Hair loss news first:
— The same Ohio State University (OSU) doctor who amazed us recently with this breakthrough from his lab is now making claims about hair regeneration from palm tocotrienol complex. I am highly skeptical, but still willing to keep a track of his work because of the OSU affiliation. Tocotrienols are a form of vitamin E.
— Of much more importance, Dr. Tsuji/Kyocera/RIKEN partner Organ Technologies has updated or renewed their website (h/t Fuji Maru Kagurazaka) recently. On their hair follicle regeneration page (after translation), they state:
“We are currently pursuing research and development with a view to clinical application of hair follicle regeneration as the world’s first organ regeneration in humans in 2018”
As an aside, whatever has happened to our invaluable Japanese correspondent/informant “nosyu”? Hope he comes back some day.
— Who else but “nasa_rs” notifying me that Aclaris Therapeutics finally updated their pipeline page. The most interesting part is that they now term their topical JAK inhibitor for androgenetic alopecia (AGA) as a “soft” JAK inhibitor (no surprise), and they term AGA as an “inflammatory” skin disorder. I have theorized for a while that perhaps people who have major itching and dandruff associated with their male pattern hair loss might be suffering from significant inflammation. Therefore, if topical covalently bound JAK inhibitors work for AGA, perhaps they will help those with itchy scalps much more than those without. Aclaris has also started a CEO blog on its site.
— Of least significance, but nevertheless worth mentioning, Follica finally added text to the bios of some of their new team members including Dr. Dhurat.
— Interesting article on the travails of hair loss in UK paper Mosaic.
— Androgen receptors have become an increasing area of focus in the hair loss world. A new paper on androgens and androgen receptor action in skin and hair follicles.
— Topical tofacitinib possibly promoting hair growth via VEGF growth factor induction. This is the kind of research that keeps me interested in both JAK inhibitors and platelet-rich plasma (PRP).
— Generation of iPS-derived model cells for analyses of hair shaft differentiation.
And now on to medical items of interest:
— China: pig to human organ transplants two years away.
— Bionic lens, superhuman threefold vision.
— CRISPR changes flower color. Would be great to change untanned Donald Trump into a Sudanese African. That is my political input for the year.