Kyocera Branches out from Electronics into Hair Regeneration

Update: RIKEN added a brief summary of this development on its site and included the below photo on its home page:

Kyocera, Tsuji and Organ Partnership

 

Update: Commentator “sets” e-mailed Kyocera and got a response:

“Hello. My name is Hina Morioka from the Corporate Communications Division at Kyocera Corporation. Thank you very much for your question about our research with RIKEN and Organ Technologies.

Regarding timeline, we aim to put the technologies into practical use and make medical treatment available in 2020 in Japan (medical treatment at one’s own expense).”


I was planning on publishing an entirely different post today, but things continue moving along rapidly in the hair loss research world and you regularly encounter sudden usually pleasant surprises.  In the last post, commentator “Lewa” just brought to my attention that major Japanese electronics manufacturer Kyocera was entering the hair regeneration market via a collaboration with the government-affiliated RIKEN Institute in Japan (where the renowned Dr. Takashi Tsuji leads the hair related research department) and Organ Technologies in Japan (a company in which Dr. Tsuji is one of the directors).  In that article, I read that they plan to commence clinical trials BY 2020, but that they also planned to start their business IN 2020.  They will develop prototype equipment by March 2018.  Very ambitious and rapid progression targets, but if it can be done anywhere, it would be in Japan where the government is very supportive of expediting research.  With the addition of Kyocera into the mix, Dr. Tsuji now has access to funding that all other hair researchers around the world can only dream of.  The only other hair loss cure research related company with this kind of funding access is also based in Japan in the name of Shiseido.

At first I was only intending to mention the above development in my once a month “brief items of interest” post.  However, then I discovered an even better version of the above article on Kyocera’s website. This second article is far less ambiguous when it comes to the dates and therefore this development deserves its own post now.  Key quotes from the above second article:

“The companies aim to put the technologies into practical use in 2020.”

“Kyocera, RIKEN and Organ Technologies plan to establish cell culture and transplant technologies and develop devices for transplantation, aiming to put the technologies into practical use for the treatment of human alopecia in 2020 in Japan.”

Update: Forbes magazine now has a story on this news too.
Update: A brief Japan Times summary.

The division of labor between the partner companies will be as follows:

Kyocera = Development of cell processing devices via the utilization of its microfabrication and manufacturing technologies.

RIKEN and Organ Technologies = “Development of stem cell culture/amplification technologies, development of cell manipulation technologies, establishment of production processes, implementation of preclinical studies, etc.”

The technology (“regenerated follicular primordium” via a combination of epithelial stem cells and mesenchymal stem cells) being developed is outlined in the bottom part of the below image taken from Kyocera’s press release.  Top image shows a modern day FUT (strip) hair transplant procedure with limited donor hair supply limitations.

 

Tsuji, RIKEN and Kyocera hair regeneration method

294 thoughts on “Kyocera Branches out from Electronics into Hair Regeneration”

  1. Hah so 2020 it is Mr. Admin! I will send you some cash if your prediction works out even if we have to travel to Japan. Thanks a lot for this truly wonderful blog.

    1. You started it Lewa:-) However, you only beat “nosyu” because he is sleeping in Japan at the moment lol

  2. They make it sound like they will be able to culture the cells and send them out for transplantation. I wonder if they could culture the follicles and get them implanted here in the US or by a respected hair sergion.

      1. Nice! Correct me if i’m wrong, but this is haircloning were everybody is talking about?

        I understand the optimism but we have no clue this will work on humans right? Human trials will begin in 2020 so it will take a while to see of this works.

  3. Finally REAL money backing! An over $18 billion usd market cap company based where Abe is expected to increase stimulus, which means more easy funding possible there for riskier projects, along with their forward thinking regenerative medicine policies.

    1. You know. Im not going to lie. My biggest fear is the Japanese Bubble blowing up before this hits the market. My heart says everything will work out, but my head is saying I hope to GOD Kyocera can weather the storm or at least I hope this will get bought up by people who actually want it to come to market. Not turn this into another shelf project.

      1. Automation baby. Cells will be harvested by medical professionals and put into a plastic cup, then the plastic cup will travel to the culturing plant where large, sterile machines in controlled environment will take care of culturing the cells. The machines are pretty much 99,999% error free so you should get your own hair back and not someone else’s to have an immune reaction.

        There are already some ridiculously large automated machines doing many repetitive testing like randomly testing small molecule chemicals on cultured cells and then automatically sending the cells to screening for change in gene expression. Thousands of random chemicals tested every day…

  4. Guys if this ever comes to pass just think of the costs. Think of the timelines.

    How the HECK will they be able to meet the humongous demand? With such a delicate and specialist procedure as this only capable by select team at Riken. My god. Waiting list of 30 years.

    1. That is maybe what kyocera will be working on, kind of automated solution / machines that needs little labor / supervision from experts.
      Clinics send them the conserved biopsies, they process them and send cultured cells back so that your dermatologist can inject them.

    2. economics. Maybe read a full first year text and you’ll figure it out. A company does not spend time and money to develop something that is infeasible. Has to be scalable and whatever the price would likely be a result of supply and demand. If it would result in an unlimited FUE there are a lot of guys who would easily pay $50,000. People pay 10-20,000 for a facelift which is butchery! Watch a video of that on youtube…I’d rather look my age. Anyways, after the first few years of steep prices things usually become more efficient and cheaper so they can expand to more customers via cheaper prices.

  5. Wow admin right on the damn money! This is fantastic news! Hopefully everything works out. But regardless, like a lot of us that have been on here getting criticized for being too optimistic this shows that things are happening rather quickly and it’s not a matter of if anymore it’s a matter of when. Even Swoop is excited lol.

  6. @Habe It’s quite obvious they won’t be able to meet the demand when if this proves to work to satisfaction in humans. In its first 10, or so years of commercial availability this procedure is obviously going to be attainable and affordable only for celebrities and the independently wealthy with the right connections.
    Still the fact that it seems more and more like the admin is going to be even partly right about 2020 is fricking Yuuge!!
    Even if 2030-ish will likely be more realistic for people like me who will be at most able to afford to pay the cost of a good new family car for it.
    Though as Vice President Biden proves a good hair restoration procedure is potentially worth it at any age, though the younger the better, but I’ll take what I can get as long as it isn’t drugs that screw up my body.

  7. Starting clinical trials in 2020. Practical use probably means using a working protocol for clinical trials. Good development but I would suggest everyone calm down and just wait before getting hopes up. That’s still 3.5 years away and lots can change. Once we see them fully restore a fill head of hair on a human make with mpb then I will jump for joy. How can they start clinical trials and release it for practical use at the same time. Doesn’t make sense unless they complete phase 2 under Japanese stem cell law. Don’t get me wrong I hope 2020 is the year we can get our hair back. Fingers crossed!

  8. This is something to get excited for! A little confused about their goals and whether trials begin by 2020 or commercialization by 2020, but either way, Riken/Tsuji will give us the cure!

  9. This could be absolutely huge. A full of of hair by 2020 (earliest), finally ridding us of this embarrassment/depression? Damn, this made my day.

    With companies like Aclaris, Shisiedo, Follica, etc. Supposedly onto promising things as well, things are finally looking up.

    Just hold in there a little longer folks and when you finally look into the mirror with your full head of hair, it will be one of the best feelings of your lives. Just keep looking forward to that day. It’s coming.

  10. Oh shit… If the tech industry legitamately becomes involved the problem will become fast tracked. The tech industry doesn’t waste time (which is good and bad) when they develop their products. Might be worth waiting until they update their “hair clone app” to 3.0 or later so you aren’t part of beta testing ;)

    Great news.

  11. From no trials to commercialization in three and a half years? Impossible. This must be a typo or translation error. Even if they had the entire protocol sussed out and proven right now, it would take better than a year to actually commercialize it – set up the logistics stream, the marketing, the financing, etc. In all likelihood they intend to trial it by 2020.

    1. Yeah, that’s what I was thinking. Especially since the equipment is to be developed by 2018. I’m sure we’ll get some clarification soon.

    2. Yeah we all know timelines years out are often BS, but in japan maybe its along those lines. We all know in the US it would be 10+ years and we will be using canes and wheelchairs by the time it got finished.

