Category Archives: Psoriasis

Biohacking, CRISPR, DIYbio, Elaine Fuchs, Gene Modification, Psoriasis, Senolytics, Sox9, Synthetic Biology

Sox9 and the Hair Follicle and Biohacking

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Sox9 and the Hair Follicle

— An interesting paper (with Elaine Fuchs as a co-author) on how hair follicle stem cells have a strong sense of identity even after being taken out of their home in the hair follicle and then cultured. The Sox9 protein is the “pioneering factor” in all this.

— The coming age of senolytics. I like to say “coming age of…” a lot these days, and it seems like I am far from the only one. A great article was published last month on Novartis’s push for the first ever anti-aging pill. Make sure to also read my past posts on anti-aging.

— New treatment targeting interleukin-23 could be a break-through in the treatment of psoriasis. Note that interleukin-6 has been associated with hair loss and I might write a post on that in the near future.

— Apparently, all brown eyes can be changed to blue eyes. I have brown ones and will only change them if they can figure how to make them green or golden.

— The world’s first penis transplant, if you discount an earlier one done in China a few years ago that was not entirely successful. Finding a donor is not so easy though.

Biohacking and CRISPR

— An interesting new video on out of control biohacking and its dangers. If you have a DIYbio branch near you, probably worth a visit.

— Also see biohacking and DNA modification in someone’s home. The era of synthetic biology scares and excites people at the same time. Some person will sooner or later purposely create highly destructive organisms.

— Scientists warn against editing embryos. More on “DNA Scissors” and CRISPR here. A great new article on engineering the perfect baby. I think a perfect baby is one that never poops or cries, but I doubt that dream will ever be realized.

Alopecia Areata, Brett King, George Cotsarelis, Psoriasis, Spencer Kobren, The Bald Truth, Tofacitinib

The Bald Truth interview with Dr. Brett King

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This post is an update to the potentially ground breaking development from four days ago that I posted on this blog regarding arthritis drug tofacitinib curing a patient’s alopecia universalis and psoriasis.

Spencer Kobren of The Bald Truth Talk show managed to interview Dr. Brett King, and Dr. King’s optimism is palpable throughout the session. A must watch video, especially the last five minutes of it.

Spencer talks about the inflammatory aspect of male pattern baldness, and Dr. King strongly feels that a topical formulation of this drug would likely be tested on patients with Androgenic Alopecia. That segment made me quite annoyed that Dr. Cotsarelis was so dismissive of this new development per the CNN article I linked to at the bottom of my first post on this subject. Per Dr. Cotsarelis, androgenic alopecia does not have an immune system rejection related component to it. I am not so sure about that, especially since so many of us hair loss sufferers get itching and psoriasis type symptoms along with the hair loss.

My favorite quote from Dr. Brett King in the video is:

It’s hopeful…it’s beyond hopeful.

I am not as optimistic as Dr. King as yet, and a topical formulation has yet to be developed and will be difficult to develop due to the large size of the molecule involved and consequent difficulty in penetrating the scalp skin. However, I find this whole development absolutely amazing and it seems like Dr. King is optimistic that a topical formulation will be developed once enough funding is available.

As Dr. King warns, nobody should be experimenting with this drug, nor buying it on the black market. This drug’s potential side effects make finasteride seem like candy in comparison. I would wait for the topical formulation to come out, as well as more reports to come out on the side effects experienced by the many more patients who will now surely start taking it (in trials and under doctor supervision) for alopecia areata and severe psoriasis.