Foligain® for hair loss for men and women
Signs of male pattern baldness (Androgenetic Alopecia) usually begin when men are between the ages of twenty and forty-five. Male pattern baldness is hereditary and is caused by a male hormone called Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) being over produced in the body. When there is too much DHT in the scalp, it causes hair to fall out. The initial hair loss in male pattern baldness is almost always at the crown of the head, or near the temples.
The main thing to look for in a hair loss supplement is a DHT blocker. Blocking DHT from the scalp it the key to ending hair loss. The next thing you need is a product with the proper ingredients to promote circulation to the scalp, increasing hair growth. The final thing to look for is nutrients to clean away dead hair follicles, and feed the healthy and new hair follicles, so hair will be healthy.
How does Foligain® work?
• Foligain® reaches the follicle through the blood stream
• Foligain® promotes the growth of thick, healthy-looking hair
• Foligain® provides thehair follicles with the proper nutrients in order to grow
What are the key ingredients in Foligain®?
Like all cells in your body, your hair follicles need the proper nutrients in the proper amounts in order to grow. For many of these nutrients the most effective way for them to reach the follicle is through the blood stream when taken as an oral supplement.
Foligain® combines natural vitamins, minerals, DHT blockers, and compounds that promote the growth of thick, healthy-looking hair.
• Ginkgo Biloba Leaf Extract: Ginkgo Biloba fastens blood flow to important peripheral part of human body along with fine capillaries thus directly affecting scalp parts. Blood carries oxygen with it so if there is more blood flow there is automatically more oxygen supply, oxygen brings more nutrients with it and all in all essential vitamins E & A give a new lease of life every time to the scalp.
• Saw Palmetto Berry Extract: Works by interrupting hormonal signals and therefore reducing the uptake by the hair follicles of a damaging chemicalcalled dyhydrotestosterone (DHT). DHT is also responsible for shrinking hair follicle with which the hair follicle gets smaller and finer. This is referred to as miniaturization with which the hair ultimately falls off. This is how DHT is responsible for about 95% of hair loss. The men or women who lose more hair are those who are genetically pre-disposed in producing more DHT than others.
• Nettle Leaf Extract:Nettle herb is an exceptional plant for restoring health and beauty to your hair. Nettle works on the inside of your body as well as the outside. Rich in minerals and vitamins to nourish every system in your body, nettles will make your hair grow, gleam, get thick and darken. An added bonus is smooth, clear skin and hard nails.
• Folate:Because folate is important in tissue growth and cellular function, it is essential for your body to have enough of it to produce healthy skin, nails and hair, because these body parts must regenerate rapidly. Folic acid therefore helps prevent hair loss. It also may be a factor in keeping your hair from becoming gray.
• Biotin:Biotin is a major component in the natural hair manufacturing process it is essential to not only grow new hair, but it also plays a major role in the overall health of skin and nails.
• Iodine:Iodine can affect hair loss because it directly affects your thyroid gland, which in turn, directly affects the health of your hair follicles. Hair follicles are delicate and very susceptible to being damaged. Healthy hair follicles grow shiny, thick, healthy hair, while unhealthy follicles lead to just the opposite.
• Zinc: Deficiency in zinc can contribute a lot to hair shedding because without zinc and other related minerals, you hair shafts get weakened, causing hair breakage and very slow hair regrowth. Zinc benefits for hair include promotion of cell reproduction, tissue growth and repair of broken tissues. It also maintains the oil-secreting glands that are attached to your hair follicles, thus decreasing their chances of falling off.
• Copper:Copper helps to form hemoglobin in the blood cells and helps to carry the oxygen in the red blood cells. A diet deficient in copper does not help the body to make the hemoglobin needed to carry sufficient blood supply to the hair roots. When hair does not get the vitamins and minerals that it needs, it will die and fall out. The amount of hair loss you experience as a result of this depends on the extent of the copper deficiency.
• Niacin:Since niacin has a dilating effect on vessels and capillaries it is thought to be increasing circulation to the scalp and stimulating ‘hair growth’.
• Vitamin B6:Vitamin B6 is thought to prevent hair loss and help create melanin, the pigment which gives hair its color.
• Pantothenic Acid (Vitamin B5): Prevents graying and hair loss.
• Beta-Sitosterol: Beta sitosterol is a natural plant extract used to stop hair loss in men and women. It has androgen-blocking properties which enable it to target the hormones responsible for male and female pattern baldness. When taken orally as a daily supplement, beta sitosterol has been shown to work best on men and women who have only recently noticed excessive hair loss or signs of premature balding. It's less effective on people who have had significant hair loss over the years
• Taurine: In a 2006 French study published in the "International Journal of Cosmetic Science," researchers confirmed that when the follicle's bulb takes in Taurine, it increases hair survival in vitro (test tubes) and prevents a specific inhibitor of hair growth called TGP.
• Jaborandi Leaves: Strengthens hair against breakage and loss. Promotes hair's natural shine.
• American Ginseng Root Extract: Ginseng is a wonderful herb that has many benefits. One of these is that it increases stimulation and improves circulation. This has helped those who are suffering from hair loss or weak and damaged hair. Ginseng will also remove any toxins that may be clogging your hair follicles, slowing down or stalling new hair growth.
What Can I Expect When Using Foligain®:
Foligain® begins to go to work immediately, but it takes some time to see visible results. Foligain® systematically works to re-grow your new hair as follows:
• Before new hair is grown, Foligain® works to stop hair loss
• Next, your existing hair becomes fuller and healthier
• Finally, new hair starts to blossom
Typically, after a few weeks you will notice less hair loss. Some hair loss is normal (even those with the fullest heads of hair lose around 100 hairs a day), but you should start to notice less hair in the shower drain or on your comb or brush. Your existing hair should also start to appear thicker and healthier.
Next, you should start to notice new hair. Please remember that hair usually only grows ½ inch to 1 inch a month. Some users see noticeable amounts of new hair after three months, others take longer. So be patient, by the end of months 6-8 you should start to notice a difference in your photographs (and others will notice for you!).
miercuri, 7 septembrie 2011
Rogaine® Foam with 5% Minoxidil
Rogaine® Foam with 5% Minoxidil
Rogaine® Foam is a white foam containing 5% minoxidil for use only on the scalp to help regrow hair in men. A simple, painless, clinically proven answer to hair loss.
Why go with foam?
It fits: Men’s ROGAINE Foam fits easily into your grooming routine, and won’t interfere with your current hair styling products. Just use it twice daily—once in the morning and once at night.
It’s easy: Men’s ROGAINE Foam takes just seconds to apply—and it dries quickly.
It works: Men’s ROGAINE Foam is clinically proven to regrow hair in 85% of men who use it twice daily.
Minoxidil: Scientifically proven to regrow scalp hair lost to male pattern baldness.
• Three bottles total (approximately three month supply)
• For men who have a general thinning of hair on top of the scalp
• Slows or stops hair loss within a few months of use
• 5% minoxidil topical solution
Actual Customer's Results after 5 Months of use
What is Minoxidil?
Minoxidil was the first drug approved by the American Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of androgenetic alopecia (hair loss). Before that, minoxidil had been used as vasodilator drug prescribed as oral tablet to treat high blood pressure, with side effects that included hair growth and reversal of male baldness.
For the treatment of hair loss, minoxidil is available as a topical solution that is generally either 2% or 5% minoxidil in propylene glycol. The propylene glycol ensures that the applied minoxidil is evenly spread across the affected area and easily absorbed through the skin.
How does Minoxidil work?
Minoxidil topical solution is used to stimulate hair growth in people who are balding. The drug seems to exert its maximum effect at the crown of the head. The exact way that minoxidil works is not known, but it may stimulate hair growth by improving the blood supply to the hair follicles.
What scientific studies give evidence to support its effectiveness?
Dermatologists conducted a 1-year observational study in 984 men with male-pattern hair loss. The study evaluated the effectiveness of a 5% minoxidil topical solution in halting hair loss and stimulating new hair growth. Over the 1-year period of the study, patients applied 1 milliliter (ml) of 5% minoxidil solution twice day to hair-loss areas of the scalp.
At the end of 1 year:
• The dermatologist investigators reported that hair loss areas of the scalp had become smaller in 62% of the patients.
• In evaluating minoxidil effectiveness in stimulating hair regrowth, the investigators found the 5% solution very effective in 15.9% of patients, effective in 47.8% and moderately effective in 20.6%.
• Hairs lost during washing numbered a mean 69.7 at the beginning of the study, and a mean 33.8 at the end of the study - a measure of the effectiveness of 5% minoxidil in halting hair loss in the patients studied.
• Side effects, mostly dermatologic, were reported by 3.9% of patients in the study. None of the side effects was classified as serious.
Cautions:
• For external use only.
• Do not use if you are a woman, not sure of the reason for your hair loss, under 18 years of age or using other medicines on the scalp.
• Using more or more often than recomended will not improve results.
• Avoid contact with eyes. In case of accidental contact with the eyes, rinse with large amounts of cool tap water.
Revita® hair growth stimulating shampoo
Revita® hair growth stimulating shampoo
Revita is the most efficient hair growth stimulating shampoo available in the market and is the final result of DS Laboratories efforts on cutting edge research. Revita is a powerful combination of precious materials specially designed to maintain scalp vitality and act on follicle dysfunctions in order to achieve best results in short periods of time. This formulation is developed completely without the use of Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and Sodium Laureth Sulfate, commonly used low cost detergents in shampoos and cleansers that are linked to skin irritation, drying, and hair loss due to follicle attack.
Revita includes the following top level ingredients at high concentrations chosen exclusively for their properties and obtained using a “chemical free” extraction process to preserve maximum efficacy of the final components: Caffeine, Copper Peptides, Spin Traps, Ketoconazole, Rooibos, MSM, Apple Polyphenol (procyanidin B2 and C1), Carnitine Tartrate, Ornitine, Taurine, Cysteine, Emu Oil, and Biotin.
By combining an antioxidant effect, anti-DHT properties, powerful hydrating molecules, hair growth stimulants, and structural amino acids, Revita brings you the most effective hair growth stimulating shampoo available with absolutely no equivalent in the market.
Directions for use: After applying Revita with a gentle massage , you should leave it on the scalp from 1 – 2 minutes before rinsing. Then repeat and leave on the scalp 3 – 5 minutes. If desired, follow with a high quality conditioner. For optimal results, Revita should be used at least 5 times per week.
Hair follicle bulge stem cells
Hair follicle bulge stem cells
Scientists have been researching hair follicles to try and understand what causes hair loss. They have determined that the cause of hair loss is determined by what are called the "stem cells". These stem cells reside in the hair follicles in an area known as "the bulge". Because these stem cells live in the area known as the bulge, they are also commonly referred to as "bulge cells".
In order to better understand the genetics behind "bulge cells", scientists introduced something called "promoters" into their research. The promoters were combined with the bulge cells in order to create certain prevailing conditions. In fact, the promoters were designed to isolate the bulge cells so that they could be more easily analyzed by the scientists. Without their being isolated, scientists couldn't even determine what the bulge cells were. They also couldn't determine what kind of treatments the bulge cells might respond to. Once the scientists had these bulge cells in a position where they could view them and analyze them, they were better able to consider whatever possible treatments might be available.
The three promoters that were introduced into the bulge cells for the purpose of isolating and analyzing them were Keratin 15 or "K15", Enhanced Green Florescent Protein or "EGFP" and Cre Recombinase and Progersterone Receptor or "CrePR1". These three promoters made it easier for scientists to separate the specific bulge cells that they wanted to analyze and then to consider further treatment for these cells. These three promoters brought them to the first phase of the discovery for the treatment of hair loss.
Through the use of the three different promoters, K15, EGFP and CrePR1, it was discovered that bulge cells were actually made up of all of the basic cell types in the internal membranous tissue of the body. The same tissue that exists as a membrane around your internal organs such as liver, pancreas, etc. also exists in bulge cells at the base of your hair follicles! This was good news for scientists because it meant that bulge cells could possibly provide the necessary building blocks for healthier hair. If they had not been producing the right kind of hair at a specific time, at least they still had the potential to do so in the future. All the scientists needed was to find out was how to make these bulge cells reproduce the necessary cells for healthy hair. With the bulge cells isolated and properly analyzed, they were ready to try out a treatment.