  12. If this really comes out in 2020 then all these other companies should have gotten their sht together quicker to reap huge profits the past 5 years instead of delaying and bsing around. SM should be on phase 3 by now, histogen should have been released in 2014, follica this year. If Riken can get this to market in 2020 with cure potential then they deserve a nobel prize for their dedicated work ethic and advanced intelligence in hair loss. I wish them huge profits and nw1 full coverage for us all.

      1. Think this is the more likely outcome. Basically, everything we have in the pipeline looks useless otherwise it would have somehow been fast tracked or we would at least have heard a lot more.

  13. Nifty, but id still rather keep my existing hair I have right now versus some invasive, complicated, and very very expensive procedure like this.
    So its great, but how about a simpler cheaper way to keep existing hair?

  14. Sorry, but it’s still far off and Brutzo or whatever is coming hopefully next year. Let’s hope they both work so we can bridge the gap till then. At this point my greatest excitement is still in the hands of our Italian friends.

  15. Damn Admin! You could well be spot on with your prediction for a cure in 2020.
    Looks very, very promising… and this is coming from someone who’s usually riled up, rather than excited by “developments”.

    1. Haha I’ve got hair dude it’s thinning visibly but my screen name was real half ass when I made it years agohere

    2. Probably yes, William, they might find areas that are intact even outside the scalp (eg chest) and culture their healthy cells.
      Keep positive, you will find a good therapy

  16. Good news but not a fan of the fact that I’ll have to stay in Japan for at least three weeks to get the procedure fully done. Staying in Japan especially Tokyo is freaking expensive.

    1. Maybe your dermatologist can send them the biopsies in advance, and they send back the cultured cells?

  17. I think everybodies here are too optimistic !! Like sanchez said it Human trials will only begin in 2020….. In Japan !!! So in the best cases it could be available in US and EU by 2025 even more !!! Just hope that Jak inhibitors or PGD2 inhibitors will bring us better news before !!

        1. Not injections. They take a part of your scalp containing healthy hair follicles. They take out two types of cells (dermal papilla and epithelial) from them and multiply them in the lab under precise conditions. These two cells are what make a hair follicle when combined. More of these cells means more hair follicles created. The new follicles are then transplanted on the patient’s scalp. So that’s basically FUE with unlimited supply.

  18. Sounds awesome. Still i would prefer they figure out why this is happening to us and cure us that way or give us follicles without that inherit weakness to DHT.

  19. Hmm, dunno what to make of this. The method and the fact that they aim to do treatment by injections sounds awesome. Im also confused by the timeline? I know nothing bout Japanese laws but hope that they can get it out by 2020.
    Its f*****g surreal that we have so many companies working on a treatment and still only vague timelines from every single one of them:-O

  20. This news will speed up other products, even if it doesn’t work. So I am thinking that shiseido , replicel, histogen and or other companies\cures\products wil be on the market sooner, probably within 2 years! Having said that it’s still: much hope, but no cure!

  21. How they will begin trials in 2020 and hit market in the same year? Or this method doesn’t need fda approval ? And how is it different than replicel injections and will it work on bald areas ? Or just for thinning

    1. @hlscc Note: Japan is NOT in the US…the FDA has nothing to do with Japan. The US is the past, Asian countries will dominate the next 100 years, especially Japan if they can get out of this 20year stagflation/deflation rut…Japan is actually innovative compared to China which is mainly amazing at just replicating others’ ideas.

  22. Dr. Takashi has said for some time now that he hopes to start trials in 2020. So it won’t get released in 2020, that’s when they hope to start testing on humans.

  23. This sounds super sweet how long exactly will it take to get to America though? Several posters always play the same tune about how long fda will take to get it through and I’m not very knowledgeable about that stuff so would it be like 2025 or so? From a business standpoint I can’t see America sitting and watching this cash cow for long.

  24. hey admin one question:

    this is injections or follicle transplant???
    why is different than replicel?
    I think this is unlimited hair .

    thanks!

    1. Nobody said it would be on the market in 2020. Tsuji said numerous times it will be clinical human trials in 2020. This is really great news. Most important is that it gets released in the decade 2020.

  25. “The trio aims to begin human clinical studies by 2020.” nothing about 2020 release….. first they need to prove that something that nobody here know about works.
    You extremis positivism is depresiv

      1. That was misinformation. Tsuji has always maintained that 2020 is when he aims to commence clinical human trials.

  26. You are right @sets. Please @Susana and @baldings read again. “aiming to put the technologies into PRACTICAL USE FOR THE TREATMENT OF HUMAN ALOPECIA IN 2020 IN JAPAN”. Maybe it will be available in 2020…

    Another companies need to move quickly…Not bad…

    Great news.

  27. This sounds good but the timeline seems very fast. Is this because of Japan’s speedy clinical process?

    Hope this turns out to be the silver bullet! Still, maybe best to temper enthusiasm until we see some data or human results.

  28. From what I gather from this, it looks like it will essentially be an unlimited FUE type of thing where follicles are grown without harvesting them from a donor area on the head, then inserted in the scalp, meaning unlimited grafts can be transplanted. That all sounds well and good but another thing which needs to be considered is how densely grafts can be packed in a transplant..The scalp has limited blood supply and there will be challenges around this to be overcome by surgeons. This could be a really positive thing but I’m not sure it will constitute the cure…An upgraded HT, certainly.

    1. The injected cells should only activate existing follicles, no need for increased blood supply (are you an electrician btw?)

    2. Tsuji said that on mice they were able to achieve density of 128 hairs on 1cm2. They could possibly well increase this too.

      1. Why doesn’t it make sense, it’s a common theme of HT surgery. Hair grafts can only be to an extent densely packed

        1. This isn’t a hair transplantation method. You aren’t transplanting adult terminal follicles onto dht sensitive areas of the scalp, you are injecting stem cells into the dormant follicle and waiting for a hair to grow. That’s why the down time would be practically nonexistent, you’re just taking injections as opposed to undergoing a big medical procedure.

          1. @gbh I believe that the word grafting simply means the removal of part of the scalp in order to break down the follicle and gather the cells they need. It’s like if you were to get a strip method transplant, albeit a much smaller surface area. They take this out, which includes skin obviously, and then use it to harvest the new cells in a three dimensional, fetal like environment.

  29. i’ve been reading on this blogs almost in every subject that nowdays HT are great , can someone tell me, what is a bad FUE for you, for example? can someone show me a picture about a bad FUE? what’s bad for you guys?
    im asking this because im thinking about have a HT here in Spain. My plan is to have a HT (FUE) and wait till the next treatment or even ‘the cure’.

    Thanks in advance guys!

    Cheers

    PD: i know is not about the subject Admin, but please dont delete my coment, i come here cause the good info and for some doubts that i have sometime, i dont even post in every post here.

    1. Some FUEs look phenomenal. Some people on hair loss forums just have totally unrealistic expectations.

      If you are in Spain, you should look up Dr Rafael De Freitas. I haven’t seen him personally, but his work is on Youtube and I believe he’s easily one of the 3-5 best HT surgeons in the world. Quite possibly the best with the amount of density he can create. I want to say he’s located in Valencia, but I’m not sure. Good luck.

  30. On forbes they mentioned it can be injections or grafts, so they are not sure yet?

    “These cells are subsequently processed and turned into follicles using Tsuji’s primordium method and then injected or autografted onto the patient’s scalp.”

    First paragraph on second page is really inspiring:

    “Though effective hair transplants have been around for some years, they are really just a method of moving hair from an area of plenty to one of absence. And they do nothing to stop further shedding. The follicular regenerative method, on the other hand, requires only a tiny amount of skin and a small number of hair follicles and promises continued hair growth.”

    This will be amazing, would even like this in 50s-60s of my life, will die with full hair, haha!

    Thanks much admin!

  31. hey admin!

    can you contact again dr tsuji? and question him about this alliance and if 2020 is final timeline?
    thanks!!! 2020 or 2023 is fantastic!!!

  32. For all of you:

    Remember when I said: All teams working on hair cloning are much more advanced than in their PowerPoint presentations? Just saying :)

  33. Just throwing this question out there:
    How well does this method work if it’s overall thinning (i.e., the hair in donor area is also miniaturizing)?

    Any thoughts?

