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.

Wake Forest University, Amy McMichael, Anthony Atala

Wake Forest University Hair Loss Research

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Several days ago, I came across a hair loss forum post concerning a study related to a new topical hair loss product. This study was looking for volunteers and is taking place at Wake Forest Baptist Health Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Update: On the hair loss forums, some people think that this could be related to US army related research. Or to Samumed’s second Phase 2 clinical trial for SM04554, which includes scalp biopsies this time around. This second study is enrolling only 50 volunteers, as opposed to the 300 enrolled the first time around. I feel like the army research makes more sense, since none of the centers listed in Samumed’s latest presentation include any locations in North Carolina. On the other hand, Wake Forest (along with Rutgers University and the University of Pittsburgh) does have a significant relationship with the US army’s regenerative medicine research section.

Until this week, I had not read much about any significant hair loss research being conducted at Wake Forest University. However, the above study made me do some digging around. To my surprise, I found that Wake Forest has a part of its dermatology department dedicated to hair loss and body hair removal research. Moreover, it seems like the dermatology department’s chair Dr. Amy McMichael is especially well versed in women’s hair loss and ethnic hair and skin problems.

I have therefore decided to add Wake Forest University to my list of key hair loss research centers around the world.

Note that Wake Forest is also home to the renowned regenerative medicine researcher Dr. Anthony Atala. His videos on Tedtalk are a must watch. Also see the Wake Forest pages on printing skin cells of burn wounds and on their story.