Scientists went on to test a treatment on the isolated bulge cells with something called "RU486". RU486, in combination with the previously mentioned "promoters" brought about a huge array of new discoveries. Scientists discovered a long list of gene types in the bulge cells that responded positively to the RU486 drug. In fact, these gene types were responding so positively, that scientists thought they might now be capable of contributing to the actual regeneration of hair follicles themselves. Scientists could now target these gene types and eventually see further means for promoting more and more hair growth.
The list of gene types and the subsequent prospects that they promised toward healthy hair growth were extremely numerous. In fact, there were 157 genes that were shown to be present in the stem cells and almost half of these seemed to respond quite favorably to the RU486 treatment.
Of course, in terms of stem cell research, there is still a considerable way to go before scientists can determine the exact treatments that will be necessary for promoting this new genetic response in stem cells. Still, one of the main hurdles has certainly been overcome with the discovery of RU486 and its effects on bulge cells. RU486, in combination with the three promoters, K15, EGFP and CrePR1 have all brought about a great prospect for the future of hair follicle treatment. At least in terms of a hopeful tomorrow, genetic research is looking extremely bright.
Scientists have been researching hair follicles to try and understand what causes hair loss. They have determined that the cause of hair loss is determined by what are called the "stem cells". These stem cells reside in the hair follicles in an area known as "the bulge". Because these stem cells live in the area known as the bulge, they are also commonly referred to as "bulge cells".
In order to better understand the genetics behind "bulge cells", scientists introduced something called "promoters" into their research. The promoters were combined with the bulge cells in order to create certain prevailing conditions. In fact, the promoters were designed to isolate the bulge cells so that they could be more easily analyzed by the scientists. Without their being isolated, scientists couldn't even determine what the bulge cells were. They also couldn't determine what kind of treatments the bulge cells might respond to. Once the scientists had these bulge cells in a position where they could view them and analyze them, they were better able to consider whatever possible treatments might be available.
The three promoters that were introduced into the bulge cells for the purpose of isolating and analyzing them were Keratin 15 or "K15", Enhanced Green Florescent Protein or "EGFP" and Cre Recombinase and Progersterone Receptor or "CrePR1". These three promoters made it easier for scientists to separate the specific bulge cells that they wanted to analyze and then to consider further treatment for these cells. These three promoters brought them to the first phase of the discovery for the treatment of hair loss.
Through the use of the three different promoters, K15, EGFP and CrePR1, it was discovered that bulge cells were actually made up of all of the basic cell types in the internal membranous tissue of the body. The same tissue that exists as a membrane around your internal organs such as liver, pancreas, etc. also exists in bulge cells at the base of your hair follicles! This was good news for scientists because it meant that bulge cells could possibly provide the necessary building blocks for healthier hair. If they had not been producing the right kind of hair at a specific time, at least they still had the potential to do so in the future. All the scientists needed was to find out was how to make these bulge cells reproduce the necessary cells for healthy hair. With the bulge cells isolated and properly analyzed, they were ready to try out a treatment.
Scientists went on to test a treatment on the isolated bulge cells with something called "RU486". RU486, in combination with the previously mentioned "promoters" brought about a huge array of new discoveries. Scientists discovered a long list of gene types in the bulge cells that responded positively to the RU486 drug. In fact, these gene types were responding so positively, that scientists thought they might now be capable of contributing to the actual regeneration of hair follicles themselves. Scientists could now target these gene types and eventually see further means for promoting more and more hair growth.
The list of gene types and the subsequent prospects that they promised toward healthy hair growth were extremely numerous. In fact, there were 157 genes that were shown to be present in the stem cells and almost half of these seemed to respond quite favorably to the RU486 treatment.
Of course, in terms of stem cell research, there is still a considerable way to go before scientists can determine the exact treatments that will be necessary for promoting this new genetic response in stem cells. Still, one of the main hurdles has certainly been overcome with the discovery of RU486 and its effects on bulge cells. RU486, in combination with the three promoters, K15, EGFP and CrePR1 have all brought about a great prospect for the future of hair follicle treatment. At least in terms of a hopeful tomorrow, genetic research is looking extremely bright.
Report on the North American Hair Research Society
Short report on the North American Hair Research Society annual conference, Bar Harbor, Maine, USA
The Bar Harbor conference was basic hair biology oriented so not really directed at finding treatments for hair loss diseases. We had reviews on gene expression and techniques for locating genes in disease, extensive reviews on hair follicle morphology and also comparison of hair follicles to nails and teeth as related skin structures.
The highlights included Dr Christiano talking about the hairless gene. This has been demonstrated not to be involved in androgenetic alopecia. DR Christiano's team have been applying the hr mutant gene to normal mice as a gene therapy. The application inhibited hair growth. Although at the (very) experimental stage, DR Christiano suggested it might be a possible gene therapy to treat excess hair growth. DR Christiano has now identified several different forms of hairless gene mutation in humans and several individuals previously diagnosed as having alopecia areata were found to have a hairless gene mutation after testing (congenital or papular atrichia).
DR Elise Olsen gave a review of androgenetic hair loss in women and suggested that the ludwig grading system was not a good categorization method for female pattern baldness. She suggested a more complex categorization system based on hair parting width and the amount of hair loss in the frontal vertex region. This system is to be published shortly.
Of interest to me was an announcement during the conference that a grant application to the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) to set up a central DNA repository for alopecia areata research had been awarded. The will involve funding worth $2.7 million over a 5 year period. The following are the sites of the registry; University of Texas, Houston, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver Columbia University, New York, New York, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, and University of California, San Francisco.
Genes and gene therapy was a big focus at the conference. Several seminars discussed gene expression during the hair cycle and showed that several wnt genes and the Noggin gene are fundamentally involved in hair cycling and growth. Gene therapy reviewed by Lorne Taichman showed that in principle it is possible to transfect hair follicle cells with genes and have gene expression persist for at least 16 weeks. His team transfected a lacZ reporter gene into mouse hair follicles and the gene activity was still present, albeit in a patchy manner, 16 weeks later. They are confident they had transfected hair follicle stem cells given the expression lasted so long.
Maybe of most interest to you would have been the talk by Keith Kaufman from Merck. He gave the typical review of Propecia, but a few slides he flashed up were new to me. The most recent results on Propecia show that the individuals who have been using for 5 years now are starting to have a decline in the hair density. Before the hair density had always gradually climbed year on year and the placebo users had progressively declined. However, both groups at year 5 had a drop in hair density although the Propecia users still have much more hair than the placebo users.
The typical anagen growth phase for scalp hair last 4-5 years. So it was suggested that the decline was because the hair follicles, under the control of Propecia, were entering a telogen phase at about the same time. Hair follicles cycle in a random mosaic pattern in humans but the cycle can be coordinated under the control of drugs like minoxidil and Propecia. I guess Merck will be hoping the hair density will bounce up again with next years results.
Merck very briefly discussed new treatments from themselves and Glaxo. Merck suggested there might be some dangers in using a type I and II 5 alpha reductase inhibitor such as Glaxo's Dutasteride and Turosteride drugs. The 5 alpha reductase inhibitors would lead to a significant
increase in testosterone and this could be transformed into estrogens by other enzymes in the body. Consequently, it was suggested that there could be an increased potential risk of estrogen disorders in Dutasteride users. Kaufman also briefly flashed up a slide on other potential drugs for androgenetic alopecia including "melformin" and "thiazolidinediones"
The Bar Harbor conference was basic hair biology oriented so not really directed at finding treatments for hair loss diseases. We had reviews on gene expression and techniques for locating genes in disease, extensive reviews on hair follicle morphology and also comparison of hair follicles to nails and teeth as related skin structures.
The highlights included Dr Christiano talking about the hairless gene. This has been demonstrated not to be involved in androgenetic alopecia. DR Christiano's team have been applying the hr mutant gene to normal mice as a gene therapy. The application inhibited hair growth. Although at the (very) experimental stage, DR Christiano suggested it might be a possible gene therapy to treat excess hair growth. DR Christiano has now identified several different forms of hairless gene mutation in humans and several individuals previously diagnosed as having alopecia areata were found to have a hairless gene mutation after testing (congenital or papular atrichia).
DR Elise Olsen gave a review of androgenetic hair loss in women and suggested that the ludwig grading system was not a good categorization method for female pattern baldness. She suggested a more complex categorization system based on hair parting width and the amount of hair loss in the frontal vertex region. This system is to be published shortly.
Of interest to me was an announcement during the conference that a grant application to the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) to set up a central DNA repository for alopecia areata research had been awarded. The will involve funding worth $2.7 million over a 5 year period. The following are the sites of the registry; University of Texas, Houston, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver Columbia University, New York, New York, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, and University of California, San Francisco.
Genes and gene therapy was a big focus at the conference. Several seminars discussed gene expression during the hair cycle and showed that several wnt genes and the Noggin gene are fundamentally involved in hair cycling and growth. Gene therapy reviewed by Lorne Taichman showed that in principle it is possible to transfect hair follicle cells with genes and have gene expression persist for at least 16 weeks. His team transfected a lacZ reporter gene into mouse hair follicles and the gene activity was still present, albeit in a patchy manner, 16 weeks later. They are confident they had transfected hair follicle stem cells given the expression lasted so long.
Maybe of most interest to you would have been the talk by Keith Kaufman from Merck. He gave the typical review of Propecia, but a few slides he flashed up were new to me. The most recent results on Propecia show that the individuals who have been using for 5 years now are starting to have a decline in the hair density. Before the hair density had always gradually climbed year on year and the placebo users had progressively declined. However, both groups at year 5 had a drop in hair density although the Propecia users still have much more hair than the placebo users.
The typical anagen growth phase for scalp hair last 4-5 years. So it was suggested that the decline was because the hair follicles, under the control of Propecia, were entering a telogen phase at about the same time. Hair follicles cycle in a random mosaic pattern in humans but the cycle can be coordinated under the control of drugs like minoxidil and Propecia. I guess Merck will be hoping the hair density will bounce up again with next years results.
Merck very briefly discussed new treatments from themselves and Glaxo. Merck suggested there might be some dangers in using a type I and II 5 alpha reductase inhibitor such as Glaxo's Dutasteride and Turosteride drugs. The 5 alpha reductase inhibitors would lead to a significant
increase in testosterone and this could be transformed into estrogens by other enzymes in the body. Consequently, it was suggested that there could be an increased potential risk of estrogen disorders in Dutasteride users. Kaufman also briefly flashed up a slide on other potential drugs for androgenetic alopecia including "melformin" and "thiazolidinediones"
Renewal of Hair Follicles from Adult Multipotent Stem Cells
Renewal of Hair Follicles from Adult Multipotent Stem Cells
Stem cells able to reconstitute the skin, as well as hair follicles, were identified for the first time in an adult mammal by a French team of researchers. "Starting from a small group of about 500 stem cell stocks, we grew a piece of skin with hair follicles and sebaceous glands for the first time," said Dr Yann Barrandon, a cell specialist at the National Institute for Science and Medical Research and Paris's elite Ecole Normale Supérieure.
Stem cells are premature cells that develop into various organs. The most spectacular are found in embryos at their very earliest days of development. Embryo stem cells can grow into almost any part of the body, a finding that raises hopes they can eventually be "programmed" into growing replacement limbs or organs in a laboratory. This work, "provides the first direct proof of the existence of these cells and their capacities to reproduce skin", said Yann Barrandon the leader of the research team. These results, so far only obtained using mice, open significant prospects in dermatology to replace the skin in badly burned persons or to combat skin cancer, and also represent a new hope for bald people.
Humans have approximately five hair follicles per square centimeter of skin, against 50 for the mouse. These stem cell stocks, located close to the root of the hair, are able to give rise to all the lines of cells necessary to reconstitute the skin epidermis, sebaceous glands, and the hair follicles. These invaluable cells are mainly located in the hair follicle structure. The follicles represent "reseviors" of cell stocks of the skin. In humans as in rats, each one of these follicules would contain some 1500 stem cells. The cell stocks can migrate in different directions, to the bottom (towards the root of the hair) or the top of the follicle. According to the path followed, the cells specialize in the manufacture of hair follicles, secaceous glands or the keratinocyte cells of the skin.