  34. i think yo all know me by now. Do I need to repeat I am willing to pay 100K in heartbeat if this article is true. I will be NW0… when it comes to hair, I am not like u guys.

    well I hope they are still ok with 100K.. I am not rich at all. Prince Williams, Wayne Rooney, Bruce Willis will be the ones with over millions dollars in the queue…
    Please Kyocera, dont be harsh on people like me. ok i am raising and making it 150K.. no issues but god no i cant make a million…

    1. You are a moron. Literally, you just sound like a total moron. Quit financializing it and focus on discussing the treatment.

  35. @Admin just wanted to say you are doing a great job on this site keep us informed and updated on the latest developments . @ Susanna why do you even come on here if you have no hope for future treatments. You being a pessimist is depressing.

  36. So this method can grow 120cm2 hairs. That a touch better than follica. I’m assuming tsuji method is full terminal hairs and not neogenic. Well I hope brotzu comes out early next year with a topical better than rogaine, then histogen and follica in 2018, then anything else in between or after like tsuji. I just hope something comes out soon because my hair looks like crap

  37. There hasn’t been anything like this in the past. Of course something could still go wrong, but the science is solid, the financial backing is solid, and the law is on our side in Japan. If ever there was a time for optimism, this is it.
    This is a total cure for me…
    we are talking about organ regeneration, new teeth, new skin, and of course new and unlimited hair.in my opinion is very strange that will not working on humans.
    I repeat : japan, tsuji, riken, kyocera. It´s a very SOLID and serious team.

  38. Sets: If this is true then we all become very very old, maybe eternal life, and with hair:) Then its up to you, when you will leave your body, shit its a bit creepy!

  39. “In addition, the RIKEN research team has succeeded in using iPS cells*6 to regenerate functional skin organ systems*7 in mice[​IMG], including all follicles, sebaceous glands, and skin tissues, thus leading the world in organ regeneration technology.”

    I understand the skepticism but c’mon guys. If this isn’t it, it will never be.

  40. Hi Admin!!!

    Wow!! Ray Kurzweil move over with your predictions my friend because Admin is no joke!!!!!!!!!!! Without reading further into this are we dealing with autologous cells.. Which will basically take a whole lot of rejection and cancer scare out of this … Hey then again if not then we can use JAK lol.. Jk. Seriously is this all autologous based ?Because im sure the trialing process will be expedited then

    1. Haha thanks Richieron. I actually met Kurzweil in person in 2008 and read his Singularity book in 2007. He is even more optimistic than myself as are others such as Peter Diamandis, Aubrey de Grey, Michio Kaku etc…

      1. Admin….

        You are welcome my friend… That is awesome..I would absolutely put Ray in my top 3 as far as who I would like to spend a day with… I wonder if he puts any thought into AA. As far as lifehacking/biohacking def wouldn’t mind hanging with Dave Asprey either..By any chance is there new chatter with oral seti success? Or topical for that matter? Also I wonder what is up with breezula aka cb? Any thoughts.

  41. Not to beat the preverbial dead horse but i did read some cool threads on a German forum where guys are tweaking Swiss regimen and using peppermint oil with emu as vehicle because of its IGF1…and having success… Of course they are tackling the other angles as well. I read somewhere last year that PEO out performed Minox however i don’t remember if it was a small human trial or our usual fuzzy friends.

  42. I’m predicting it will be 3 million dollars because me extensive knowledge of using the Internet to prove my points and hyperbolic statements.

    … Really guys where are you getting these numbers?… If you had that money there are treatments out there right now that would suffice. Any treatment that is over the $20000 becomes unattainable for the majority of the world. It would make no sense to release a product at that price point… Even if they assumed everyone that could afford it would but it you would still be shooting yourself in the knee. Start thinking logically.

  43. How much is this likely to cost and do you think we could ask them to treat the entire scalp (sides, top, back) or will they only treat the top? I want my nape regenerated.

  44. Is funny that all here are not coment about the 2008 and 10k numbers…

    “Shiseido has been working with RepliCel Life and Sciences in Canada to develop their own regenerative process and aims to introduce a treatment as early as 2018 for a fee of 100,00 yen ($10,000).”

    100 yens? 100.000?
    Some week ago a read here close to 1000$

    @drifta
    Becouse one thing is looking information and other is beleve in anything you read. You are OK with the anwer?

  45. @Paul Phoenix. 2020 clinical trial please read again. If 2020 was the time to be to the marketing the clinical trial was been long time starte and in advance like phase 2.

    Is strange that are all talking about hair regenaration and today nobody know for sure how to stop the loss and the correcta mecanis how that happen. Is like to make a organ transplant and dont know how they work in human.

    1. It says “by” 2020 Susana. Not “in” 2020. Please see blue and red text in the first paragraph of my post.

  46. The funny thing will be that everyone will save $$$ to spend on the first treatment that comes out and won’t have any $$$ to spend when a better treatment comes out. My prediction is that a treatment will come to market and this will act as a catalyst for several more to roll out very quickly one after the next once of them hits the market. Then after everyone has spent all their money on these better-than-minox treatments, no money will be left to spend on the cure (stem cell neogenesis).

    1. I happy if 1 Treatment get out to the market. We dont havw enything 100% sure and you a thinking in second tratment! :) come on

  47. If Shiseido will cost $1000 USD….

    How much will Riken cost?

    Some are guessing as much as $50,000 USD! I would understand that but then why would Shiseido be doing theirs for only $1000?

    I know Shiseido is not hair cloning like Riken but still it’s a similar process. But Riken would cost fifty times as much?

    1. because Riken would involve a surgery (new follicles are developed in the lab, not in human skin) while Shiseido is just injections. Part of the cost will come from making follicles and part will be charged by the surgeon who will plant those new follicles.

  48. Email from kyocera today!!

    Hello. My name is Hina Morioka from the Corporate Communications Division at Kyocera Corporation. Thank you very much for your question about our research with RIKEN and Organ Technologies.

    Regarding timeline, we aim to put the technologies into practical use and make medical treatment available in 2020 in Japan (medical treatment at one’s own expense).

    2020!!! AMAZING CONFIRMATION

    1. Thank you for this information SETS !

      Can you please ask them if this treatment will be for everyone ( all types of baldness, regardless of severity ) or those who no longer have any hair (all the hair cycles exhausted ) will not be able to benefit.

  49. Sets thank you for this update.

    I am still inclined tp take Takashi Tsuji’s word above others when it comes to timelines since he is the lead inventor. He has said numerous times that human clinical trials would start in or around 2020. If successful, a commercial release would take at least several years.

    In any case it sounds like they aim to release a treatment to the public well within 10 years which would be amazing.

    1. Why wouldn’t phase 1 trials be done in a year’s time? The only risk is seeing if the follicles start growing as teratomas. After a year they will know if the procedure works. It’s not like a drug where you have to watch for slow developing side effects.

  50. @susana no offense to your english but I didn’t understand anything you said truthfully. Im just saying I haven’t seen anything positive come from you

    1. She is Portuguese per her email. With Portugal winning Euro 2016 and the even better news of this Tsuji/Kyocera partnership, she is still miserable!!

      1. I felt really bad for Ronaldo when he got injured.

        Anyways, this is good news and hopefully we can get better treatment on the way to this very soon such as the Brotzu lotion

      2. I think it’s more because of the female side of it, never happy are they :D Susana vamos animar um pouquinho sim? :)

        Ps. Portugal on the euro was ace

  51. u know what makes me excited most? After this treatment, these HT surgeons a.k.a sales weasels will disappear for good.
    Visit even top notch surgeons.. first two things they do 1- aligning expectations: look dont come up with Brad Pitt photos or photos of ur 15yrs old. we can put few hairs on top of ur head and be happy about it. 2- have u ever heard fin and minox? they work great and keep all ur hair like forever…
    yet these people are earning hell lot of money meanwhile market is hugely dissatisfied…

  52. it is no lie. he just didnt tell u the stretch timeline..

    Guys, I dont know about you but this news is rising my heartbeat more than JAK. for the first time I believe we are very close to cure.

  53. I dont know… I wouldn be so excited about it.

    They said they PLAN to commercialize in 2020, it doesnt mean they actuallh will. There are things that could go wrong wich force them to delay.

    I’d be much happier with a topical product, like a lotion with jak, assuming that jak really works for treating or even reversing aga.

    How many times we’ve heard in the past that a certain miracle treatment would be release like in 2012, but nothing happened, amd worse yet, the company was closed ?

