Can New Research on Mice Hold the Key to Combating Hair Loss?
When it comes to dealing with hair loss, the current solutions range from combovers to hair loss medications and transplants that are way too way to spot. However, research continues in the scientific community on new solutions for hair loss. Scientists have recently discovered some hair loss can be treated by blocking certain enzyme activities. In fact, in a new study bald mice underwent certain enzyme blocking treatments and they started showing new hair within 10 days.
Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center spent time last year searching for new treatments for alopecia areata. The research team studied how well certain drugs inhibit a family of enzymes that is in hair follicles. The enzymes are known as Janus Kinase (JAK). Their research showed the drugs actually turned off a signal that started autoimmune attacks. The drugs also showed potential to restore the growth of hair when given orally to some subjects as well as when it was applied to the skin. These findings indicate that the JAK drugs seemed to be preventing the autoimmune attack as well as having a direct interaction with the hair follicles.
Simply put, the research team established that the JAK inhibitors help to bring the hair follicles out of their resting state. (They normally put the follicles into a resting phase.) The act of suppressing its normal activity allows the drugs to help any hair in the sleeping state return to the active cycle. In the research on the bald mice, the JAK drugs were applied to their skin for five days and then they started to grow new hair within ten days. The mice regrew almost all of their hair within three weeks while another group of mice left untreated remained bald.
In the past, there have been some similar mice studies trying to manipulate the growth cycle. I have done some studies on mice hair growth after electroporation (a technique used in gene therapy) in mice model at Johns Hopkins Medical Institute. However, most of these studies are limited by their focus on hair cycles and not changing the course of miniaturized hairs that are going through the process of baldness. This innovation would be great for human body hair that has a longer resting phase and shorter growth phase. If they apply it on human body hair, a person can potentially have more body hair. I am not sure if anyone wants this though. When it comes to human scalp hair, they behave differently than mouse hair since they already have a very long growth phase. Plus, more than 95% of scalp hair is in a growth phase at any one time. Keeping them longer in growth phase may help a person grow scalp hair longer but, if they have follicles that are falling because of male patterned baldness, they shouldn’t be affected as much.
What’s So Funny about Going Bald?
In an extreme case of the pot calling the kettle black, comedian Larry David has stated that professional golfer Jordan Spieth is going to be “wildly bald”. Spieth is 22 years old and has already won two major tournaments this year (the Masters and the U.S. Open). David is the co-creator of “Seinfeld” and the creator and star of “Curb Your Enthusiasm”. The two men have a few things in common.
Spieth is a professional golfer. David is not only an avid golfer but he is also a big fan of professional golf. Spieth has a rapidly receding hairline. David has already lost a good portion of his hair.
While David is a big fan of Spieth’s ability to handle himself on the golf course, he can’t wait to see how the young golf pro handles a different kind of pressure. In the latest issue of Golf Digest, David says he is very interested in seeing how Spieth handles seeing all of his hair in the bathtub. David then makes a prediction that Jordan Spieth has only three or four years left before he is “wildly bald”. How he reacts to the pressure of going bald is of great interest to Larry David. In fact, it sounds like Larry David can’t wait for the day Jordan Spieth loses all of his hair.
How did Spieth react to the comments of Larry David? The young golfer seems to have a good attitude and took it all in stride. In fact, he remarked that David’s comments were funny and there is nothing he can do about his impending hair loss.
We’d like to point out to Jordan Spieth that there is plenty he can do about his hair loss. He made $1.8 million dollars for winning the Masters and the same amount for winning the U.S. Open. With that amount of money, Spieth can afford any hair transplant procedure he wants in the future.
Just remember Jordan…Your friends at Parsa Mohebi Hair Restoration are here for you. Give us a call to set up your consultation appointment!
Does PRP Really Work for Hair Loss Treatment
Q:
Hi, Doctor.
I had a quick question. Recently, I tried to grow my hair long and realized after my locks had reached the length that I like them at, my hair is noticeably thinning around my crown area. It’s been happening since I was about 18 years old, but none of my barbers had informed me that it was thinning, repeatedly telling me that it was just my cowlick, until now. I’d like to combat this hair loss, but it is my understanding that any medications you start becomes a lifelong commitment. Also, I am afraid the common side effects associated with Propecia, but I do want to know if it can help. I’ve also done some research on PRP, and it seems I would have to maintain the regimen throughout the year, how many times would I need treatment to maintain results?