Researchers hope to be able to find the molecules that guide these cells to become one of the three different structures (hair, sebaceous gland or skin). There are several potential applications for this research including potential new therapies for pattern baldness, by supporting the growth of the hair, or to solve an excess of hair growth (hypertrichosis) by the selective destruction of hair follicle stem cells. "Half of humanity wants to have more hair on the head and the other less hair on the legs", summarizes Dr Ariane Rochat, joint author of this 5 year long research project.
The research may also be useful for developing skin grafts containing hair and sebaceous glands for badly burned persons, explains Ariane Rochat. This research "could also contribute to the understanidng of cutaneous cancers and the recent increase in numbers affected, as 700000 cases were counted this year in the United States alone", said Yann Barrandon. The Parisian team had already isolated from the stem cell stocks of human skin, published in Cell medical journal in 1994, but were unable to show the potential of the cells to reconstitute skin. Thus the next stage is, "to make the same thing with human stem cells".
Stem cells able to reconstitute the skin, as well as hair follicles, were identified for the first time in an adult mammal by a French team of researchers. "Starting from a small group of about 500 stem cell stocks, we grew a piece of skin with hair follicles and sebaceous glands for the first time," said Dr Yann Barrandon, a cell specialist at the National Institute for Science and Medical Research and Paris's elite Ecole Normale Supérieure.
Stem cells are premature cells that develop into various organs. The most spectacular are found in embryos at their very earliest days of development. Embryo stem cells can grow into almost any part of the body, a finding that raises hopes they can eventually be "programmed" into growing replacement limbs or organs in a laboratory. This work, "provides the first direct proof of the existence of these cells and their capacities to reproduce skin", said Yann Barrandon the leader of the research team. These results, so far only obtained using mice, open significant prospects in dermatology to replace the skin in badly burned persons or to combat skin cancer, and also represent a new hope for bald people.
Humans have approximately five hair follicles per square centimeter of skin, against 50 for the mouse. These stem cell stocks, located close to the root of the hair, are able to give rise to all the lines of cells necessary to reconstitute the skin epidermis, sebaceous glands, and the hair follicles. These invaluable cells are mainly located in the hair follicle structure. The follicles represent "reseviors" of cell stocks of the skin. In humans as in rats, each one of these follicules would contain some 1500 stem cells. The cell stocks can migrate in different directions, to the bottom (towards the root of the hair) or the top of the follicle. According to the path followed, the cells specialize in the manufacture of hair follicles, secaceous glands or the keratinocyte cells of the skin.
Researchers hope to be able to find the molecules that guide these cells to become one of the three different structures (hair, sebaceous gland or skin). There are several potential applications for this research including potential new therapies for pattern baldness, by supporting the growth of the hair, or to solve an excess of hair growth (hypertrichosis) by the selective destruction of hair follicle stem cells. "Half of humanity wants to have more hair on the head and the other less hair on the legs", summarizes Dr Ariane Rochat, joint author of this 5 year long research project.
The research may also be useful for developing skin grafts containing hair and sebaceous glands for badly burned persons, explains Ariane Rochat. This research "could also contribute to the understanidng of cutaneous cancers and the recent increase in numbers affected, as 700000 cases were counted this year in the United States alone", said Yann Barrandon. The Parisian team had already isolated from the stem cell stocks of human skin, published in Cell medical journal in 1994, but were unable to show the potential of the cells to reconstitute skin. Thus the next stage is, "to make the same thing with human stem cells".
Growth factor protein promotes thicker hair
Growth factor protein promotes thicker hair
Scientists in Boston, USA, claimed they have found a protein normally associated with blood vessel growth that also makes hair follicles bigger. Dr. Michael Detmar, associate professor of dermatology at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, who led the study compared two groups of mice one "wild-type" and the other genetically bred to produce extra vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the skin.
The scientists found, the mice with extra VEGF grew fur faster and thicker in the first two weeks of life. When the mice were shaved at two months of age, they grew back fur that was 70 percent thicker than "wild-type" mice. Blood vessels surrounding their fur follicles were also larger and when they treated normal mice with a drug that blocks VEGF, their fur grew in thin and developed bald spots. "So by modulating VEGF production in the skin, we can directly influence the size of the hair," Detmar said.
"In male pattern hair loss, it's not that the follicles are gone. They're just miniaturized" said Detmar. "If anyone could find a way to make the follicles bigger, men might grow hair again." The key, he and colleagues report in the Feb. 19 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, might be a protein called VEGF now used experimentally to help people grow their own heart bypasses.
VEGF, or vascular endothelial growth factor, helps the body grow blood vessels. It can help heart disease patients and is one of the proteins blocked in certain experimental anti-cancer therapies aimed at starving out tumors. The researchers are now working on a way to get VEGF into the scalp in a cream or ointment. "The question now is can we, by this method, improve hair growth in humans?" said Detmar. "Applying it to humans will be a big challenge."
Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) is a naturally produced chemical called a cytokine. Cytokines are a signalling mechanisms that cells use to communicate with each other. cells with approriate cytokine receptors react in specific ways when they receive a signal. As its name suggests, VEGF stimulates endothelial cells of blood vessels to proliferate and grow, a mechanism celled angiogenesis (angio=blood vessel, genesis=formation).
VEGF was originally identified in tumor biology. Tumors grow very large very rapidly and to do this they need a lot of nutrients. To ensure a good supply, tumor cells may produce VEGF to induce blood vessels in surrounding healthy tissue to grow into the tumor. VEGF production and increased angiogenesis can also bee seen in wound healing and in some diseases such as psoriasis. However, VEGF is also produced by normal, healthy cells in various organs to maintain a good blood supply.
VEGF as a stimulator of hair growth is not a new idea. Several studies looking at product expression have demonstrated VEGF production in various hair follicle compartments. Hair folicles have a cycle of growth, called anagen and rest, telogen. When hair follicles are resting they are relatively small an inactive, but when they enter a growth phase they become much larger and the cells of growing hair follicles are the fastest proliferating non-tumor cells in the body. To enable this increased cellular activity, a good nutrient supply is required and it has been shown that as hair follicles leave telogen and enter anagen, angiogenesis is stimulated. An intricate network of blood vessels forms and surrounds hair follicles as they enter anagen.
This study is a significant step in our understanding of hair cycle control and is the first to perform functional assays on hair follicle growth under the influence of VEGF. The scientists were previously involved with examining VEGF and angiogenesis in skin tumors and other inflammatory skin diseases. For their studies, they produced a genetically mutated (transgenic) mouse that consistently over expresses VEGF in the skin. In their previous studies they noted that the skin developed a very extensive system of blood vessels and they hypothesised that this might affect hair follicle activity.
This study examined tissues from the transgenic high VEGF expressing mice for the extent of angiogenesis around hair follicles, measured the size of the hair follicles, and compared these statistics with those from normal mice. In addition, the researchers injected an antibody that blocks VEGF activity into normal mice and also exposed cultured hair follicle cells to VEGF. They found that the transgenic mice had significantly larger anagen hair follicles in association with VEGF production and angiogenesis as compared to normal mice. Blocking VEGF activity resulted in a delay of hair follicles switching from telogen to anagen and much smaller anagen hair follicles developed. Their culture studies showed that VEGF had no direct stimulatory effect on hair follicle growth. That is, it was the formation of blood vessels that allowed increased hair follicle activity in the mutated mice and not any direct effect on the hair follicle cells by the VEGF signal. The study concludes that VEGF has an important role in controling hair biology and that hair follicle size is partly dependant on VEGF induced angiogenesis.
Previously it has been suggested that impaired angiogenesis may play a role in androgenetic alopecia. However, while VEGF seems to have a significant indirect effect on hair follicles, it does not act in isolation. Many cytokines and other factors can stimulate or inhibit hair follicle activity. Whether hair follicle growth could be stimulated by injecting VEGF or the DNA coding for VEGF into skin remains to be seen. There are potential side effect risks as the angiogenesis would not be restricted to the hair follicles. There will also be other limiting factors involved including the natural production in normal skin of angiogenesis inhibiting factors. The maximum possible size of a hair follicle is probably limited by the size of the dermal papilla and an upper limit to the level of activity by these cells. Most likely then, gene therapy for hair loss could involve VEGF, but in itself this may not be enough. A cocktail of DNA coding for several genes is probably required.
Scientists in Boston, USA, claimed they have found a protein normally associated with blood vessel growth that also makes hair follicles bigger. Dr. Michael Detmar, associate professor of dermatology at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, who led the study compared two groups of mice one "wild-type" and the other genetically bred to produce extra vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the skin.
The scientists found, the mice with extra VEGF grew fur faster and thicker in the first two weeks of life. When the mice were shaved at two months of age, they grew back fur that was 70 percent thicker than "wild-type" mice. Blood vessels surrounding their fur follicles were also larger and when they treated normal mice with a drug that blocks VEGF, their fur grew in thin and developed bald spots. "So by modulating VEGF production in the skin, we can directly influence the size of the hair," Detmar said.
"In male pattern hair loss, it's not that the follicles are gone. They're just miniaturized" said Detmar. "If anyone could find a way to make the follicles bigger, men might grow hair again." The key, he and colleagues report in the Feb. 19 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, might be a protein called VEGF now used experimentally to help people grow their own heart bypasses.
VEGF, or vascular endothelial growth factor, helps the body grow blood vessels. It can help heart disease patients and is one of the proteins blocked in certain experimental anti-cancer therapies aimed at starving out tumors. The researchers are now working on a way to get VEGF into the scalp in a cream or ointment. "The question now is can we, by this method, improve hair growth in humans?" said Detmar. "Applying it to humans will be a big challenge."
Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) is a naturally produced chemical called a cytokine. Cytokines are a signalling mechanisms that cells use to communicate with each other. cells with approriate cytokine receptors react in specific ways when they receive a signal. As its name suggests, VEGF stimulates endothelial cells of blood vessels to proliferate and grow, a mechanism celled angiogenesis (angio=blood vessel, genesis=formation).
VEGF was originally identified in tumor biology. Tumors grow very large very rapidly and to do this they need a lot of nutrients. To ensure a good supply, tumor cells may produce VEGF to induce blood vessels in surrounding healthy tissue to grow into the tumor. VEGF production and increased angiogenesis can also bee seen in wound healing and in some diseases such as psoriasis. However, VEGF is also produced by normal, healthy cells in various organs to maintain a good blood supply.
VEGF as a stimulator of hair growth is not a new idea. Several studies looking at product expression have demonstrated VEGF production in various hair follicle compartments. Hair folicles have a cycle of growth, called anagen and rest, telogen. When hair follicles are resting they are relatively small an inactive, but when they enter a growth phase they become much larger and the cells of growing hair follicles are the fastest proliferating non-tumor cells in the body. To enable this increased cellular activity, a good nutrient supply is required and it has been shown that as hair follicles leave telogen and enter anagen, angiogenesis is stimulated. An intricate network of blood vessels forms and surrounds hair follicles as they enter anagen.
This study is a significant step in our understanding of hair cycle control and is the first to perform functional assays on hair follicle growth under the influence of VEGF. The scientists were previously involved with examining VEGF and angiogenesis in skin tumors and other inflammatory skin diseases. For their studies, they produced a genetically mutated (transgenic) mouse that consistently over expresses VEGF in the skin. In their previous studies they noted that the skin developed a very extensive system of blood vessels and they hypothesised that this might affect hair follicle activity.