    Im not a pessimist guy, I usually have an optimistic view on some potential future treatment like jak, but Im not easily fooled anymore.

  54. Riken will not shut down because they have much bigger goals than regenerating hair. I think hair regeneration is simply the first step in their overall plan. Secondly they are government funded and there’s no doubt in my mind Japan wants to solve hair loss issues as it would tremendously help their economy and reputation. This is great news for everybody, thanks for the update Admin. Oh and one more thing, to anybody who is worried about the price, please stop. The treatment isn’t even out yet so I think we should focus more on the treatment itself rather than the price. You can talk about that when it actually comes out.

  55. @GuyFromBrazil is right. Awesome news but lets not get carried away. We’ ve heard stories and timelines like this numerous times before.

  56. guys u dont understand. I am not excited about 2020.. it can be 2025 maybe.. what they present is practically the cure.. and we all trust these guys.. for me its wonderful news. then we can just count down.. maybe few more years than 2020 but who cares..

    for once f-sake… be grateful that we will be beating this disease after 2020 years of fighting… and u illiterate guys are fighting over few years more or less.

    1. @donitello. That’s GREAT NEWS. We can read and share very soon new scientific paper about hair loss regeneration!

  57. I want it now now now now!! Lol. He probably lied to us about clinical trials starting in 2020 to stop any sort of chaos. They are probably working very hard behind the scenes to perfect the procedure for 2020 time frame. If Sisheido doesn’t start phase 2 very soon we can safely bet their treatment doesn’t work as well as tsuji and will just stop operations. However, I will take as many new hair loss treatments as possible. The more the better! Bronzu,sm, follicum, follica, histogen then the big tsuji. I’m going to assume this will cost a but more than kerastem. Probably 10 to 20k. That is a reasonably guess for a full head of hair. Plus they will offer financing so everyone can afford it to some degree.

    1. A go to the bank a easy ask for a credit of 20k to pay in 5 years with 10% rate. Lol
      Is you get full head of hair in 40 50 years of you life 22k is nothing. You mens spens in propecia and minoxidil the same money.

  58. @donitello, your overly optimistic based on very little info. I hope your right, but please calm down with the name calling and smart ass attitude. This is indeed great news but also very uncertain. Lets just keep our fingers crossed and see how it goes when they start human trials.

    1. Well said. I personally think this wil be after 2025 but japanese culture dont hace the costume to lie . big or small corporation . in the west is normal to talk big BS before anything is certain.

      For the other shesaido 1000$ feel to cheep for a new tecnology and the all infra struture that beed to be created from zero. Maybe is something more static that something close to a cure.

      Lets se what happen to the west treatment . maybe thay need to inform better about there tecnology because the people are buying the stock and investor.

  59. Being a 21 years old NW7, I often thought being concerned by hairloss at age 19 would be a curse (and trust me it f*** is). However, i’m also blessed since by 2020-2025 i’ll only be mid 20’s :D thanks admin btw you rock baby! (I’m happy…)

  60. guys u reminded me of Barca fans at 2000… u were all in shock and refuse to believe figo joined real :)
    guys, Riken is one of the largest research org in Japan. And Japan is well known trusted research center. It is not shady news like we see in Bahamas. or cosmetic company like Replicel, Shiseido…. they are hard core research engineering center.

    And well said above JP has respect to people.. they dont make bullshite comments or news unlike US or western europe.

    I may sound overly optimistic but actually not. C’on guys. Even timelines are very much clearly pointed out. Seems like the whole project is ready and they started executing…

    All in all, this is done deal. I am in peace right now…
    not because treatment will be available at 2020.. like i said 2025 i am still ok… i dont care!!!
    they practically found the cure. now it is just matter of when.. few more years more or less.

    we are not in dark and searching for pinata anymore…

    tell me one thing we should be cautious about?

  61. ok maybe u dont know me or believe my judgement. Below is the quote from Hellouser – anyone who follows any hair loss forum knows him very well.

    this is his quote from today.. he is known with his tantrums and growing hatred towards researchers… in other words he is skeptical all the time …

    what can i say more to convince u? hellouser is convinced …

    —————-

    Nice, straight from the source. I’m gonna open up a bottle of champagne.
    #142hellouser, Today at 12:09 AM

    1. I feel extremely optimistic. Donitello is usually very even.. He is elated. I would have already felt very positive about the news. I feel even more positive now. This is an injectable, right? So theoretically, we could have thicker hair than we had before we started losing it, right? I mean.. really, if you wanted to pay for it.. Your hair could be very, very dense.

  62. So what does that mean for people have previously had a transplant done. Will this have any negative effect on them?

  63. So because Hellouser broke out the bubbly we should all be blindly convinced, lmao! Like I said, this is awesome news! But I’d still like to see actual progress from human trials. If this is what they say it is, it will more or less wipe out any other competition.

    1. What they say it is. By that you mean cultivating hair / folicules and multipling then proforma hair transplant pol…. …….

      Not technically correct but along those lines

      Seems really plausible to me. I agree it would make stuff like jak obsolete as they have risks aka powerful dr

  64. Interesting…

    Effects of the biomimetic peptide Sh-Polypeptide 9 (CG-VEGF) on cocultures of human hair follicle dermal papilla cells and microvascular endothelial cells.
    Eleonora Bassino1, Andrea Zanardi2, Franco Gasparri3 and Luca Munaron1
    1Deparment of Life Sciences and System Biology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy; 2Rottapharm- Madaus, Monza, Italy; 3Department of Pharmacy, University of Salerno, Salerno, Italy
    Correspondence: Luca Munaron, PhD, Department of Life Sciences & Systems Biology, University of Torino, Via Accademia Albertina 13, 10123 Torino, Italy, Tel.: +390116704667, Fax: +390116704667, e-mail: luca.munaron@unito.it

    How can I buy this?
    http://dermaheal.co.kr/product/product_view_01_03.php

  65. @Phil, plz explain your post? You listed a whole lotta places. I dont understand what it has to do with the link? (Which btw looks pretty suspicious)

    1. The whole first paragraph from “Effects to….Italy” is just the article title, journal, and authors.

      In the most basic terms…vegf causes angiogenesis (blood vessel growth), and a better blood supply to the scalp (arterioles) means more nutrients for hair. (Be aware that in the oncology specialty of medicine, the term angiogenesis is bad, because it leads to tumor growth).

      I also came across an article earlier today that talked about the deterioration of erector pilli muscles in AGA (you know, when you feel euphoric listening to a song, and you get the shivers…contraction of erector pilli muscle. I wonder if topically apply Sh-polypeptide 9 could cause cellular growth of hair follicle and regeneration of errector pilli muscle.

      Like a few of the others on this forum,I have a science background, and admin can search his website to find the post about my educational background and place of employment.

      1. WANTED to rephrase that in oncology, the term “angiogenesis” is typically associated with tumor formation. But in biomedical sciences overall, angiogenesis does not have a negative connotation.

  66. @admin, where does it say that the technology relies on the cultivated cells being injected into the scalp? I may have overlooked something but in the global.kyocera link they only mention transplant, not injections.

    1. Second from top image in Kyocera link shows an injection in rightmost side. Nikkei article mentions “precision injection technologies”.

  67. This is exciting but what about between 2025 and now? What do we do for the next 5-9 years?

    I think they will be successful, or very close. But lets stop and remember all of the time lines that have come and gone. Histogen. Replicel. Aderans.

    Again, Im optimistic on this im general. But i dont see this being commercially available until maybe 2023-2025 (assuming EVERYTHING goes exactly as planned and right on schedule, which life rarely does)

    1. Nothing changes short term. Maintenance is still the game. Use whatever you can afford/tolerate/is effective to keep the most hair on your head until we get this or something else that works. It’s really simple.

      I really hope people don’t just throw their hands up in the air and drop all current treatments thinking “well, the cure’s around the corner”.

      1. It is not that simple for the people who can’t tolerate finasteride.. There are very few options..

      2. It most certainly is not simple. There are no effective treatments right now that do not pose a threat to our health.

        Im sick of seeing and hearing people talk about how its our fault if we don’t maintain what we have now. I used minox with sides and 0 effect on hair. I used fin with barely any effect other than nasty side effects such as libido dropping, ED, brain fog etc. I tried RU with similar results as fin, just not as extreme. I used shampoo with keto that did nothing but dry my hair out and stop scalp itch. There are people such as myself that cannot maintain, and that isnt something we choose just because we think a cure is coming.

