Category Archives: CRISPR

3D Printed Comb, CRISPR, Jennifer Doudna, Rendl Lab

3D Printed Comb to Treat Hair Loss

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An interesting week in hair loss, with the highlight being a 3D printed comb to regrow hair.

3D Printed Comb to Treat Hair Loss

— An update on the 3D printed comb to treat hair loss from Technion University in Israel. The user injects the comb device with an enzyme that triggers bacteria on the scalp to secrete a substance that breaks down dihydrotestosterone (DHT). Both the comb and syringe are designed to be reusable.

Note that the DHT-inactivating enzyme is 3α-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3α-HSD), which I covered in detail on this blog. More information can be found on Technion’s project overview page.

— 3D Printing of hair fibers. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University (US) have devised an groundbreaking new method for creating lifelike hair fibers. The only requirement is an inexpensive fused deposition modeling (FDM) printer.

— I discussed the important work of the Rendl Lab and Dr. Michael Rendl a few months ago. Several weeks ago, it was announced that Dr. Rendl’s team have created an online database that will allow researchers to study the interactions between hair follicles, stem cells and their surrounding environment. This database is called Hair-GEL (gene expression library). It is worth playing around with this database even if like myself you do not understand or recognize the names of most of the relevant genes. This sort of open source project is extremely encouraging.

— Yet one more positive report on Adenosine and hair. Make sure to read my post on Shiseido and Adenosine from last year.

— Christopher1 on Hairsite has been testing out topical Tofacitinib to tackle his hair loss (as well as his vitiligo per another of his posts). Worth bookmarking that thread, but do not emulate him. Too risky in my opinion.

And now on to medical items of interest:

— A great new face transplant success story about ex-firefighter Patrick Hardison. He also got new hair and I wonder if it will grow as long as the original stellar hair from the donor?  The most interesting quote in the article is the following:

“Of the roughly 30 patients who have received partial or full face transplants, Rodriguez said some three to five patients have died after rejection.”

I was unaware of this fact and had assumed that nobody ever died from these procedures. I thought the worst case scenario was that the new face would be rejected (without any death). Or that in the long run someone would have a higher chance of getting cancer and other medical problems due to taking the anti-rejection/ immunosuppressive medications for years. Hopefully these death rates become zero as scientists gain more knowledge with each new patient. And perhaps in the future it might also no longer be necessary to take immunosuppressants.

— The heart is just a pump. My father recently needed to get two stents put into an artery after a heart attack, so this subject is especially interesting to me.

— Interesting CRISPR related articles are now being published on an almost daily basis and it is hard for me to only pick 1 or 2 every month. The best one was published today and includes interviews with some of the world’s leading geneticists. The New Yorker had a good one this week titled “Gene Hackers“. Editas Medicine will commence CRISPR gene editing trials to treat a rare form of blindness in 2017.

— And finally, a new TED video on DNA editing from CRISPR co-pioneer Jennifer Doudna.

Carlos Wesley, CRISPR, Gynecomastia, Histogen, Hypertrichosis, Sebaceous Gland, Theranos

Sebaceous Glands, Gynecomastia and other Hair News

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Sebaceous Glands and other Hair News

— An interesting human study from Japan about the increase in sebaceous gland area (but not size) in patients suffering from androgenic alopecia.

— Some hair loss sufferers who take Finasteride complain about getting gynecomastia (man boobs) as a side effect. Usually, this side effect is transient or minimal, but in some rare cases, it can be quite bad and lead to major growth in breast size. Several weeks ago, Reddit user Wulfgar1  started an ask me anything (AMA) about his gynecomastia surgery. He included quite impressive before and after photos, and answered almost all of the 100s of questions that were asked of him. Note that Wulfgar1 had gynecomastia since the age of 12, so his man boobs were not due to taking Finasteride.

— Histogen filed form D for equity financing and raised about $10 million in funding. The filing took place on June 29th, but I read about it this week. Nothing too interesting or impressive other than the company name and its significance to us in the hair loss world. Glad to read that Histogen is still kicking. Biotech companies usually sell around three-quarters of their offering, but Histogen managed to sell 100 percent of its offering, which may be a sign of investor trust and confidence.

— I discussed Dr. Carlos Wesley and his  revolutionary PiloFocus  scarless hair transplant surgery last year after he was profiled in an excellent article in Verge magazine. Dr. Wesley has now managed to get detailed coverage in the prestigious BBC website’s future section.

— More favorable feedback on ARTAS, including a video. Dr. Thomas Griffin seems like a sincere doctor. I like his description of the newly added PRP at his practice: “what we’re trying to do is maximize our results for our patients.” Some doctors will delude patients into thinking that PRP means guaranteed hair growth.

And now on to medical items of interest:

— Fascinating article on CRISPR DNA editing.

— A Chinese girl suffering from hypertrichosis (an extreme level of excessive body hair) is raising funds for laser hair removal. A bit unusual that the least hairy race on earth has such cases. Also see the ending to my post from last year on whether Asians are more evolved than other races.

— A good summary of 30 futuristic breakthroughs that happened during the first half of 2015. I like the heavy focus on medical breakthroughs rather than on less interesting breakthroughs that will just give us better, faster, cheaper or newer “stuff”.

— Theranos’ fingerprick blood test gets FDA approval. This company is likely to revolutionize blood testing in the coming years. Also this month, the company obtained FDA approval that will lead to at-home testing. The company’s CEO Elizabeth Holmes is the youngest female billionaire in the US. Theranos is a very secretive privately-held company, and its Board of Directors is filled with retired government officials. Including major ones such as Henry Kissinger and William Perry.