Miscellaneous Hair Loss News Items

Hair Loss News of the Month

— A very busy month for Aclaris Therapeutics. First the company updated its product pipeline page and added photos for each dermatological condition. Then they filed for Investigational New Drug Application (IND) for their oral alopecia areata product ATI-50001 with the US FDA. Then, on November 15th the company announced positive results for its topical seborrheic keratosis product (A-101) phase 3 clinical trials. And finally, the company announced a public offering of its common stock. The funds raised from this offering will partly be used towards research and trials for Aclaris’ JAK inhibitor products.

— In the past month, HairClone has added the well known Dr. Russell Knudsen, Dr. Robert Leonard and others to their clinic partner team.

— More good news for alopecia areata/totalis/universalis sufferers. This time its two patients from Brazil who were taking JAK inhibitor tofacitinib.

Wen hair care product lawsuit concludes in favor of customers.

— Sharp (Japan)’s plasmacluster ion technology promotes hair growth. Sounds hard to believe. The ending of the article about reduced dandruff and itching is more believable.

— Cellmid (Australia) raises sufficient funds to start selling its Evolis line of FGF-5 inhibiting hair loss products in the US.

— Hairdresser Chad Gunter is very pleased with his PRP treatment results from Dr. Laura Bennack. According to Dr. Bennack, “the most dramatic results are on men and women who are at the early stages of hair loss”.

— Yet another growth factor (human hepatocyte growth factor) linked to promoting hair growth. Also see my recent post on the various growth factors that benefit hair growth.

— A number of people who are taking Gabapentin are having hair loss issues.

— Missed an important study’s findings last month: BPH drugs such as finasteride and dutasteride (both are also used to combat hair loss) do not raise the risk of erectile dysfunction.

And now on to medical items of interest:

Gene therapy in a box courtesy of the Fred Hutchinson cancer research center.

CRISPR gene editing tested in a person for the first time in China.

“Any idiot” can now create mutant CRISPR engineered mice.

Gene therapy to reverse certain types of genetically inherited blindness could be approved for use as soon as next year.

— And thereafter, bionic superhuman eyes.

— Amazon’s Jeff Bezos partners with the Mayo Clinic and others to enter the anti-aging industry.

— Terminally ill 14 year old in the UK allowed to be cryogenically preserved. Also, a reality check.

— Samantha Payne’s Open Bionics allows anyone in the world to download and 3D print their own bionic limbs.

Brain implants allow paralyzed monkeys to walk. The Swiss scientist goes to China to conduct this work due to friendlier regulations.

— First at-home brain implant allows paralyzed woman to communicate.

Genetically modified pig’s heart transplanted into a monkey in South Korea breaks prior world record. The monkey survives for 51 days. Pig hearts are thought to be a close match to the human heart. Very cruel animal experiments, but hopefully they help humans in future.

Free PRP Treatment Session Prize Drawing

Update: The free PRP treatment contest ended as of November 23rd. Please see my post from that date for winner selection procedure.

Please read this post in its entirety. Unrelated comments should be made in the prior post.

Free PRP Hair Growth Treatment for one Winner

I have discussed platelet-rich plasma (PRP) treatments on this blog many times in the past. There are now an increasing number of studies from around the world that conclude that PRP treatment works for treating hair loss. At the recently ended 24th ISHRS Congress, there were around ten different presentations or training sessions related to PRP, including many from doctors outside the US. Also make sure to read my post on key growth factors in platelet-rich plasma.

I therefore decided to ask USA based Dr. Jeffrey Rapaport on whether he would be willing to grant a free PRP treatment session (will probably involve at least 2 sessions) to one of this blog’s readers. To my pleasant surprise, he has agreed.

The biggest complaint about PRP from numerous hair loss forum members and blog readers is that it is a ripoff considering that there are no guarantees that the treatment will work. So now we finally have a doctor who is confident in the treatment and willing to offer one person free session(s).