        And tbh I do not see this as a good option for a cure. Im happy there is another company looking into hairloss cures, but in reality how practical do you think this is going to be? I for one do not know a single bald man that will be able to fly to Japan and pay thousands for a head of hair.

  68. Going off of the sh-peptide 9. I did some more digging, and cannot find a lot on dermaheal. It appears they are based in South Korea.

    http://integratedskincare.net/files/63390656.pdf

    …this pdf link shows some cell signaling pathways on how the “drugs” exert their effect. But I would have to go into this more and do my own research before I thought about attempting to buy anything. Like the admin, i unfortunately can’t spend all my time researching AGA.

  69. New email from kyocera.

    Thank you for your reply.We appreciate your interest in our research.

    We are aiming for clinical research in Fiscal Year 2019 (Year ending March 31, 2019) in Japan. I would like to ask for your kind understanding that this is based on our plan and that there may be changes in schedule.

    Best regards,
    Hina Morioka

      1. Oh god… I can imagine all the crazies emailing them. Asking for specific timelines and procedures that they are using.

        I could imagine that amazing feeling of hey! We think we will be ready for 2020! And then the slowly backing towards the exit as all of the people turn and flock towards them. Lol.

    1. Certainly could be subject to change, but encouraging that they plan to start trials prior to March 2019 vs. what we originally thought (sometime in 2020).

  70. This is perhaps the best news ever for hairloss sufferers.

    Yet I cannot help to believe that the 2020 timeline is far too optimistic. Asking them for timelines at this point is like asking a hockey player of he believes he will win the next game.

    This is by far the most serious possibility of a cure that I’ve ever heard of. These are top scientists from one of the best universities in the world, and a big company is in as well.

    Reasons to celebrate? You bet: they could very well have a cure. But don’t stop breathing just yet.

  71. Who knows how many years it will really take to perfect the “stem cell culture/amplification technologies”. They shouldn’t give us even a tentative timeline unless they have already succeeded in cloning cells and only remaining tasks are some paper works and legal issues. How can they predict when this will come to fruition? “We’ve been failing for the last ten years but just need four more” is that it?

    1. @FADI, no this does not contain Sh-polypeptide 9. As far as if they work, based on simply what they are, growth factors, yes one might hypothesize that they will work.

      This article posted below has sparked my interest, and I’m curious as to why further studies were not performed. My guess is that AGA is not life threatening, and getting grant money to perform such studies is difficult, so the treatment was not investigated more.

      http://www.des-company.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Zimber-et-al-2011.pdf

  72. admin in an italian hair loss forum they gathered questions and sent them to brotzu and he replied… , can we try with dr tsuji ?

  73. @Paul: Kyocera stock price is up. see the link

    https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=kyocera%20stock

    @bw: another smartass scientist we have here.. Of course u know stuff better than Dr Tsuji. These comments never cease to amuse me..
    If u ask Dr Tsuji his name.. he would first check his ID and then reply to you. Do you understand? He is the most conservative tight-lip scientist ever and never talks gobshite.
    If timeline is given, then it is logical. and i believe it can only be made sooner…

    I am sure Admin is now busy with collecting his questions to Dr Tsuji.. hopefully we have a chance to make small interview with him.

  74. My guess is they already have successfully cultured and developed the stem cells/ follicles. They are just trying to understand the effects when they are transplanted, hair cycles development etc.

    Or more thank likely I’m entirely wrong…

  75. ok this is just my speculation… on top of what u say (stem cells already cultured and developed). I BELIEVE they made a quick test on human and seen it worked.. Otherwise Tsuji will never ever never ever agree with such tight timeline.

    Of course Admin will ask this question and of course he aint gonna reveal what is cooking in the kitchen.

    We know Dr Tsuji by now. He takes every question with a grain of salt.

    like i said, also Hellouser thinks same, this is done deal. in next 4-5 years fin minox and HT surgeons will go down the drain…

    1. If they don’t improve their industry with hair donor regeneration… maybe you are right. But i’m not sure about that.

  76. The pictures released only showed fuzzy wiry type hair on a mouse however. The major issues stopping hair cloning was the culturing and then the actual hair cycle growth if I’m not mistaken.

  77. It’s always 5 to 10 years away. Tired of these timelines. Tsuji needs to show amazing pics then I will get excited or its just another company sending empty promises. Plus in 4 years half of us whose hair isn’t maintaining anymore of current treatments are going to be nw5 or more by 2020. We need something now that is better than current treatments. 2020 is too far away. Tired of fking waiting!

  78. @gatsby, exactly we still have to see some results. Like I wrote earlier – this COULD be the treatment to actually cure HL for good. I wonder if these news could put some of the other companies on fast track?

  79. ok guys and u tell me… why all of a sudden Dr Tjusi , aka the most conservative scientist in hair loss industry is joining his forces with RIKEN and showing us 2020 timeline?
    can someone explain it to me? why now? why he was silent before?
    and please dont be just smart ass sciencisit like PRAY THE BALD AWAY in bht and hairlosstalk and try to challenge the guru.

    just go relax and enjoy your 4-5 years of baldness .. look urselft at mirror and smile… u all know these days will be all over soon

    1. I think that’s just business. Spilling their beans early doesn’t help if they’re out to make as much profit as they can. On the other hand, there’s always a lot that can go wrong with treatments that haven’t yet been proven 100% effective, safe and feasible.

  80. @brah

    Not my intent to “jump” on derma rolling. The dermarolling articles just happened to discuss vegf, and it appears that the dermaheal products can either be injected into the scalp or applied topically after dermarolling (microneedling) the scalp.

    To top off my curiousity-induced binge of posting , here is an article I came across that involved only a single injection of VEGF (sh-polypeptide 9),and a few other compounds, and claimed to have adequate results.

    http://www.des-company.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Zimber-et-al-2011.pdf

      1. @22 appreciate the recommendation on joining. In the future I might do so. Since I work at an academic medical center, I have access to the best resources out there.

  81. 1 question. Everybody telling it’s a cure. But is there any side effect may arise after this treatment ? They said they will inject new follicle into the scalp. Can it make any cancer or other side effects ?

  82. So many news about new treatments, but nothing concrete about timelines or results, too confusing. Please make it happen soon!

  83. guys, your reactions are, how can I put this…hm… , pathetic?
    You talk about costs, possible SE, making it happen S.O.O.N.E.R? LOL you bunch of spoiled brats
    Be thankful for the info we have now and stop whining like a bunch of bald babies ughhhh for crying out loud
    you always react like its never enough:
    no info on potential cure = we want something in the pipeline
    something in the pipeline = we want more info and we want it sooner
    something actually might come out BY 2020 like in the f*** blog title = we want info on costs / SE / interviews / try and make our own product
    utterly ridiculous…. be thankful for being still alive while there is talks about a potential cure…
    @admin thanks for the great insight on this possible cure, and as usual, great blog, great info release, and on behalf of the bald community, I’m sorry for all these immature reponses, I guess ppl are edgy nowadays
    Now I’ll go play pokemon Go and wait for the cure to come peace!

    1. Of course we want more information. How many times have we been told a cure is just around the corner? As mjones said, the 5-10 year timeline STILL hasnt budged. My father told me that 20 years ago they were saying a cure was only 5-10 years out. Obviously those of use who are severely balding want more info. Whats the point of getting excited if it falls to the way side? We were all pumped up 6 months ago for SM thinking it was going to be great getting our hopes up. Look how that panned out. Yeah it gives 10% regrowth, but it still wont be released for a long time and by the time it is, 10% isnt going to do jack for any of us over a NW 3 or 4. So pardon our skepticism and pessimism sometimes when a company makes claims with 0 proof.

    2. Paco, yesterday I went to my local park and at least 500 people showed up for Pokemon Go. I shot a crazy short video on it.

      It seemed like 90 percent of the Pokemon players were in their 20s and not balding. I still really enjoyed my time there despite that unfortunate detail. Played for 10 mins, but then got bored and mostly watched others.

  84. Paco how long have you been balding? How long have you been on treatments ? Just curious, not going to make a smart ass answer.