This study examined tissues from the transgenic high VEGF expressing mice for the extent of angiogenesis around hair follicles, measured the size of the hair follicles, and compared these statistics with those from normal mice. In addition, the researchers injected an antibody that blocks VEGF activity into normal mice and also exposed cultured hair follicle cells to VEGF. They found that the transgenic mice had significantly larger anagen hair follicles in association with VEGF production and angiogenesis as compared to normal mice. Blocking VEGF activity resulted in a delay of hair follicles switching from telogen to anagen and much smaller anagen hair follicles developed. Their culture studies showed that VEGF had no direct stimulatory effect on hair follicle growth. That is, it was the formation of blood vessels that allowed increased hair follicle activity in the mutated mice and not any direct effect on the hair follicle cells by the VEGF signal. The study concludes that VEGF has an important role in controling hair biology and that hair follicle size is partly dependant on VEGF induced angiogenesis.
Previously it has been suggested that impaired angiogenesis may play a role in androgenetic alopecia. However, while VEGF seems to have a significant indirect effect on hair follicles, it does not act in isolation. Many cytokines and other factors can stimulate or inhibit hair follicle activity. Whether hair follicle growth could be stimulated by injecting VEGF or the DNA coding for VEGF into skin remains to be seen. There are potential side effect risks as the angiogenesis would not be restricted to the hair follicles. There will also be other limiting factors involved including the natural production in normal skin of angiogenesis inhibiting factors. The maximum possible size of a hair follicle is probably limited by the size of the dermal papilla and an upper limit to the level of activity by these cells. Most likely then, gene therapy for hair loss could involve VEGF, but in itself this may not be enough. A cocktail of DNA coding for several genes is probably required.
Tooth cells induce hair follicles to grow
Tooth cells induce hair follicles to grow
Stem cell research has become a cutting edge phenomena in modern science. Stem cells have been found to produce miraculous effects toward the regeneration of certain biological parts of the body. This promises many great things for the future.
One such area of the body that has been extensively researched are the teeth and hair in both animals and humans. Scientists have recently discovered that Mesenchymal stem cells in both tooth and hair follicles can be interchanged between humans and animals to produce positive effects in either of the transplanted areas. An example of this was recently shown to be the case when both animal and human tooth cells were first transferred into hair follicles. This was done to see if they could help the growth of human hair. The results were extremely interesting. It was discovered that the transplantation of stem cells from both human and animal teeth helped to stimulate healthier hair growth in humans. Some of the tests were not as successful as others. The results depended a lot upon the age of the donor and upon other environmental factors. However, the overall results proved that there is great hope for this type of treatment in hair growth somewhere down the road.
Although teeth and hair follicles are extremely different items on both the animal and human body, they actually have a lot of similarities on the cellular level. Both teeth and hair are built from very similar stem cells that merely group together in different ways to eventually create the larger tooth or hair follicle formations. The early stages of growth of these larger formations, which depends upon the activity of stem cells, tends to be very similar.
Specifically, what happens when teeth and hair begin to form is that the stem cells group together underneath the surface of other, larger concentrations of cell growth. The process of this gathering of cells is guided by certain governing cells called " papilla cells" in hair follicle formation the cells are called “dermal papilla” cells and in teeth they are called “dental papilla” (or pulp) cells. These papilla cells are very versatile governors because they can travel to entirely different "regions" of tissue and govern the growth of cells in the foreign area just as they do in their own region. Of course, there are some exceptions to the rule and certain environmental characteristics often come into play. Nevertheless, there is great promise for these dermal papilla cells as scientists are just beginning to discover.
One particular procedure that scientists investigated took place in an experiment involving whisker follicles. Scientists found that, when a section just larger than one third the length of any whisker follicle was removed, the remaining upper section of the whisker follicle would become completely inactive and no more hair growth would take place. The whisker that was cut off from the bottom became essentially dead. Scientists took these dead whiskers and were able to re-activate them by simply adding dermal papilla cells to the upper "dead" follicle. The amazing thing was that this didn't just work when transplanting hair cells into whiskers, this proved to be true when scientists transplanted tooth papilla cells as well! Furthermore, this result was duplicated in both animal and human whiskers that received the transplants and was also duplicated when both animals and humans acted as the donors! The results, all around, had at least some sort of positive effect.
The method by which these papilla cells were transferred into the hair follicles was very interesting. It involved widening the central canal of the hair follicle in order to allow for a deposit of cells to be placed into the hair follicle itself. To do this, scientists used fine tipped watchmaker forceps with papilla cells packed inside! These scientists are very resourceful when they want to be!
The scientists tried several different types of cells from different rats as donors for their experiments. When they transplanted these rat cells into the hair follicles, they found that the specific papilla cells from the incisor teeth seemed to produce the best results. They also found that 3 week old rats did the best as cell donors rather than older rats. Newborn rats also did well, but were not as successful as, specifically, the three week old rat donors.
In all the cases of transplantation from rat donors, scientists found one problem with the hair formation that resulted. The papilla cells from animal teeth gave the unfortunate result of producing small bone formations or tooth fragments in the hair follicles where they were transplanted to. There had indeed been hair formation due to the transplants of cells but the bone formations also grew inside the hair follicles and that was obviously less than ideal.
When transplanting dental papilla cells from adult human teeth, scientists had somewhat better results. For this experiment, they chose two adult human donors. The first donor was a 22 year old female and the second donor was a 34 year old female. After the tooth cells were transplanted from the 22 year old donor into the whisker follicles, scientists found that 3 out of 4 of the follicle portions that had undergone transplants showed strong hair production. The results were even better with the transplants from the 34 year old donor. When those stem cells were transplanted into the hair follicles, all of the follicle portions from that donor showed strong hair production.
In terms of the age of the human tooth cell donors, it was found that younger adult donors were not always the best choice for transplantation methods. Although the younger human donor did not produce the unfortunate result of bone formations in the transplanted hair follicles that rat donors produced, the hair formations were still not as good as they were from the 34 year old adult human. Scientists found that it was best to stick with older adult human donors when transplanting tooth cells into hair follicles.
In addition to the problems derived from transplanting animal stem cells into human hair, dermal papilla cells also didn't do as well going in the opposite direction from hair into teeth. This seems self-evident, that you can't make teeth out of hair, and yet scientists were sure to confirm what, to the rest of the world may have already seemed like common sense! Scientists found that when the papilla cells were transplanted from hair into teeth there were obvious problems. The hair cells did not help to produce the necessary dentine or the enamel that normal tooth cells usually govern. For scientists, it was "back to the drawing board"!
The production of bone formations in hair follicles had seemed an unfortunate blow to the growth of healthy human hair. The lack of dentine and enamel similarly did not fair well for the growth potential of teeth. Still, The success of transplanting human stem cells from teeth to hair had been more successful.
Even with the success of transplanting human stem cells from teeth into hair, there were still some problems in terms of the applicability of the experiments to male pattern baldness in the mainstream market. The experiments involved alot of extenuating environmental conditions that simply were not practical for male pattern baldness patients. Still, scientists have not been discouraged.
Scientists have gone on to suppose that the discovery of bone formations in hair follicles could still be seen in a positive light as it may be applied to future dental research. Although the hair specialists may not appreciate it, the tooth specialists just might! Scientists are now looking in new directions toward the prospect that stem cells may still provide certain prospects for the growth of both healthy hair and healthy teeth. The search goes on.
Regardless of the mild success that they have had with human hair growth, scientists still do not envisage a solution to male pattern baldness just yet. They will continue to research stem cells in the future and hopefully find new avenues in which their discoveries can be applied. Stem cell research is truly making headway as the cutting edge of scientific discovery. Hopefully, the future will hopefully bring even better news.
Stem cell research has become a cutting edge phenomena in modern science. Stem cells have been found to produce miraculous effects toward the regeneration of certain biological parts of the body. This promises many great things for the future.
One such area of the body that has been extensively researched are the teeth and hair in both animals and humans. Scientists have recently discovered that Mesenchymal stem cells in both tooth and hair follicles can be interchanged between humans and animals to produce positive effects in either of the transplanted areas. An example of this was recently shown to be the case when both animal and human tooth cells were first transferred into hair follicles. This was done to see if they could help the growth of human hair. The results were extremely interesting. It was discovered that the transplantation of stem cells from both human and animal teeth helped to stimulate healthier hair growth in humans. Some of the tests were not as successful as others. The results depended a lot upon the age of the donor and upon other environmental factors. However, the overall results proved that there is great hope for this type of treatment in hair growth somewhere down the road.
Although teeth and hair follicles are extremely different items on both the animal and human body, they actually have a lot of similarities on the cellular level. Both teeth and hair are built from very similar stem cells that merely group together in different ways to eventually create the larger tooth or hair follicle formations. The early stages of growth of these larger formations, which depends upon the activity of stem cells, tends to be very similar.
Specifically, what happens when teeth and hair begin to form is that the stem cells group together underneath the surface of other, larger concentrations of cell growth. The process of this gathering of cells is guided by certain governing cells called " papilla cells" in hair follicle formation the cells are called “dermal papilla” cells and in teeth they are called “dental papilla” (or pulp) cells. These papilla cells are very versatile governors because they can travel to entirely different "regions" of tissue and govern the growth of cells in the foreign area just as they do in their own region. Of course, there are some exceptions to the rule and certain environmental characteristics often come into play. Nevertheless, there is great promise for these dermal papilla cells as scientists are just beginning to discover.
One particular procedure that scientists investigated took place in an experiment involving whisker follicles. Scientists found that, when a section just larger than one third the length of any whisker follicle was removed, the remaining upper section of the whisker follicle would become completely inactive and no more hair growth would take place. The whisker that was cut off from the bottom became essentially dead. Scientists took these dead whiskers and were able to re-activate them by simply adding dermal papilla cells to the upper "dead" follicle. The amazing thing was that this didn't just work when transplanting hair cells into whiskers, this proved to be true when scientists transplanted tooth papilla cells as well! Furthermore, this result was duplicated in both animal and human whiskers that received the transplants and was also duplicated when both animals and humans acted as the donors! The results, all around, had at least some sort of positive effect.
The method by which these papilla cells were transferred into the hair follicles was very interesting. It involved widening the central canal of the hair follicle in order to allow for a deposit of cells to be placed into the hair follicle itself. To do this, scientists used fine tipped watchmaker forceps with papilla cells packed inside! These scientists are very resourceful when they want to be!
The scientists tried several different types of cells from different rats as donors for their experiments. When they transplanted these rat cells into the hair follicles, they found that the specific papilla cells from the incisor teeth seemed to produce the best results. They also found that 3 week old rats did the best as cell donors rather than older rats. Newborn rats also did well, but were not as successful as, specifically, the three week old rat donors.
In all the cases of transplantation from rat donors, scientists found one problem with the hair formation that resulted. The papilla cells from animal teeth gave the unfortunate result of producing small bone formations or tooth fragments in the hair follicles where they were transplanted to. There had indeed been hair formation due to the transplants of cells but the bone formations also grew inside the hair follicles and that was obviously less than ideal.
When transplanting dental papilla cells from adult human teeth, scientists had somewhat better results. For this experiment, they chose two adult human donors. The first donor was a 22 year old female and the second donor was a 34 year old female. After the tooth cells were transplanted from the 22 year old donor into the whisker follicles, scientists found that 3 out of 4 of the follicle portions that had undergone transplants showed strong hair production. The results were even better with the transplants from the 34 year old donor. When those stem cells were transplanted into the hair follicles, all of the follicle portions from that donor showed strong hair production.
In terms of the age of the human tooth cell donors, it was found that younger adult donors were not always the best choice for transplantation methods. Although the younger human donor did not produce the unfortunate result of bone formations in the transplanted hair follicles that rat donors produced, the hair formations were still not as good as they were from the 34 year old adult human. Scientists found that it was best to stick with older adult human donors when transplanting tooth cells into hair follicles.
In addition to the problems derived from transplanting animal stem cells into human hair, dermal papilla cells also didn't do as well going in the opposite direction from hair into teeth. This seems self-evident, that you can't make teeth out of hair, and yet scientists were sure to confirm what, to the rest of the world may have already seemed like common sense! Scientists found that when the papilla cells were transplanted from hair into teeth there were obvious problems. The hair cells did not help to produce the necessary dentine or the enamel that normal tooth cells usually govern. For scientists, it was "back to the drawing board"!
