aspirinRead the full story — Daily Aspirin Linked to Steep Drop in Cancer Risk

For years, there has been a suggestion that low doses of aspirin daily (75 to 81mg) can reduce the risk of death from a variety of cancers and vascular diseases. With increasing evidence like this, perhaps its time to consider taking one baby aspirin every day (talk to your doctor, of course).

Tags: aspirin, health, cancer

In the News – Scientists Reverse Aging in Mice

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /

Snippet from the article:

Toss the Rogaine and Viagra? Not just yet.

But Harvard scientists have found that some effects of aging, such as hair loss, infertility and decreased brain function, can be stopped. And not just stopped: the scientists’ research, published today in the journal Nature, showed that it’s possible even to reverse the signs of aging.

“Basically, what this study teaches us is that there’s a point of return in aging,” senior author Dr. Ronald A. DePinho, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, told CBS News.

Mighty MouseRead the full story at CBS News — Aging Reversed in Mice: Have Scientists Found Key to Immortality?

Not all research on mice can be applied to humans, but regardless of that, the published research sounds quite intriguing.

Hmm… mice living forever? Probably good for the pest control industry, but that would be a whole lot of rodents in this world. What’s next — flying, muscular mice?

Tags: mouse, mice, aging, news

Headband / Bandana and Hair Loss?

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /

BandanaWould wearing a ‘head buff’, like they do on Survivor cause more hairloss?

as in suffocating the scalp etc. my whole head would not be covered I would wear it like a thickish headband. I am thinning all over/crown, and desperately need to cover up. They are microfibre with no seams. They are very light fabric, I would just wear it as a wide headband sort of thing.

regards

I do not believe wearing a “head buff” or any form of head gear, bandana, helmet, or hat would cause hair loss. You cannot suffocate your scalp. If you want to go to the extreme and wear a very tight head gear everyday for hours at a time, you would (over the course of several weeks or months) cause traction hair loss.

Tags: bandana, head buff, hairloss, hair loss

How Available Is Dr Rassman?

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /

Dear Dr. Rassman,

I’ve been reading your blog for about two years now since I started dealing with hair loss, thanks so much for donating your time to the public in this way. I have a question that I haven’t really seen addressed in past postings: Just how accessible are you to the average working guy who wants a procedure with you? You seem to be at the forefront of your field, I imagine you’re services are quite in demand and I’m not a pro athlete, movie star or CEO.

What are my chances of being able to get through and have a consultation with you? I/m 31, I’ve been maintaining an almost full head of hair with propecia, which grew back a lot of my crown where I was thinning. But I imagine somewhere down the line I will want a procedure, particularly if things like A-Cell pan out to make transplants less invasive.

Thank you

Dr RassmanContrary to what you may think, I am available to anybody who wants to see me for a consultation. In fact, many of my patients are just the “average Joe”. Anyone can call 800-NEW-HAIR to setup an appointment.

Since you indicated you’re in the Bay Area, you can also see my associate Dr. Jae Pak, as he flies up to our NHI office in San Jose every Wednesday. While I usually spend my time at our Los Angeles office, I am also available in San Jose on occasion when Dr. Pak takes a break from his schedule.

Tags: hair transplant, rassman, new hair institute, san jose, los angeles

In the News – Guy Blames Hair Transplant for His Meth Addiction?

/by William Rassman, M.D./2 /

Snippet from the article:

MethA mechanic has been jailed for four years on drug charges although he claimed in court that he was only taking medication to stop the recurring headaches he had been suffering ever since a hair transplant procedure.

The Dubai Court of First Instance jailed the 35-year-old Pakistani mechanic after convicting him of smuggling and possessing 0.06 grames of methamphetamine for personal consumption.

Read the full story — Convict claims drug was only medicine

Blaming your meth use on a cosmetic surgery? Good one. Unless his dealer was his surgeon, I can’t see how the use of meth and a hair transplant can be connected.

Tags: meth, drugs, illegal, dubai, hair transplant