  85. Guys, you are going off topic now and becoming aggressive with each other. It’s spoiling this now…

    1. This blog isn’t only about finding a cure and discussing it, its about helping people cop with their situation… And I think its really important that you people realize that hair is not worth so much worrying… 21 years old speaking here…
      How about I tell you that a cure would be to change mindsets and the way people see their situation? I’m not aggressive, but posting comments like :

      “1 question. Everybody telling it’s a cure. But is there any side effect may arise after this treatment ? They said they will inject new follicle into the scalp. Can it make any cancer or other side effects ?”

      This is just stoopid sorry… Always looking for the next problem… THAT is what spoils the fun

      1. @paco, alright young grasshopper. If you worked at a hospital then such comments would be music to your ears. Such questions/comments are heard all the time by healthcare professionals.

        You have the right attitude about not letting your hair loss bother you, but unless you’ve walked in someone else’s shoes (every human being has different psychosocial issues)….

  86. 21 years old. NW7. been balding since 18-19.
    I know baldness is hard guys, but hair is hair. Stop worrying too much about it because in the end, you can’t get those years you spend worrying back…
    I’m soooooooo happy to hear about this potential cure which would, lets say it, save my youth/life, but seeing people already worry about things like side effects / costs, about something that we don’t even for sure if it will work, this pisses me off…
    Can’t you just relax and enjoy the “good news” instead of ALWAYS trying to find another issue to solve or discuss?

    grow up.

      1. I think its due to my intensive workout routine (+ protein shakes) when I look back at pictures of me in 2012-2013 (when I had just started working out) I had a full head of hair… This experience has been traumatic for me… but I also had time to realize that :
        I won’t let my happiness fade away just because of hair.
        But I would give anything to go back and get my hair back … :'(
        Its only when you loose stuff that you realize how important they are…
        (@admin sorry for my words)

  87. thats why we are humans makes us different than animals. we have brains to render unnecessary or surplus information..

    20 years ago it was all about fin… we have came to know that pills aint gonna solve ur baldness.. it has to be stem-cell research.

    so no… i really dont understand ur pessimism. and yes to your question i believe they have tested on humans and it proved to be working. otherwise they dont put out such a short commercialization timeline.

    baldness is not perceived as we were in 80s or 90s anymore. this decade is all about aesthetics. u see hollywood stars or anyone on tv? they all have 6-packs and perfect hairlines. ppl want it. things have changed from last 20 years.

    dont worry about proof I think they have it .. just not sharing with society yet

  88. paco, your a funny little dude who doesn’t know what he’s talking about…

    “guys, your reactions are, how can I put this…hm… , pathetic?
    You talk about costs, possible SE, making it happen S.O.O.N.E.R? LOL you bunch of spoiled bratsno info on potential cure = we want something in the pipeline
    something in the pipeline = we want more info and we want it sooner”

    “This blog isn’t only about finding a cure and discussing it, ”

    so are we spoiled brats or are we discussing it?

    some of us have been balding longer than you’ve been alive and we’ve heard it all and have been promised for years.

    go back to your pokemon little man

  89. No need to argue ppl! We all have different opinions bout this topic. Im glad there we’r being spoiled with so many great news. But like others have said numerous times; its just the usual we have heard so many times before. Go on every HL blog or forum and look through threads bout the 10.000 other companies whos put out news like this in the past, and you’ll see that this is just history repeating itself. Another 5 year promise from a company who has not shown any results.. yet. I really hope that these news will make some of the other companies speed up their proces so we can have a new treatment until this hits the market.

  90. @donitello
    Don’t be a wiseass yourself.
    Did you think my last comment’s sole purpose was to school someone? People are free to discuss or ask questions here, as long as the topics are related to the current post.

  91. Paco sorry to hear that you lost all your hair so quickly. I myself noticed my hair loss increase rapidly when I started lifting heavier at the gym and taking protein whey isolate. I have maintained great with Propecia for 14 years but year 12 I added whey and 6 months later crown and hairline started diffusely thinning quickly. I have been waiting since 2001 for a new treatment I can use to replace Propecia and I’m Freaking FRUSTRATED! I want some new fda treatment asap! Anything even SM, Histogen etc. 10% regrowth and maintenance will be highly appreciated. So when I hear 5 to 10 years away statements I immediately lose hope in that treatment. I honestly believe follica will bring us something good since they are setting on a 2018 release date. They took a while but most clinical treatments take 10 to 12 years to hit the market..Histogen I see being 50% chance due to all their delays same with sisheido. If they execute phase 3 and 2 this year as promised then I will bump their released success date to 75% chance. In conclusion please stop telling us to stop complaining or to live our lives. I live my life to the fullest but I should have my hair in 2016 and should have to worry about hiding from bright lights, getting hair wet or spending an hour in the morning fixing my hair with blow dryers and shit just to look normal. I want the old mjones back when I was 20 where I showed , gel up my hair and didn’t worry about hair. Every man deserved to live confident and happy

    1. You’re perfectly right and I apologize for sounding so critical about how ppl react to those leaked infos about possible treatments… honestly I think we’ll all get our hair back in a decades time don’t you think? SM follica brotzu follicum seti tsuji rivertown and now this… please tell me i’m right…

  92. people…
    the technology and science now is not the same 30,20,10 years ago.
    I understand the pesimism for wait and wait year by year. But the solutions are very very close.
    Believe me. I have 40 years old and a full head of hair. Why I read periodic this site? Because I´m fanatic of the science and the technology. I know is easy to say this for me, but the things will change soon. If you are very pesimistic, don´t read the site, is worse for you! Stay positive! Imagine good things to come!
    remember the progress of:
    cell phones
    TV
    HIV therapies
    Airplanes!
    Robotic
    sheep cloning
    in the beginning all this things are like magic, nobody trust in they but the science and technology work together to become in reality.
    this is the same… patience and optimism!
    regards (sorry for my poor english im latin! ) :)

    1. Well said ! Here is to the future and the increasing speed of scientific discoveries! Now is the time for not just more effective treatments, but also a full cure, and more options to getting that cure.

  93. I just hope it can be done on diffused areas with hair already on them without complication like ingrown hairs. If it can only be used on slick bald areas that would be useless for diffuse thinners.

    1. This protocol would require a transplant. The ARTAS system can transplant around existing hair – it maps the scalp and selects implantation sites that are free of hair. By the time (if) this protocol comes to fruition, ARTAS will be a fully-automated robotic hair transplant procedure, with the robot both extracting and implanting the follicle.

      That being said, any protocol that requires surgery is less than ideal to a protocol that simply reinvigorates dormant follicles.

  94. This biomemimetics stuff has turned into an itch that I can’t seem to scratch away at the moment.

    Caregen ltd. is the company in South Korea that manufactures the sh-polypeptide 9. The CEO is Yongji Chung PhD, and he was educated at Cornell and Northwestern (I’m impressed). He spoke at last years IMCAS. And this years IMCAS will be held at the end of this month in Taiwan!

    http://www.imcas.com/en/attend/imcas-asia-2016

  95. Hopefully we will all live to see this day, NATO USA and russia are getting very heated and threatening nuclear warfare

  96. I think this hair cloning is the best we are going to get seems like if there was a way they could just give us some special water and make our original hair follicles grow again like a Chia pet they wouldn’t have gone this route.

    1. Yes I agree. Why did Tsuji go straight to wanting to recreate new follicles? Because he is a clever man who understands that reviving ‘dead’ follicles is more complex than creating new ones! George Cotsarelis seems to be of the same mind.

      I think with shiseido, samumed and brotzu lotion we will get the full extent of follicle revival potential for a generation. The major “cure” for our generation lies in hair cloning.

  97. guys this century is all about well being. This was not the case 30 20 years ago. turn on tv first thing u notice is 6-pack guys with full head of hair. unfortunately being ugly or bald is not appreciated by society anymore.
    thats why prince williams , rooney ..etc are all desperate for their hair. if u r on tv, u have to be beautiful…
    in 80s 90s, social media wasnt there so baldness werent big deal. right now we all have super zoom camera and constantly scanning if ur hair is falling out.
    like i said so many discontent people out here and shouting for the cure.

    I have asked Admin million times to actually post an article to show how much attention baldness cure gets. I am pretty sure the numbers will highly surprise you because it is HUGE. it gets alot of attention and money.. investors are fully aware of the potential…. whomever finds it first, seriously gets the holy grail.