The production of bone formations in hair follicles had seemed an unfortunate blow to the growth of healthy human hair. The lack of dentine and enamel similarly did not fair well for the growth potential of teeth. Still, The success of transplanting human stem cells from teeth to hair had been more successful.
Even with the success of transplanting human stem cells from teeth into hair, there were still some problems in terms of the applicability of the experiments to male pattern baldness in the mainstream market. The experiments involved alot of extenuating environmental conditions that simply were not practical for male pattern baldness patients. Still, scientists have not been discouraged.
Scientists have gone on to suppose that the discovery of bone formations in hair follicles could still be seen in a positive light as it may be applied to future dental research. Although the hair specialists may not appreciate it, the tooth specialists just might! Scientists are now looking in new directions toward the prospect that stem cells may still provide certain prospects for the growth of both healthy hair and healthy teeth. The search goes on.
Regardless of the mild success that they have had with human hair growth, scientists still do not envisage a solution to male pattern baldness just yet. They will continue to research stem cells in the future and hopefully find new avenues in which their discoveries can be applied. Stem cell research is truly making headway as the cutting edge of scientific discovery. Hopefully, the future will hopefully bring even better news.
Macrophage stimulating protein and its contribution to hair growth
Macrophage stimulating protein and its contribution to hair growth
Specific proteins and their effect on hair growth was studied in the Department of Dermatology, at Philipp University in Marburg, Germany, in 2004. Scientists Kevin McElwee, Andrea Huth, Sabine Kissling, and Rolf Hoffmann reported their success in discovering how Macrophage Stimulating Protein (MSP) contributes to hair growth from their research in the laboratory on human hair follicles and on mice.
The success of this study was due in part to previous successes by other scientists.
1. From a previous study by Lindner in 2000, hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is a known promoter of hair follicle growth and development.
2. Other scientists had shown that another member of the HGF family with a similar protein structure is macrophage-stimulating protein (MSP).
3. Several studies by scientists Ronsin and Wang have concluded that HGF uses a cell receptor called MET and MSP uses a cell receptor called RON.
4. Though both HGF and MSP communicate with cells through different cell receptors, the different receptors can cause the cells to do similar things in response to activation.
5. Scientists Guadino, Quantin, and Thierry found that RON is used while people are still unborn to help develop bones, skin, lungs, and many other parts of our body.
6. The four scientists in this study found that MSP can be found in human hair.
Based on this previous information, that HGF is known to help hair grow and MSP and HGF are related, the scientists asked; therefore… can MSP also help hair grow? The effects of MSP on hair growth were evaluated with three studies.
Study 1
The first study they did was “ex vivo” which means they did not perform the study on a living subject but rather performed the study in a laboratory setting in a container. They used hair samples from five different volunteers. The hair follicles form each donor were separated into four groups and immersed in a nutrient rich solution to keep the hair follicles alive. One group of hair follicles was a control sample and the other 4 were exposed to increasing amounts of MSP: .01 ng, 1 ng, 10 ng, 100 ng per milliliter of nutrient solution. After 8 days, they observed an immediate increase in hair growth in the four hair samples that had been exposed to MSP compared to the hair growth in the control sample that did not get any MSP. Interestingly, the test with 1 ng per mL of MSP grew the most!
Study 2
The second study they did was “in vivo” which means “in life.” This time, they used living organisms to help them understand MSP and its relation to hair growth. Special beads were soaked in MSP and injected under the skin of 70 day-old mice. In eight mice they injected beads filled with 100 ng of MSP and in another eight mice they injected one microgram (10 times 100 ng) of MSP. As a control, they also put beads of saline into 8 additional mice in order to ensure that it wasn't the implantation of the beads that potentially caused hair growth, or that any hair growth detected was naturally occurring.
After 16 days, they observed the potential hair growth and this is what they found: All 8 mice receiving 1 microgram of MSP had hair growth at the site of the bead implant. 4 of the 8 mice with the 100 ng MSP bead had hair growth at the site of the bead. All 8 mice in the control group with saline beads had no hair growth, confirming that the beads themselves did not contribute to hair growth and that the additional hair growth in the other mice was not naturally occurring.
Study 3
This test was a longer-term “in vivo” test. More bead-implanted mice, and a control group, were used to discover the effect of MSP on hair growth for an extended period of time. Although they discovered some hair growth in this test, they found something more significant: The state of the follicles were in a “anagen” state, which means a period of growth, for al onger time period than would normally be expected compared to the control mice whose follicles were in a “telogen” state, which means a period of rest.
What conclusions did they draw?
1. MSP, like HGF can grow hair. Human MSP can successfully stimulate mouse hair growth.
2. MSP seems to be an important factor in hair growth. In test two, hair growth was first observed on day 16 in all mice exposed to MSP.
3. MSP, like HGF, seems to work the best at 1 ng in in vitro studies. A superior accelerated growth rate in human hair follicles was obtained with an MSP concentration in the range of 1 ng per mL, a concentration similar to that defined for ex vivo studies using HGF (discovered by scientists Jindo and Shimaoka).
4. MSP promotes an anagen state in hair follicles. The mice hair follicles located over beads with 1 microgram of MSP were in anagen state whereas adjacent skin contained telogen stage hair follicles. The control mice presented a uniform telogen hair follicle state.
5. The anagen state of hair can be prolonged by MSP. Implantation of beads soaked in MSP demonstrated that MSP can prolong the anagen growth phase of hair in young mice, complementing the results of ex vivo human hair follicle culture studies.
6. MSP can turn follicles from telogen to anagen state. Implantation of MSP soaked beads in mice with telogen stage hair follicles were could also create an an anagen growth state.
7. The use of MSP to grow hair has so far proven safe. Although MSP is known as a stimulator of cells, no apparent inflammation or hair follicle deformities at the site of bead implantation was observed.
8. The use of MSP to grow hair has no observable side effects. Other than the presence of the beads under the skin, and a hair growth response to MSP exposure, no other conditions were apparent in the skin of study mice.
Overall it seems that MSP is a naturally expressed product in hair follicles that promotes hair growth. Adding extra MSP to the MSP produced naturally further increases the growth of hair follicles.
Specific proteins and their effect on hair growth was studied in the Department of Dermatology, at Philipp University in Marburg, Germany, in 2004. Scientists Kevin McElwee, Andrea Huth, Sabine Kissling, and Rolf Hoffmann reported their success in discovering how Macrophage Stimulating Protein (MSP) contributes to hair growth from their research in the laboratory on human hair follicles and on mice.
The success of this study was due in part to previous successes by other scientists.
1. From a previous study by Lindner in 2000, hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is a known promoter of hair follicle growth and development.
2. Other scientists had shown that another member of the HGF family with a similar protein structure is macrophage-stimulating protein (MSP).
3. Several studies by scientists Ronsin and Wang have concluded that HGF uses a cell receptor called MET and MSP uses a cell receptor called RON.
4. Though both HGF and MSP communicate with cells through different cell receptors, the different receptors can cause the cells to do similar things in response to activation.
5. Scientists Guadino, Quantin, and Thierry found that RON is used while people are still unborn to help develop bones, skin, lungs, and many other parts of our body.
6. The four scientists in this study found that MSP can be found in human hair.
Based on this previous information, that HGF is known to help hair grow and MSP and HGF are related, the scientists asked; therefore… can MSP also help hair grow? The effects of MSP on hair growth were evaluated with three studies.
Study 1
The first study they did was “ex vivo” which means they did not perform the study on a living subject but rather performed the study in a laboratory setting in a container. They used hair samples from five different volunteers. The hair follicles form each donor were separated into four groups and immersed in a nutrient rich solution to keep the hair follicles alive. One group of hair follicles was a control sample and the other 4 were exposed to increasing amounts of MSP: .01 ng, 1 ng, 10 ng, 100 ng per milliliter of nutrient solution. After 8 days, they observed an immediate increase in hair growth in the four hair samples that had been exposed to MSP compared to the hair growth in the control sample that did not get any MSP. Interestingly, the test with 1 ng per mL of MSP grew the most!
Study 2
The second study they did was “in vivo” which means “in life.” This time, they used living organisms to help them understand MSP and its relation to hair growth. Special beads were soaked in MSP and injected under the skin of 70 day-old mice. In eight mice they injected beads filled with 100 ng of MSP and in another eight mice they injected one microgram (10 times 100 ng) of MSP. As a control, they also put beads of saline into 8 additional mice in order to ensure that it wasn't the implantation of the beads that potentially caused hair growth, or that any hair growth detected was naturally occurring.
After 16 days, they observed the potential hair growth and this is what they found: All 8 mice receiving 1 microgram of MSP had hair growth at the site of the bead implant. 4 of the 8 mice with the 100 ng MSP bead had hair growth at the site of the bead. All 8 mice in the control group with saline beads had no hair growth, confirming that the beads themselves did not contribute to hair growth and that the additional hair growth in the other mice was not naturally occurring.
Study 3
This test was a longer-term “in vivo” test. More bead-implanted mice, and a control group, were used to discover the effect of MSP on hair growth for an extended period of time. Although they discovered some hair growth in this test, they found something more significant: The state of the follicles were in a “anagen” state, which means a period of growth, for al onger time period than would normally be expected compared to the control mice whose follicles were in a “telogen” state, which means a period of rest.
What conclusions did they draw?
1. MSP, like HGF can grow hair. Human MSP can successfully stimulate mouse hair growth.
2. MSP seems to be an important factor in hair growth. In test two, hair growth was first observed on day 16 in all mice exposed to MSP.
3. MSP, like HGF, seems to work the best at 1 ng in in vitro studies. A superior accelerated growth rate in human hair follicles was obtained with an MSP concentration in the range of 1 ng per mL, a concentration similar to that defined for ex vivo studies using HGF (discovered by scientists Jindo and Shimaoka).
4. MSP promotes an anagen state in hair follicles. The mice hair follicles located over beads with 1 microgram of MSP were in anagen state whereas adjacent skin contained telogen stage hair follicles. The control mice presented a uniform telogen hair follicle state.
5. The anagen state of hair can be prolonged by MSP. Implantation of beads soaked in MSP demonstrated that MSP can prolong the anagen growth phase of hair in young mice, complementing the results of ex vivo human hair follicle culture studies.
6. MSP can turn follicles from telogen to anagen state. Implantation of MSP soaked beads in mice with telogen stage hair follicles were could also create an an anagen growth state.
7. The use of MSP to grow hair has so far proven safe. Although MSP is known as a stimulator of cells, no apparent inflammation or hair follicle deformities at the site of bead implantation was observed.
8. The use of MSP to grow hair has no observable side effects. Other than the presence of the beads under the skin, and a hair growth response to MSP exposure, no other conditions were apparent in the skin of study mice.
Overall it seems that MSP is a naturally expressed product in hair follicles that promotes hair growth. Adding extra MSP to the MSP produced naturally further increases the growth of hair follicles.
Role of follicular stem cells in wound healing
Role of follicular stem cells in wound healing
The research in hair growth and skin care has taken new strides with the discovery of adult stem cells, which are sometimes also referred to as progenitor cells. The scientific world got a major boost with the findings that stem cells can be used to cure genetic diseases by replacing damaged cells. And no wonder that the area of the body that has maximum frequency of wounds, the skin, is benefiting from this theory.
Scientists and researchers have tried their hardest to find a way to correct or replace skin that has been burnt or damaged through wounds by using cosmetic and plastic surgery. So far though the success of new methods of surgery and treatment for extensive skin damage have been mixed. But stem cells have given new hope to the scientists as well as to the patients that receive such burns and wounds. With advanced scientific techniques, researchers have been able to make new discoveries, which can be used in the science of skin care and dermatology.
It is a well known fact that epidermal cells cover the human skin. Hair follicle cells and these epidermal cells are under the constant microscope of dermatologists and skin specialists, as there are some contrasting and insufficient theories about the involvement of epidermal cells for production of hair follicle cells in the cases of burnt skin of patients.
• Some theories state that if epidermal cells are lost, there are chances of keratinocytes migrating from hair follicles and re-establishing the lost epidermis.
• Some theories, however, maintain the fact that there is no such trafficking between epidermis cells and hair follicle cells, and they are both independently self-sufficient.