A:
I would recommend that you seek an evaluation from a hair specialist or a hair surgeon. Make sure the initial evaluation specifically includes a microscopic evaluation, which will give you an indication of what your future pattern of hair loss may be. Only after this initial meeting and evaluation could it be determined what treatment options are best for you.
There are a few FDA medications and methods that have proven to slow down hair loss such as Propecia and Rogaine. However, hair transplant is the only viable, permanent solution at this point to restore ones hair. PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma) and mesotherapy are among the treatments that do not have significant scientific data to support their claims of treating hair loss.
Q & A: Hair Transplants for Younger Patients
Q:
Hey Doc.
Can I get your official thoughts on younger guys (Ages 19-26, but particularly guys in the 20s age range) getting hair transplants? That’s a question that comes up quite a bit and the general consensus seems to be to not get a hair transplant that young—that they should wait until they are at least in their late 20s or early 30s and their hairline has matured and the hair loss has stabilized. They also seem to recommend starting the prescription medication for hair loss at that age to hopefully help halt the hair loss. Is this something you agree with? What is your stance on a 20-year-old getting a hair transplant? Or does it really depend on many other variables?
A:
It was the standard of care among hair transplant surgeons to wait until age 24 for a hair transplant. Before that, doctors could not be sure where their patients’ final stages of hair loss would end up. Today, we don’t follow such a restrictive guideline for a couple reasons:
1. We have better diagnostic tools today. We do microscopic evaluation (miniaturization study) that can tell us where people will be heading in the future and what their final stage of hair loss will be. As a result, we don’t have to wait until they look completely bald in order to know what their final hair loss stage will be.
2. We have better hair loss medications that can slow a patient’s receding hairline, even at an advanced age. The age limitation for hair restoration that we had 20 years ago no longer applies today.
We have performed studies on the psychology of hair loss and hair transplant, and, as a result, we know the worst age for being hit by the negative psychosocial effects of hair loss is in the early 20s. It doesn’t make much sense to wait until the person become obviously bald to treat his or her condition.
It is important for the surgeon to consider different aspects before committing to giving a hair transplant to a young patient. It is also crucial that, if there is any doubt about the future class of hair loss, the doctor should assume that the patient is going toward class VII and plan accordingly. This will prevent giving a very low hairline to someone who will be a class VII at some point during his life.
Celebrity Hair Transplant – Why not Jerry?
Many times patients ask us if we did a certain celebrity’s hair transplant. Of course the answer is always: “we could not tell you even if we did”. We are pleased at our distinguished list of celebrities and executives who have advanced their self image with hair restoration and hair transplant surgery through our Beverly Hills and Los Angeles hair transplant centers.
However, for some celebrities we can say for sure we did not perform a hair transplant. One of them is Jerry Seinfeld. I am personally a big fan of Jerry. Enjoy his stand up and still laugh at his syndicated series on cable. Recently, I could not help but notice the change in his hairline in a posting for his Vegas stand up show and in other PR images.
I guess noticing significantly receded hair lines comes with the profession. I asked myself, why a celebrity like Jerry Seinfeld has not taken advantage of the permanent natural look that modern medical hair transplants provide.
Today’s hair transplants are done seamlessly. They are virtually undetectable to most people including their personal stylists. People who are known for their great hair are especially benefiting from taking action through early hair restoration intervention eliminating the gradual change that concerns many people.
Psychological studies clearly demonstrate that most people feel better having a good head of hair. Today’s hair restoration advancements means a natural, proven and permanent solution is an option in which many people can benefit.
At Parsa Mohebi Hair Restoration, we are proud that we have helped many celebrities with their receding hairline or overall thinning of hair. They now can continue to take advantage of their youthful hairline in their lives and carriers. What makes celebrities special is that a hair loss that might be considered normal variation as of maturation of hairline for others can be a life changer for their careers. We have done full hair restoration surgeries for celebrities or used an innovative approach that allows them to continue working with little interruption in their lives while restoring their hairline gradually. We call this novel technique: “Celebrity FUE Transplant”.
All about Shampoo and hair loss
Recently a patient contacted us here at Parsa Mohebi Hair Restoration wanting to know about shampoo and the effects it can have on hair loss. Here are the questions and answers in the order they were presented:
1) What kind of shampoo helps me the most and where do I buy it?
Although choosing the right shampoo can keep hair clean and add shine, shampoo cannot replace hair loss for individuals suffering from patterned baldness in either men or women.
2) Which shampoos should I avoid all together?