  98. Guys I have diffuse thinning with two empty strikes on both sides of the head.

    I am on fin for 4 months but no regrowth and I am dissatisfied by the appearance of the white lines on the sides and back of the head.

    I do not want to use minoxidil, I only want to use brotzu lotion if it is released.

    However, would it be an idea to use minoxidil on my white lines for 6-12 months or however long it takes for brotzu’s lotion to hopefully be released? If for some reason it is not released I have no intention of continuing with minox.

    Would minox keep my hair/regrowth healthier while waiting for brotzu, or could it make things worse?

    Thanks

  99. Minoxidil gave me horrible side effects, bloated face, high bp, edema, dark circles etc. When i quit after 2 months of usage i Lost 60% of my density and 10 months later it never came back…

  100. Habe..I’ve been on Rogaine for 20 months. It really has done much but thin my hair where I applied it and it’s destroying my hair line. The weird thing is it did grow hair back on other diffuse parts of my scalp and made my hair grow straighter and healthier. However I’m worse off today than when I started. It’s very weird cuz it works in some parts but not on others

  101. Guys I’m not so sure Dr. Tsuji knows what we need. He is a man with a thick, full head of hair.

    I fear that he believes our trouble is slick bald areas. His plan seems to be to treat slick bald areas on the top of the head only. Like this:

    https://www.hairlosstalk.com/interact/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2F3b1rei1g80li17gzklst5pgc.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2015%2F07%2Fhair-growing.png&hash=727a72673896295573c94b5071b7275c

    When what needs to be on offer is this:

    https://www.hairlosstalk.com/interact/proxy.php?image=https%3A%2F%2Fs31.postimg.org%2Ffujogrezf%2Fhair_growing.jpg&hash=7eb9e232299e81aded97b9b7a867491f

    We should let him know in a group email what we the consumers require. That is a treatment where enough cell germs are created to regenerate new follicles on every last cm of head (the top, the sides, the back, the nape).

    This is important because in the next few years they will likely settle on a protocol which will be the basis of clinical trials and will be difficult to change in future.

    Treating the whole scalp should be entirely possible but it needs to be worked into their plans at this stage to account for the additional cells necessary etc.

    Maybe then there could be two treatment options available: whole scalp procedure or part scalp procedure.

    1. W.t.f…beggers cant be choosers, and people complain about something potentially amazing. Also dont think you understand what he is actually doing…

  102. Can someone please tell me why so many are so excited about brotzu? I want to get excited too, believe me, but why? Has there been a bunch of proof such as pics that I didnt see???

  103. mjones do you recall when SAM started phase 2? that was really fast. if they keep that up it could be phase 3 by 2017

    So what are all the competing companies now? Histogen, Follica, Shiseido, JAK, Riken, and now SAM are all on the table?

    1. Egg head yeah samumed was getting phase 2 done quite quick. I hope they start phase 3 before 2017. Hopefully by late fall. I will love to have a new topical that could halt hair loss and grow back 10% in 3 months. I know it’s not a lot but at this point anything is better than watching my hair thin out each day. Histogen is to start phase 3 this month, sisheido sometime this year. Yeah the ones you listed are the competing companies plus Follicum, Riverside Pharmaceutical and even Latisse is still in the game. I remember the ceo of allergan stating that he would release Latisse for baldness in 2019. From the looks of it they are back at stage 1 so it probably accurate timeline. They completed phase 2 with crap results. Maybe they can complete phase 1 and skip to 3 if they see much better regrowth.

    1. Thanks egghead! I have had such an idea in mind for a while and have been told to do so a few times…might just happen when I have a less busy week on my hands and can search for appropriate plugins and so on.

      1. sweet! =]
        ya lotta newbies need clarification and for the older visitors, a meter might provide a psychological milestone

  104. I feel like Follica is a backup to Riken lab in case Tsuji runs into trouble with multiplying cells.

    Even though Follica have set an earlier possible release date of 2018, that won’t be a cure.

    Doctor Cots himself had said that a cure-like treatment from Follica would take many more years (possibly 10, 15+ years. maybe with the use of fgf9).

    Trouble with Cots is he works damn slow. He was in the hair game in 1990 when Tsuji was working for a freaking tobacco company lol.

    Tsuji has only been in the regeneration game 10 yrs and has arguably accomplished way more solid results and has grander plans of regenerating all kinds of organs besides hair.

    If the US is not conducive to research, might I suggest to Cotts that he relocates to the Bahamas, maybe enter partnership with thorn medical.

  105. Hi does anyone have any tips to stop the creepy crawling feeling on my scalp. It actually wakes me up at night and my hairloss has been super aggressive lately. I cant tolerate fin or minox or nizoral fyi. Im really down guys. Life isnt fun right now.

    1. Hi tom i used potassium permanganate to wash hair. It stopped itch and any other odd feeling on scalp. Just added very little powder in water bucket and used any shampoo with it. Water will go dark pink. Just do it 3 times a week. Two weeks like that and its gone. Also coconut oil massage at night, even once a week massage will help. Potassim permanganate is very well known compound. Search for potassium permanganate bath in google.
      Hope this helps u!

    2. hope you get this, I had that feeling for 10 years, use tea tree oil once a week, apple cider vinegar-garlic-onion in a blender. Sounds wierd – totally works, I totally forgot what that sensation feels like. I’m pretty sure you have a fungus/demodex under your epidermis, almost 100% positive that’s what that is

    3. @TOM This is not a diagnosis/prescription, but you might want to try adding 5-10 drops of NOW tea tree essential oil into 1-2 tablespoons of liquified coconut oil, massage that into your scalp, and leave in for 30 minutes, then wash out (and stop using hot water to wash your hair!)

  106. I’m brand new to this forum. I started thinning at 21 and was NW4-5 by 24, which I have been since (now 30).

    It’s nice to see news like this, but after having my looks and life ruined, I don’t hold out much hope. Even if there is a cure, because of my confidence being wrecked, I have a low end management job just 2 rungs up from bottom feeder lowest entry rung, and probably could not afford the treatment anyway.

    Not only that, but shaving my head regularly for the last 5 years has left me accruing quite a few scars from nasty cuts, so I doubt any new hair can grow through the few small scarred spots – though this is nitpicking.

    On top of all this, even if there is a magic cure in 5-10 years, I’ll be 35-40. What’s the point? My youth and life have been ravaged, and regaining my confidence would be pointless to a 40 year old, who would be too late to start a professional career and life.

    Glad you’re all optimistic though and for the young ones I wish you the best.

    Maybe my generation will be able to enjoy the radical life extension and reverse aging technologies of the future so I can have my 20’s back that were utterly robbed from me by this awful affliction.

    1. That is tough, but perhaps you can focus on yourself physically and mentally like others do. I’m between a NW2-3 i think, slowing receeding since 18.. I’ve been a little bit of a gym bunny during my time and there is honestly so much confidence from just being in shape.

      There are bald people, NW4-6 with their hair still out but they don’t care because they’re in shape. I think thats really key, i am hanging onto my hair a little longer but i’ve realised how time consuming maintenance is.. reading this website is.. waiting for a cure is..

      Before your youth passes just enjoy it, live life. There are actually women out there like bald men and that a mans hairline isn’t the only desirable thing.

    2. You ought not to think that way.
      I strongly believe the best years a man can have are actually his 30s and 40s.
      In the relationships’ department, I think it’s gonna be just fine. Twenty-something girls are way more attracted to the thirty-and-forty-year-old guys than you think. That’s also true for many young gay guys, like me.
      Besides, shaved heads are appealing to some.
      I would very easily give my male vagina to guys like Pitbull, Vin Diesel, Pepe Guardiola, Gustaf Skarsgard and so many other bald and balding guys.

      Profession-wise, starting all fresh at your forties is a bit harder, sure, but it’s not infeasible to be successful. You just need determination and drive.

      All in all, it’s not the end of the world, man.
      Be strong.
      Take a good care.

  107. hey guys, quick question here:

    Thorn Medical plans to release its treatment for the end of this year… isn’t that just huge/great/amazing/????
    From what I heard/read: “we can provide a cure for baldness”… they seem to have the solution right?

    Why aren’t you guys so happy about that? Is there something fishy?

    thanks

  108. Just some of my thoughts:

    –I think it’s important to understand that this isn’t a sure bet.