Will PRP regrow hair on totally bald regions of your scalp that have been barren for many years? No. Will it make existing hair stronger or even temporarily reverse miniaturization? I feel like there is now sufficient enough evidence that this is a good possibility, albeit never guaranteed.

PRP Prize Drawing Rules

This is the second ever prize drawing that I am posting on this blog. The first one for a laser helmet was a learning and very time consuming experience for me. This one is even more difficult, but I hope to not spend as much time as before since most of you know the gist of the selection process.

  1. As with the last prize drawing, please enter this contest by writing a comment to this blog post saying “I am in” or something related that is a few words long. You can add a reason for why you feel like you want the treatment, but it won’t sway me in my final decision as that is based on a random number generation. People posting double entries or irrelevant comments will be automatically disbarred from the final random prize drawing entry list. Relevant questions about this prize drawing or about the PRP procedure are encouraged. No insults whatsoever.
  2. It is extremely important that if you enter, you are 100 percent certain that you can go to Dr. Rapaport’s clinic in New Jersey (US) for the treatment. You are responsible for all your non-treatment expenses including airfare, hotel, car rental and food. In all likelihood, you will have to go there for at least 2 treatments spread across a few months, so please refrain from participating if you can only go for one procedure. If possible, please add your US state or foreign country of origin in your comment. If you live outside the US or Canada, I might have to ask you some questions later since I find it hard to believe that someone would fly over to the US just for free PRP (in most countries where it is on offer, you can probably get a doctor to charge you $1,000 or so for each session).
  3. If the last prize drawing was any indication to go by, there will be many people who comment for the first time just to enter the prize draw. Please try to use a legitimate e-mail address instead of a fake one (so that I can contact you), and do not use a common username such as “Mike”, “Matt”, “Jeff”, “John” etc…as those are often already used. At least add a number to such names if you use them (e..g., “Mike2016” is ok). Note that the e-mail address that you enter when commenting is only visible to me and to none of the other blog readers.
  4. Dr. Rapaport will take before and after photos, and according to his assistant, they will have rights to the photos. The assistant told me that that if they post before and after photos online, they will remove the patient’s face from those photos.
  5. Dr. Rapaport can change anything at any point during the process if he feels the need to do so. e.g., he can postpone at the last minute if necessary even if you purchased an air ticket (you will not be refunded), he can choose to not have you come back for a second session because he has some issue with you, he can add other products such as ACell into the mix, he can use a different injection and centrifugation strategy to other doctors and so on. In the event that you have some kind of crazy reaction on your scalp, he will not be responsible. He is doing you a big favor by offering this treatment for free. You will not be allowed to insult him on this blog in the event that you have any kind of disagreement. If you win, please contact his office to make sure you know what you are getting into as far as the procedure goes.
  6. While I have never heard of PRP treatments ever causing serious injuries to anyone, getting injections into your scalp and getting blood drawn out of you are both invasive procedures. I am not responsible for any side effects and injuries you get, and I am assuming that Dr. Rapaport’s office will make you sign waivers about such issues. You are taking the risk and should do all possible research about what is involved here before deciding to participate. If you have any hypochondriac tendencies, I would think twice before participating.
  7. I will wait for anywhere from 5-10 days before closing entry. Then, like last time, most likely I will pick 5 or so names at random and then narrow down to the final 1 via another random pick (after weeding out any of the 5 potential winners that seem fake or suspicious or unresponsive to my e-mails).
  8. Women are encouraged to participate since many doctors who offer PRP have in the past suggested that females respond better than males to the treatment.
  9. Finally, if the winning candidate ends up seeing no results, he/she will be allowed to say so in a comment on this blog, although any insults will be removed immediately. Dr. Rapaport will be allowed to respond to any comments if he chooses to do so, including with the winner/patient’s before and after scalp photos.

A Word of Warning

Please remember that a large number of people who get PRP injections to the scalp end up seeing no hair regrowth or even thickening. So you should go into this with appropriate expectations. In the past, a few people have even claimed that PRP made them shed more hair.