Which basic theory is correct is a topic of hot debate, and no conclusive evidence has yet been found in support of one or other. Some recent investigations suggest that there are chances of some traffic of cells between the epidermis and the hair follicles. However, the research data is not conclusive due to the limited number of subjects that have been examined by the researchers. Utmost care needs to be taken while taking observations in experiments and it is a well-known fact that the environment effects the skin of the subjects, which can alter the nature of results, significantly.
Techniques used for checking the traffic
There is a particular biological property that can be used to identify the keratinocyte stem cells. They are normally very slow cycling and researchers can identify these sow growing keratinocyte stem cells with some special scientific techniques. In this study, the scientists used a technique to identify these keratinocyte stem cells known as the label retention technique.
Though the overall reliability of this technique still remains to be vindicated, the technique has received wide support from dermatological scientists, and some important results have been obtained by using this technique. This technique inovles exposing skin cells to a supply of tritiated thymidine (a radioactive substance). All the cells take up the radioactive thymidine and incorporate it into themselves. Then the tritiated thymidine is taken away and the cells get normal non-tritiated thymidine for the rest of the experiment. As cells grow and multiply, the tritiated thymdine gets spread progressively thinner between the daughter cells. The radioactivity subsides and eventually disappears in growing cells. However, stem cells don’t grow and proliferate much, so the tritiated thymidine in these cells stays in them at fairly high concentrations (I.e. they retain the “label” of radioactivity – they are label retaining cells). The radioactive cells can be tracked over a long time period and only the slow cycling cells retain the label while others eventually lose it. In this way the scientists can follow the stem cells and see where they go.
The questions that arise from the results of this technique are both interesting and important, as they may present a total new face to the theories that deal with the formation of epidermis cells with the migration of keratinocyte cells from hair follicles and also the ones that state that no such thing happened and epidermis cells and hair follicles are distinct and there is no connection between the two.
Recent studies about the connection
Some very recent studies have suggested and supported the fact that there may be a chance of some trafficking of keratinocyte stem cells from a part of the hair follicle which is known as Bulge. What makes these findings more striking is the fact that they also suggest formation of epidermal cells with these bulge stem cells. The data and the investigation results can be used for further examination to establish a clear and permanent relationship between the formation of hair follicles and epidermal cells with the help of Bulge stem cells.
This property could actually help a lot in the field of skin care. These studies support the idea that, though the epidermal cells are self-sufficient under normal conditions, if the need arises, stem cells can move from Bulge area of hair follicles to form epidermal cells. The conditions under which this trafficking may occur may include neonatal expansion of the skin and during adult skin wound repair. The main point to be taken care of is that the subjects that are examined in these studies have different kinds of skin on different parts of the body. In humans, there are some parts which have no hair follicles on the skin surface like the palms and soles of the feet. In these areas clearly wounds cannot be supplied with stem cells from hair follicles because there are no hair follicles nearby.
Conclusion
The similarities of microenvironment and other properties between epidermal cells and hair follicle cells present a clear picture that the trafficking of stem cells does happen under certain circumstances. The authenticity of the label retention technique has also been supported by the fact that researchers are able to examine the stem cells from epidermis cells and hair follicle cells. This gives an added advantage to researchers for further studies and investigation about stem cells and their microenvironment. So, in the end we can say that there is a definite role played by follicular cells in the formation of epidermal skin during a time of need.
The research in hair growth and skin care has taken new strides with the discovery of adult stem cells, which are sometimes also referred to as progenitor cells. The scientific world got a major boost with the findings that stem cells can be used to cure genetic diseases by replacing damaged cells. And no wonder that the area of the body that has maximum frequency of wounds, the skin, is benefiting from this theory.
Scientists and researchers have tried their hardest to find a way to correct or replace skin that has been burnt or damaged through wounds by using cosmetic and plastic surgery. So far though the success of new methods of surgery and treatment for extensive skin damage have been mixed. But stem cells have given new hope to the scientists as well as to the patients that receive such burns and wounds. With advanced scientific techniques, researchers have been able to make new discoveries, which can be used in the science of skin care and dermatology.
It is a well known fact that epidermal cells cover the human skin. Hair follicle cells and these epidermal cells are under the constant microscope of dermatologists and skin specialists, as there are some contrasting and insufficient theories about the involvement of epidermal cells for production of hair follicle cells in the cases of burnt skin of patients.
• Some theories state that if epidermal cells are lost, there are chances of keratinocytes migrating from hair follicles and re-establishing the lost epidermis.
• Some theories, however, maintain the fact that there is no such trafficking between epidermis cells and hair follicle cells, and they are both independently self-sufficient.
Which basic theory is correct is a topic of hot debate, and no conclusive evidence has yet been found in support of one or other. Some recent investigations suggest that there are chances of some traffic of cells between the epidermis and the hair follicles. However, the research data is not conclusive due to the limited number of subjects that have been examined by the researchers. Utmost care needs to be taken while taking observations in experiments and it is a well-known fact that the environment effects the skin of the subjects, which can alter the nature of results, significantly.
Techniques used for checking the traffic
There is a particular biological property that can be used to identify the keratinocyte stem cells. They are normally very slow cycling and researchers can identify these sow growing keratinocyte stem cells with some special scientific techniques. In this study, the scientists used a technique to identify these keratinocyte stem cells known as the label retention technique.
Though the overall reliability of this technique still remains to be vindicated, the technique has received wide support from dermatological scientists, and some important results have been obtained by using this technique. This technique inovles exposing skin cells to a supply of tritiated thymidine (a radioactive substance). All the cells take up the radioactive thymidine and incorporate it into themselves. Then the tritiated thymidine is taken away and the cells get normal non-tritiated thymidine for the rest of the experiment. As cells grow and multiply, the tritiated thymdine gets spread progressively thinner between the daughter cells. The radioactivity subsides and eventually disappears in growing cells. However, stem cells don’t grow and proliferate much, so the tritiated thymidine in these cells stays in them at fairly high concentrations (I.e. they retain the “label” of radioactivity – they are label retaining cells). The radioactive cells can be tracked over a long time period and only the slow cycling cells retain the label while others eventually lose it. In this way the scientists can follow the stem cells and see where they go.
The questions that arise from the results of this technique are both interesting and important, as they may present a total new face to the theories that deal with the formation of epidermis cells with the migration of keratinocyte cells from hair follicles and also the ones that state that no such thing happened and epidermis cells and hair follicles are distinct and there is no connection between the two.
Recent studies about the connection
Some very recent studies have suggested and supported the fact that there may be a chance of some trafficking of keratinocyte stem cells from a part of the hair follicle which is known as Bulge. What makes these findings more striking is the fact that they also suggest formation of epidermal cells with these bulge stem cells. The data and the investigation results can be used for further examination to establish a clear and permanent relationship between the formation of hair follicles and epidermal cells with the help of Bulge stem cells.
This property could actually help a lot in the field of skin care. These studies support the idea that, though the epidermal cells are self-sufficient under normal conditions, if the need arises, stem cells can move from Bulge area of hair follicles to form epidermal cells. The conditions under which this trafficking may occur may include neonatal expansion of the skin and during adult skin wound repair. The main point to be taken care of is that the subjects that are examined in these studies have different kinds of skin on different parts of the body. In humans, there are some parts which have no hair follicles on the skin surface like the palms and soles of the feet. In these areas clearly wounds cannot be supplied with stem cells from hair follicles because there are no hair follicles nearby.
Conclusion
The similarities of microenvironment and other properties between epidermal cells and hair follicle cells present a clear picture that the trafficking of stem cells does happen under certain circumstances. The authenticity of the label retention technique has also been supported by the fact that researchers are able to examine the stem cells from epidermis cells and hair follicle cells. This gives an added advantage to researchers for further studies and investigation about stem cells and their microenvironment. So, in the end we can say that there is a definite role played by follicular cells in the formation of epidermal skin during a time of need.
Just a hair away from stem cell therapy
Just a hair away from stem cell therapy
New research suggests that in the future, stem cell research might rely on nothing more controversial than a plucked hair. Scientists have proven that stem cells found in mouse hair follicles can develop into brain cells and other cell types. This finding suggests that human hair follicles might be a new and uncontroversial source for these regenerative cells. Because stem cells can be developed into any cell type, scientists hope to one day use them to fight degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and heart failure.
Lead researcher Richard Hoffman of San Diego’s AntiCancer, Inc. research company has previously proven that the stem cells that create hair follicles are very similar to the stem cells that become the brain. Hoffman’s current study was able to isolate stem cells from hair follicles and steer them toward becoming neurons (brain cells) and muscle cells.
Using mice, researchers isolated stem cells from the so-called “bulge area” of whisker follicles and cultured them. After one week, those stems cells began to develop into neural cells. As the weeks went on, the stem cells developed into skin cells, smooth muscle cells, and skin color pigment-producing cells. According to an article published in the March 28, 2005 edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, these same hair follicle stem cells matured into neurons when transplanted under the skin of the mice.
Hoffman is hopeful that human hair follicle stem cells might be sufficiently plastic to make other types of cells under human direction, opening up vast areas of possibility for therapeutic research. Citing the ease of harvesting hair follicles as opposed to other methods, Hoffman believes his research could help eliminate the political debate currently centered on embryonic stem cell research.
Hoffman stresses his current research is just the beginning of a long road. He and his team are now attempting to produce large numbers of cells from hair stem cells for testing. The next step will be to discover how easily the stem cells can be made coaxed to form different types of cells.
Deryl Troyer, a professor at Kansas State University, is excited by Hoffman’s research, noting that he provided encouraging evidence that primitive stem cells can be found in post-natal tissue. Though Hoffman’s work was done on mice, Troyer believes that human hair follicles likely contain stem cells with similar potential. If so, treatments for neurodegenerative diseases could be treated using cells from the hair follicles of the patient, eliminating the fear of a rejection of the cells by the patient’s immune system.
Dr. Eva Mezey of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke is less confident, citing the substantial differences between mouse and human hair follicles. Stating that earlier researchers had already noted the presence of stem cells in hair follicles, Mezey expressed dissatisfaction with the quality of Hoffman’s paper. Even so, Mezey did express support for the possibilities raised by Hoffman- “I do believe in plasticity, so it would not be a surprise if these stem cells could become neural cells, given the right environmental cues."
New research suggests that in the future, stem cell research might rely on nothing more controversial than a plucked hair. Scientists have proven that stem cells found in mouse hair follicles can develop into brain cells and other cell types. This finding suggests that human hair follicles might be a new and uncontroversial source for these regenerative cells. Because stem cells can be developed into any cell type, scientists hope to one day use them to fight degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and heart failure.
Lead researcher Richard Hoffman of San Diego’s AntiCancer, Inc. research company has previously proven that the stem cells that create hair follicles are very similar to the stem cells that become the brain. Hoffman’s current study was able to isolate stem cells from hair follicles and steer them toward becoming neurons (brain cells) and muscle cells.
Using mice, researchers isolated stem cells from the so-called “bulge area” of whisker follicles and cultured them. After one week, those stems cells began to develop into neural cells. As the weeks went on, the stem cells developed into skin cells, smooth muscle cells, and skin color pigment-producing cells. According to an article published in the March 28, 2005 edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, these same hair follicle stem cells matured into neurons when transplanted under the skin of the mice.
Hoffman is hopeful that human hair follicle stem cells might be sufficiently plastic to make other types of cells under human direction, opening up vast areas of possibility for therapeutic research. Citing the ease of harvesting hair follicles as opposed to other methods, Hoffman believes his research could help eliminate the political debate currently centered on embryonic stem cell research.
Hoffman stresses his current research is just the beginning of a long road. He and his team are now attempting to produce large numbers of cells from hair stem cells for testing. The next step will be to discover how easily the stem cells can be made coaxed to form different types of cells.
Deryl Troyer, a professor at Kansas State University, is excited by Hoffman’s research, noting that he provided encouraging evidence that primitive stem cells can be found in post-natal tissue. Though Hoffman’s work was done on mice, Troyer believes that human hair follicles likely contain stem cells with similar potential. If so, treatments for neurodegenerative diseases could be treated using cells from the hair follicles of the patient, eliminating the fear of a rejection of the cells by the patient’s immune system.