As we discussed before, most shampoos only affect the hair shafts which are not the life component of hairs. Because of this fact, there is very little damage shampoos can cause. Of course there are some chemicals which can damage hair shafts, which is a good reason to stay away from shampoos containing those bad chemicals. However, most shampoos generally found in every day stores do not have those ingredients. My regular saying to my patients is: “Do not stress too much about the shampoos”.
3) How often should I shampoo and use conditioners? Is conditioner a good thing? How about scalp cleanser? Or any other product you deem necessary for damaged hair. I have been using a product called “Biotin 24”, for last ten years, it is supposed to be all natural ingredients!
If your hair is oily you can wash your hair every day with shampoo. Even more than once a day is okay if your hair is not dry. Washing more than that may make your scalp dry and should be avoided, but if you do not have dry or sensitive skin, washing your hair once a day won’t affect you. Scalp cleansers are mostly for removing the secretions of sebaceous glands and make the scalp dry. Regular shampoos which have a certain amount of cleansers and the shampoos that are used for oily scalps might have more concentrations of those.
Cleansers don’t affect the health of your hair. You may find in some advertisements which claim cleansers open the scalp pores and help oxygenation of hair follicles. This is not true. Hair follicles don’t obtain their nutrition or oxygen from outside. There are many shampoos like what you mentioned with different ingredients. These generally do not affect the growth of hair. For example it is stated that this certain shampoo has 22 amino acids to help improve the tensile strength of the hair. The reality is that the necessary amino acids for hair follicles should be absorbed from blood stream and not from the surface of the skin.
4) Should I wash my hair as little as possible (I usually go to gym and exercise which makes me sweat, consequently I sometimes wash my hair twice a day) or should I keep my hair very short, to avoid it from falling off.
There is not a perfect regimen for washing your hair. Washing too little cannot damage your hair and washing every day cannot hurt the growth of the grafts either. As stated before, excessive washing may remove the necessary scalp moisture and oils that may lead to scalp dryness. That is more problematic, but only if you have an already dry scalp to start with.
Hair Restoration Is Nothing To Be Embarrassed About
Often times we at Parsa Mohebi Hair Restoration we receive calls and emails from individuals who are ashamed that they need a hair restoration for their balding situation and want to hide the fact they contacted us for advice. Although we are very sensitive to the needs of each individual who seeks our help, we also want to speak encouragement over their situation as well as give them new hope, confidence, and a fresh perception of what they are getting themselves into.
Modern technology has allowed us capabilities we did not have 50 years ago. Just as with vision problems, many have the disadvantage of wearing glasses. Although there are contact lenses as well, there is still a dependence upon outside tools for sight, which can be inconvenient. After many years, LASIK was developed which has solved this stubborn problem of fading eyesight which many, to this day continue to suffer from.
If someone chooses to undergo a LASIK procedure, does it make them an insecure person? Not in the least! Rather, they are using their resources to look their best and be as functionally independent as possible.
We always use the latest technology in hair restoration at Parsa Mohebi Hair Restoration, which was not available as recent as 10 years ago. The question to ask is, why not use it? Thousands are doing it every year with excellent results, and nobody is concerned if their hair is native or transplanted. Hair loss is a disease, yes a common one and like any other diseases there are treatments for it. The proper conclusion is that these individuals are no longer bald and don’t have the competitive disadvantage like those who decided to do nothing for their baldness.
In the end we all must be ourselves and do whatever makes us feel our best. No matter what we do with our lives, there will always be someone who will be critical of whatever we do. Regardless of what others may say, do whatever makes you feel good about yourself. There are options available to you today that was not available to your ancestors.
Hair Transplant to Prevent Future Hair Loss
Dr. Mohebi,
You classified my hair loss as class III. I agree with the evaluation but given my family background I will be approaching more towards class V or VI. My miniaturization % is 30 in both Top and Crown areas which means there is a sign of active hair loss. Do you think we can arrange something to cover up those two areas as well? Or, is my miniaturization level too low to have any type of procedure in those areas?
A:
You are class III of hair loss and as you said, you might be going toward class V or VI. However, prescribed medication might change what is considered your genetic pattern by taking it. I don’t recommend that we transplant hair in certain areas just in case you get lucky with the hair loss medications, you may never lose that existing hair. If you progress to lose more hair, you can always have another hair transplant surgery in the future for those existing areas. Even if you don’t continue hair loss medications, it is hard to predict if you will totally lose hair on the top and crown areas. Your particular numbers for miniaturization is slightly more than normal. A good decision today is a good decision tomorrow.