    The good (great) news: Tsuji’s work before showed if they can get the amplification working, it should most likely work on humans. Baldness would be treatable unlike anything we’ve seen before. Really cool stuff if you ask me.
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3337983/

    The bad news: Tsuji’s work didn’t *amplify* the dermal papilla cells (get millions of DP cells from just a few), if i’m understanding it all correctly (please correct me if I’m wrong).
    http://stemcelltherapyreviewjournal.com/dr-takashi-tsujis-stem-cell-cure-for-baldness/4/

    Going to get a bit technical:
    This is actually a big issue, and NO scientist has been able to get it quite right. See, when you multiply the DP cells in culture, they lose their ability to regrow hair for some reason. Scientists been able to delay the dermal papilla’s loss of trichogenic (hair making) ability in culture/in vitro, but not eliminate it entirely.
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4221925/#bibr15-2041731414556850

    That being said, DP cells lose their trichogenic ability when left *alone*, I have no idea if Tsuji’s method of combining the DP cells with the epithelial cells will be able to get around this hurdle, as there’s been no published work. (Also there hasn’t been much mention of the 3D culturing in my reading)

    However, it sounds like Tsuji’s run into the same issue. This is from Swoop’s comment on HLT regarding Tsuji: “[Tsuji] mentioned the problems at the moment are the expansion of the epithelial bulge stem cells and DPC. He said the critical issue revolves around expansion of the epithelial bulge stem cells though.” Maybe I’m reading into it too much, but I read ‘expansion’ as ‘amplification’ here (perhaps a language gap, because expansion doesn’t make sense to me, but again please correct me if I’m wrong anyone). I find a bit of reassurance in the fact he says that the expansion of the DP cells is not the critical issue, it’s the epithelial cells that are the problem.

    But nonetheless, there are still some BIG hurdles that no one in the field has been able to get over. (In my opinion, if someone is able to figure this out, THAT’s the cure for baldness) Thus, this is why it’s still in Research & Development.

    On the other hand, RIKEN’s post on their website said: “establish cell culturing and transplantation *techniques*”. Maybe this mean’s it’s already been done, and their just working on the best way to do it? Hopefully, but I think my reading here is a bit of a stretch.

    That all being said, this is great news. At least Tsuji, one of the most knowledgable guys in the hair regeneration field, is working on a treatment with a big developer. Hopefully something comes of it. Just as well, I think Tsuji would be the man to get over the DP cell issue I mentioned above. Further, his research has been out there for 4 years now. Hopefully he’s learned a thing or two since then.

    That all being said, if anyone has contacted Tsuji since March, I’d be really interested in any new info. I might reach out soon if not.

    Your’s hopefully,

    Booyeah

  109. @Paco, where did you hear this?? Thorn will release their product by the end of the year? Sounds awesome but what about trials and so forth?

  110. I just don’t get all this fuss.
    Effective hair cloning merely means that HT surgeons could potentially implant as many grafts as they would be needed to cover all bare spots without extraction . Normal densities wouldn’t be achieved whatsoever. Failures would not be ruled out, to boot.
    To make matters worse, the trials are to be completed in the early 2020s (if there are satisfactory results, of course) and some additional time would be needed for the surgeons to get a good grip.
    With all that said, it’s gonna be 2025, even 2030 that we, the baldsies are gonna get some improvement to our problema and by no means THE CURE we all yearn for.
    Personally, I believe the cure is going to be achieved through gene therapy or hormonal blocking (more advanced to terrible finasterida) and that ain’t gonna happen at least the next twenty years.
    I’m not being pessimistic, guys. I’m being realistic.
    Don’t nasty-comment at me, por favor.

      1. You’ re probably right.
        I read transplant in the articles and got the wrong idea.
        It’s not hair cloning.
        It’s transplantation of laboratory-cultivated cells.
        With that in regard, I’m starting to fear that 2030 could be a rather optimistic timeline.
        That’s way worse.
        Καλή μας τύχη!!!

  111. Can’t help but to smile at that updated picture. And sets email response.

    “Regarding timeline, we aim to put the technologies into practical use and make medical treatment available in 2020 in Japan (medical treatment at one’s own expense).”

    Hey everyone saying “don’t get happy about this” – SHUT DOWN, EAT THE SHAM BURGER.

    1. Everybody hopes so.
      Hopes aren’t reality, though.
      I’ve eaten my burger last night. It was enormous.

  112. exactly Egghead. All of a sudden people here became smartass scientist and giving their TIMELINE rather than what Dr Tsuji aka the guru of stemcell research.

    On what ground u can give 2025 or 2030 timeline? Do you even know Dr Tsuji? yes the one u see on the photo…

    People who did nothing more than cutting a frog in their science class is now putting their timeline opinions.. yeah this is internet!!!
    just face palm.. but dont worry next thing they do is to create a time machine just for you so that u can go back in time and delete this post of yours.
    expand ur horizon and dont be smartass and challenge Dr Tsuji.. idiot…

    1. 2020 ain’t gonna be the year humankind cures hair loss. Even if everything works out just perfecto and the final product is released in 2020, by no means is it gonna be the cure.
      Do you know what cure stands for?
      Hair transplants ain’t the cure. All they do is hide the problem, don’t they? (I’m fine with disguise as long as the result looks natural and descent density-wise, don’t get me wrong on that)
      If I’m wrong with the timeline I gave and the hair cloning comes earlier, I’ll be thrilled.
      If I’m right and it’s available in 2025, you’ll be devastated.
      With both scenarios I’m happy. You’re happy with the 2020 scenario.
      Who’s the idiot now?
      Eat you burger. It’s delizioso,

  113. Guys, we potentially have hair cloning in the works, okay it’s not as natural but it will still be close enough. Please remember that if you want a full natural look nature wants you to be bald… We are getting closer and you still see no light and complain! Can’t understand…

  114. Yes we are getting closer. And of course all companies are moving quickly and working very hard for a new treatment…well all companies…no…SOME MORE THAN OTHERS…. :)

  115. Is follica going to meet that 120hair /cm2 they annonced ?? Not sure but it would be perfect though. Being able to grow 120 density

  116. I would be surprised and would be good if they did that. I believe it more on hair cloning , since we can achieve that now with hair transplants but has we know limited hair supply.

  117. If our hair cells die out after some time then rejuvenation would still give us diffuse hair wouldnt it so cloning is really the only way right?

  118. Admin, Great blog and my #1 choice in staying up to date with new developments. I was wondering if you could devote a post to the latest developments in cell culturing and the success rate regrading the % of the retention of gene expression of DP and/or DSC cells when cultured. It would seem that this is really the key that would break this avenue of treatment wide open. The best discussion I have seen on this was here in 2014 with Dr. Aaron Gardener: https://www.baldtruthtalk.com/threads/16284-Q-A-with-Dr.-Aaron-Gardner
    The string went dead about 2 years ago but at the time Dr. Gardner reported that with his research, the maximum % of induction that had been attained in DP cells was 40% (see page 8) with 0% in DS cells used in the Replicel method (see page 11).

  119. Not really getting the skepticism/pessimism here in the comments. I think a lot of people are waiting on that magical topical ointment or “hair cloning” cure. Well guys…the science has demonstrated that neither of those are really feasible. It is obvious at this point that a cell-based therapy is the only solution and that is EXACTLY what Dr. Tsuji has. His method has been shown to regrow follicles in lab animals and RepliCell/Shiseido’s phase 1 trials showed that it is possible to rejuvenate thinning hair. The WORST case scenario here is that you may have to get both Replicel and The Primordium method.

    You have a trinity of some of the biggest companies in electronics and regenerative medicine putting more money than ever before into building an automated facility using the most supported, best research in the field and the Dr. behind it is at the helm. These people are not snake-oil salesman of old, they are leading scientists and innovators, they would not spend this kind of money, resources and staff on something they have no good reason to believe will work. So I’m sorry, but I’m inclined to believe THEM on their timeline.

    We have a handful of companies with research showing that it is possible to regrow follicles and rejuvenate dying ones via stem cell therapy and injections and they are now putting commercial treatment into motion.

    If this isn’t a “cure”, then nothing ever could be.

  120. Biggest and most exciting piece of news so far. Whether or not they’ll actually have it by 2020 is definitely debatable, but this IS the cure.

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