Dr. Eva Mezey of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke is less confident, citing the substantial differences between mouse and human hair follicles. Stating that earlier researchers had already noted the presence of stem cells in hair follicles, Mezey expressed dissatisfaction with the quality of Hoffman’s paper. Even so, Mezey did express support for the possibilities raised by Hoffman- “I do believe in plasticity, so it would not be a surprise if these stem cells could become neural cells, given the right environmental cues."
Spectral DNC® is the world's most effective topical hair loss treatment.
Spectral DNC® is the world's most effective topical hair loss treatment.
• Works on the entire scalp, including frontal baldness
• Grows normally strong & healthy hair
• Combines the finest, research grade ingredients, including Aminexil®
New hope to those who suffer from baldness and hair loss
Spectral DNC® is an advanced formulation that addresses nearly all of the known variables involved in hair loss. In addition to Minoxidil, Spectral.DNC includes other powerful hair re-growth agents such as Aminexil®, Adenosine, Procyanidin (B2 & C-1), T-Flavanone, as well as auxiliary agents Retinol, Copper Peptides, and a Vitamin and Mineral Complex. The active ingredients are delivered in a technologically advanced vehicle, in tiny micro-spheres called nanosomes.
Unlike other Minoxidil formulas which use regular Minoxidil (an oil soluble molecule) and are greasy and irritating, Spectral.DNC is created with Minoxidil Sulphate a much more costly form of Minoxidil that is water soluble and therefore does not require a high concentration of propylene glycol or alcohol. During the mixing process the sulphate ion separates leaving high purity Minoxidil. Spectral DNC® is faster and more effective then Rogaine® and Spectral DNC® works both on the vertex of the head and the frontal hair line. Spectral DNC® gives the best chance of growing normally thick and healthy hair and works on people who previously did not respond to Rogaine® treatment.
Key ingredients:
Minoxidil 5% (meets EP and USP specifications)
Procyanidin B-2 & C-1
Adenosine
Aminexil SP94
Retinol
T-Flavanone
Copper Peptides
Vitamin & Mineral Complex
Directions:
For external use only.
Use twice per day. Apply 10 sprays of Spectral DNC® and rub it into your scalp. Be sure to wash your hands with soap and water after applying Spectral DNC®. If your hair loss is due to male pattern baldness, the continued use will be necessary to maintain the new hair growth. If the cause of hair loss is related to other factors then it is possible to completely discontinue the use of Spectral DNC® and retain the newly grown hair.
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION:
Spectral DNC contains strong vasodilator compounds increasing the absorption of Minoxidil and some people may experience a higher sensitivity to Minoxidil side effects. You should not use Spectral DNC if you have low blood pressure or are taking blood pressure lowering medications. People with heart failure or significant coronary heart disease should avoid Spectral DNC® because of these side effects.
The most common side effects are redness and irritation of the scalp.
Pregnancy: Spectral DNC® should not be used in pregnancy and by nursing women.
IF YOU EXPERIENCE RAPID HEART BEAT, DIZZINESS OR SHORTNESS OF BREATH DISCONTINUE THE USE OF Spectral DNC® AND SEEK MEDICAL ATTENTION IMMEDIATELY.
Hairy good news about hair cloning
Hairy good news about hair cloning
Researchers for Cambridge-based Intercytex are in the business of hope. They have developed a way of stimulating human cell growth and reproduction that can be used not only for hair re-growth but also to accelerate wound-healing and to replace skin grafts with specially grown skin replacements. And with an additional £12m investment from existing shareholders, they won’t be stopping research anytime soon.
The baldness treatment begins with a biopsy, or the taking of a small sample of hair follicles, an outpatient operation under local anesthetic that can be performed at a hair or skin clinic. The hair sample is then sent to the Intercytex manufacturing plant in Manchester, where the hair-producing cells are extracted and nurtured for three weeks before being returned to the clinic for re-injection into the patient’s scalp.
Early trials of the treatment have proved successful – within three months, a patient could have a new head of hair. Further trials are planned for next year, in both the UK and the US.
Intercytex CEO Nick Higgins, “pleased to have raised this considerable sum” and grateful to the company’s “committed and supportive investors”, dedicated the new funds to the completion of late-stage trials for the wound-care product, as well as to taking the hair regeneration product through later stage clinical trials and to moving the living skin replacement program into clinical trials.
Headquartered at St. John’s Innovation Center, Intercytex has made rapid strides in research and fundraising both since its founding in 2000 – the company’s total funding is currently at £31m. The latest investment comes from existing shareholders, including Cambridge-based Avlar BioVentures, 3i, Cambridge Gateway Partnership, Sir Chris Evans’ Merlin Biosciences, NIF Ventures and Scottish Equity Partners.
Intercytex has also announced two new appointments to its board of directors: Alan Suggett, formerly Group Director with Smith & Nephew, and John Aston, CFO at Cambridge Antibody Technology.
Researchers for Cambridge-based Intercytex are in the business of hope. They have developed a way of stimulating human cell growth and reproduction that can be used not only for hair re-growth but also to accelerate wound-healing and to replace skin grafts with specially grown skin replacements. And with an additional £12m investment from existing shareholders, they won’t be stopping research anytime soon.
The baldness treatment begins with a biopsy, or the taking of a small sample of hair follicles, an outpatient operation under local anesthetic that can be performed at a hair or skin clinic. The hair sample is then sent to the Intercytex manufacturing plant in Manchester, where the hair-producing cells are extracted and nurtured for three weeks before being returned to the clinic for re-injection into the patient’s scalp.
Early trials of the treatment have proved successful – within three months, a patient could have a new head of hair. Further trials are planned for next year, in both the UK and the US.
Intercytex CEO Nick Higgins, “pleased to have raised this considerable sum” and grateful to the company’s “committed and supportive investors”, dedicated the new funds to the completion of late-stage trials for the wound-care product, as well as to taking the hair regeneration product through later stage clinical trials and to moving the living skin replacement program into clinical trials.
Headquartered at St. John’s Innovation Center, Intercytex has made rapid strides in research and fundraising both since its founding in 2000 – the company’s total funding is currently at £31m. The latest investment comes from existing shareholders, including Cambridge-based Avlar BioVentures, 3i, Cambridge Gateway Partnership, Sir Chris Evans’ Merlin Biosciences, NIF Ventures and Scottish Equity Partners.
Intercytex has also announced two new appointments to its board of directors: Alan Suggett, formerly Group Director with Smith & Nephew, and John Aston, CFO at Cambridge Antibody Technology.
Red hair and cancer linked
Red hair and cancer linked
With the incidence of melanoma on a constant upswing (it has increased 2000 percent since 1930 in the United States) scientists are eager to learn everything they can about solar radiation and its effect on the skin.
More time spent in the sun, the oft-mentioned depleted ozone filter in the atmosphere and better detection are all blamed for the general increase – but why are redheads and blonds two to four times more likely than others to develop the disease?
A Duke University chemist may have identified one reason that redheads develop more skin cancers. In studies with a highly precise laser, John D. Simon found that skin pigments common to people with red hair and black hair react differently to ultraviolet light. Pigments from the redhead group in particular were more likely to create free radicals – molecules that harm DNA and might cause cancer.
Using a specialized microscope and the help of N.C. State University physicist Robert Nemanich, Simon documented this process, when photons of ultraviolet light are absorbed by microscopic pigment particles, during which process electrons might be knocked loose.
Simon presented his findings Sunday at the national meeting of the American Chemical Society in Washington, noting excitedly that “No one has been able to observe this before!”
Though not yet a definitive cause of cancer, these findings do fit with previous studies on human skin cells and laboratory mice that have shown that pigment common to redheads – and fair skin in general – reacts more readily to the invisible radiation that leads to sunburn and wrinkles.
“There are a zillion steps to this process,” said Lowell Goldsmith, a dermatologist who researches genetic causes of skin disease and edits the journal Investigative Dermatology. “Maybe it can be interfered with at many points.”
To obtain samples for the study, Simon and his team contacted wig manufacturers for black hair, but found the much rarer red hair more difficult and expensive to obtain. Instead, the team financed free haircuts for redheads on Duke’s campus.
The team studied the pigments, called melanin, obtained from the hairs. Those samples are thought to be chemically similar to the pigments embedded in skin cells, which are very difficult to remove.
In Duke’s Free-Electron Laser Lab, they found that it took high-energy ultraviolet light (that which is normally filtered out by the atmosphere) to loosen electrons from the pigment isolated from black hair. Pigment from red hair, however, also changed after exposure to lower-energy ultraviolet light, which does penetrate the atmosphere to reach Earth.
Simon speculates this vulnerability may be shared by all fair-skinned people, because they and redheads tend to have ample supplies of the same type of pigments embedded in their skin cells.
Interest in this study spreads far beyond scientists’ research labs, to the homes and lives of ordinary people. Shannon Klappenbach of North Raleigh is all too familiar with the dangers of the sun on fair skin.
Herself a redhead with three fair-skinned sons (two also redheads), Klappenbach keeps stashes of sunscreen – preferably 45 or 50 SPF – around the house, in her car and in her purse. No one goes outside until back, front, face, arms and legs have been fully slathered.
She’s rooting for scientists to find better ways to protect her children. “Whatever they have,” she said, “I would want to hear about it.”
With the incidence of melanoma on a constant upswing (it has increased 2000 percent since 1930 in the United States) scientists are eager to learn everything they can about solar radiation and its effect on the skin.
More time spent in the sun, the oft-mentioned depleted ozone filter in the atmosphere and better detection are all blamed for the general increase – but why are redheads and blonds two to four times more likely than others to develop the disease?
A Duke University chemist may have identified one reason that redheads develop more skin cancers. In studies with a highly precise laser, John D. Simon found that skin pigments common to people with red hair and black hair react differently to ultraviolet light. Pigments from the redhead group in particular were more likely to create free radicals – molecules that harm DNA and might cause cancer.
Using a specialized microscope and the help of N.C. State University physicist Robert Nemanich, Simon documented this process, when photons of ultraviolet light are absorbed by microscopic pigment particles, during which process electrons might be knocked loose.
Simon presented his findings Sunday at the national meeting of the American Chemical Society in Washington, noting excitedly that “No one has been able to observe this before!”
Though not yet a definitive cause of cancer, these findings do fit with previous studies on human skin cells and laboratory mice that have shown that pigment common to redheads – and fair skin in general – reacts more readily to the invisible radiation that leads to sunburn and wrinkles.
“There are a zillion steps to this process,” said Lowell Goldsmith, a dermatologist who researches genetic causes of skin disease and edits the journal Investigative Dermatology. “Maybe it can be interfered with at many points.”
To obtain samples for the study, Simon and his team contacted wig manufacturers for black hair, but found the much rarer red hair more difficult and expensive to obtain. Instead, the team financed free haircuts for redheads on Duke’s campus.
The team studied the pigments, called melanin, obtained from the hairs. Those samples are thought to be chemically similar to the pigments embedded in skin cells, which are very difficult to remove.
In Duke’s Free-Electron Laser Lab, they found that it took high-energy ultraviolet light (that which is normally filtered out by the atmosphere) to loosen electrons from the pigment isolated from black hair. Pigment from red hair, however, also changed after exposure to lower-energy ultraviolet light, which does penetrate the atmosphere to reach Earth.
Simon speculates this vulnerability may be shared by all fair-skinned people, because they and redheads tend to have ample supplies of the same type of pigments embedded in their skin cells.
Interest in this study spreads far beyond scientists’ research labs, to the homes and lives of ordinary people. Shannon Klappenbach of North Raleigh is all too familiar with the dangers of the sun on fair skin.
Herself a redhead with three fair-skinned sons (two also redheads), Klappenbach keeps stashes of sunscreen – preferably 45 or 50 SPF – around the house, in her car and in her purse. No one goes outside until back, front, face, arms and legs have been fully slathered.
She’s rooting for scientists to find better ways to protect her children. “Whatever they have,” she said, “I would want to hear about it.”
Hairless mice get new coats
Hairless mice get new coats
Hair-loss sufferers have new hope today after a study of mice offers potentially dramatic results through experimental gene therapy.
Johns Hopkins University’s Catherine C. Thompson, PhD, and colleagues investigated a group of hairless mice that lacked a gene called, appropriately enough, “Hairless”. Their findings suggest a way for researchers to regenerate the hair follicles of men and women suffering alopecia, or premature baldness.
Hair follicles are different from other skin cells in that they behave more like tiny organs, with the ability to regenerate.
The life cycle of the hair cell is more complex that we might think. Yes, the cells grow hair. But each follicle eventually shrinks to a shadow of its former self. Then, somehow, the stem cells inside the follicle come to life and regenerate the follicle, which is then able to grow a new hair.
As alopecia patients know all too well, this process is imperfect; when a problem exists, the result is hair thinning or baldness. Lab researchers used the hairless mice (those lacking the Hairless gene) as a model for humans suffering inexplicable hair loss. At first, these mice grew normal-looking hair. But as the hair follicles passed through the life cycle but failed the regenerate, the hairs fell out and didn’t grow back.
Thompson’s team genetically engineered hairless mice to produce the Hairless protein in specific cells within the hair follicle, with amazing results. The mice grew – and continued to grow – thick fur.
This research shows that the Hairless gene only works when it receives specific chemical signals at exactly the right moment during the follicle cycle. Scientists are now a step closer to knowing what those signals are and when to give them.
Hair-loss sufferers have new hope today after a study of mice offers potentially dramatic results through experimental gene therapy.
Johns Hopkins University’s Catherine C. Thompson, PhD, and colleagues investigated a group of hairless mice that lacked a gene called, appropriately enough, “Hairless”. Their findings suggest a way for researchers to regenerate the hair follicles of men and women suffering alopecia, or premature baldness.
Hair follicles are different from other skin cells in that they behave more like tiny organs, with the ability to regenerate.
The life cycle of the hair cell is more complex that we might think. Yes, the cells grow hair. But each follicle eventually shrinks to a shadow of its former self. Then, somehow, the stem cells inside the follicle come to life and regenerate the follicle, which is then able to grow a new hair.
As alopecia patients know all too well, this process is imperfect; when a problem exists, the result is hair thinning or baldness. Lab researchers used the hairless mice (those lacking the Hairless gene) as a model for humans suffering inexplicable hair loss. At first, these mice grew normal-looking hair. But as the hair follicles passed through the life cycle but failed the regenerate, the hairs fell out and didn’t grow back.
Thompson’s team genetically engineered hairless mice to produce the Hairless protein in specific cells within the hair follicle, with amazing results. The mice grew – and continued to grow – thick fur.
This research shows that the Hairless gene only works when it receives specific chemical signals at exactly the right moment during the follicle cycle. Scientists are now a step closer to knowing what those signals are and when to give them.
Bioengineering the hair follicle
Bioengineering the hair follicle
Scientists believe they may have found a new way to reverse baldness and treat conditions like premature balding and alopecia, which is a partial or complete loss of hair that may result from radiation therapy to the head, chemotherapy, skin disease or drug therapy. Hair grows from follicles and new follicle cells are born from stem cells that exist in a small bulge on the side of the hair follicle. The innate ability of the hair follicle to regenerate has led researchers and scientists to the conclusion that there is a possibility of producing new hair follicles through tissue engineering and stem cell technology.
Stem cells
No other area of scientific study has spawned as much intrigue, excitement and controversy than stem cells. In-depth research on stem cells has given humans advancing knowledge about how an organism develops from a single cell and how healthy cells replace damaged cells in adult organisms. This spectrum of futuristic science is also showing scientists and researchers the path to develop regenerative or reparative medicine or cell-based therapies to treat diseases.
In their endeavor to seek answers to fundamental questions in relation to long-term renewal of stem cells, scientists all over the world are successfully growing these cells in the laboratory and in turn using them for various tissue engineering and cellular therapies including baldness.
So, what exactly are stem cells? Stem cells differ from other kinds of cells in the body and irrespective of their source, have three general properties: they are capable of dividing and renewing themselves for long periods; they are unspecialized; and they can choose to become one of the many different types of cells present in the body based on signals from their environments.
Hair Follicle stem cells
Investigations and research by scientists in the field of stem cell therapy have proven that creation of new hair follicles through tissue engineering is possible. The investigators have identified the critical molecules that act under genetic instruction to direct the genes directly involved in hair follicle regeneration. In research with mice, investigations revealed that tweaking of the genes could produce furry mice or bald mice. This scientific breakthrough has enabled the possibility of development of extra hair follicles or impairment of the development of hair follicles in humans as well.
How do hair follicles regenerate?
The hair follicle is a tiny organ with the inherent power of being able to regenerate itself. At the base of the follicle is the hair bulb, where wildly growing matrix cells become hair in a series of intriguing steps. A little farther up the follicle is the mysterious feature called the bulge, where the follicle stem cells are ensconced. When stem cells receive the right set of chemical signals, these self-renewing cells divide. One half of the follicle stem cell splits into new cells that continue to split and develop. The other half becomes a new stem cell, and stays in place for future regeneration.
Hair Follicle Bioengineering Hurdles
The ideology behind bioengineering hair follicles is to harvest healthy follicle stem cells. The challenge, however, lies not in harvesting the cells, but in duplicating them. Unfortunately, during the multiplication process the cells shed the genetic code that directs them to turn into hair follicles.
Scientists have been working step by step towards cracking the molecular orchestration code. Instead of transplanting them right away, researchers have learned how to make the stem cells or seeds multiply successfully by identifying the signaling molecules that are responsible for development of epithelial buds, the precursor to hair follicle formation. The new follicle stem cells that are grown in laboratory cultures are attached then to tiny skin-cell scaffolds and implanted into bald areas of the scalp.
The technical hurdle that scientists and researchers are confronted with is defining the process of how these chemical signals act, how they initiate the migration of stem cells and progenitor cells to areas where they are required, and how these cells are ultimately differentiated into the specialized cells of the layers of the hair follicle.
The reason the solution has been so elusive is also the fact that laboratory animal studies do not always translate into humans. Most folliculoneogenesis studies have so far been successfully conducted on animals, and only after a clinical study can scientists say with conviction that bioengineering of the hair follicle is achievable.
It has long been known that hair follicle development begins in the very early embryo. In the fetus, there is an exchange of molecular “signals” between the epidermal or outer layer and underlying mesenchymal layers of cells that causes the formation of a “bud” in the epidermal layer. The fact that under normal circumstances, new hair follicles do not develop in an adult makes the process of bioengineering new hair follicles even more challenging.
Getting to the core of the matter
The overall goal is the indisputable revelation that cultured human cells can induce new follicle formation and hair growth in human skin. Ultimately the hope is that the research can be used successfully to cure such conditions as premature balding and alopecia and offer solutions for hair loss due to chemotherapy, rather than from the cosmetic angle.
It is a well-established fact that adult hair follicles do not grow and produce hair continuously but undergo intermittent phases of regression before resuming a new growing phase. This entire process is termed the follicle growth cycle. It is imperative that the principal cell types in the follicle retain powerful interactive signaling properties to maintain and control this composite series of events. Scientists have been triumphant in isolating dermal cells from the base of rodent follicles and shown that small collections of these cells can induce new hair follicles when combined with the epidermis.
There are two possible scenarios for using dermal inductive cells to generate new follicles in bald scalps. Research has demonstrated that the dermal cells from the base of the hair follicle, the dermal papilla cells are the key to the formation of hair follicles and to control hair growth in mature follicles. Dermal inductive cells are a group of specialized cells at the base of the hair follicle that give rise to the hair follicle at birth and supply the materials necessary for hair growth during the life of the person.
One approach to hair follicle cell based therapy would involve removing a small number of hair follicles, isolating inductive cells from them, and multiplying those cells while maintaining their ability to regenerate new hair follicles. The other approach actually entails forming hair follicles in vitro (biological phenomena that are made to occur outside the living body), and then transplanting the newly generated follicles back to the scalp.
In fact, Kurt S Stenn and Dr. George Cotsarelis have raised the question that since the competence to form follicles is not exclusive to bulge cells, there is a possibility that even other types of stem cells could be coerced into forming hair follicles by proper inductive cells.
Conclusion
No one can predict how soon dermatologists and pharmaceutical companies will be able to make use of the discoveries emerging from basic research into hair follicle development and cycling. However, by working on cell types that “know” how to form a hair follicle, researchers and scientists have made remarkable progress and provided inspiration for future therapeutic application.
Scientists believe they may have found a new way to reverse baldness and treat conditions like premature balding and alopecia, which is a partial or complete loss of hair that may result from radiation therapy to the head, chemotherapy, skin disease or drug therapy. Hair grows from follicles and new follicle cells are born from stem cells that exist in a small bulge on the side of the hair follicle. The innate ability of the hair follicle to regenerate has led researchers and scientists to the conclusion that there is a possibility of producing new hair follicles through tissue engineering and stem cell technology.
Stem cells
No other area of scientific study has spawned as much intrigue, excitement and controversy than stem cells. In-depth research on stem cells has given humans advancing knowledge about how an organism develops from a single cell and how healthy cells replace damaged cells in adult organisms. This spectrum of futuristic science is also showing scientists and researchers the path to develop regenerative or reparative medicine or cell-based therapies to treat diseases.
In their endeavor to seek answers to fundamental questions in relation to long-term renewal of stem cells, scientists all over the world are successfully growing these cells in the laboratory and in turn using them for various tissue engineering and cellular therapies including baldness.
So, what exactly are stem cells? Stem cells differ from other kinds of cells in the body and irrespective of their source, have three general properties: they are capable of dividing and renewing themselves for long periods; they are unspecialized; and they can choose to become one of the many different types of cells present in the body based on signals from their environments.
Hair Follicle stem cells
Investigations and research by scientists in the field of stem cell therapy have proven that creation of new hair follicles through tissue engineering is possible. The investigators have identified the critical molecules that act under genetic instruction to direct the genes directly involved in hair follicle regeneration. In research with mice, investigations revealed that tweaking of the genes could produce furry mice or bald mice. This scientific breakthrough has enabled the possibility of development of extra hair follicles or impairment of the development of hair follicles in humans as well.
How do hair follicles regenerate?
The hair follicle is a tiny organ with the inherent power of being able to regenerate itself. At the base of the follicle is the hair bulb, where wildly growing matrix cells become hair in a series of intriguing steps. A little farther up the follicle is the mysterious feature called the bulge, where the follicle stem cells are ensconced. When stem cells receive the right set of chemical signals, these self-renewing cells divide. One half of the follicle stem cell splits into new cells that continue to split and develop. The other half becomes a new stem cell, and stays in place for future regeneration.
Hair Follicle Bioengineering Hurdles
The ideology behind bioengineering hair follicles is to harvest healthy follicle stem cells. The challenge, however, lies not in harvesting the cells, but in duplicating them. Unfortunately, during the multiplication process the cells shed the genetic code that directs them to turn into hair follicles.
Scientists have been working step by step towards cracking the molecular orchestration code. Instead of transplanting them right away, researchers have learned how to make the stem cells or seeds multiply successfully by identifying the signaling molecules that are responsible for development of epithelial buds, the precursor to hair follicle formation. The new follicle stem cells that are grown in laboratory cultures are attached then to tiny skin-cell scaffolds and implanted into bald areas of the scalp.
The technical hurdle that scientists and researchers are confronted with is defining the process of how these chemical signals act, how they initiate the migration of stem cells and progenitor cells to areas where they are required, and how these cells are ultimately differentiated into the specialized cells of the layers of the hair follicle.
The reason the solution has been so elusive is also the fact that laboratory animal studies do not always translate into humans. Most folliculoneogenesis studies have so far been successfully conducted on animals, and only after a clinical study can scientists say with conviction that bioengineering of the hair follicle is achievable.
It has long been known that hair follicle development begins in the very early embryo. In the fetus, there is an exchange of molecular “signals” between the epidermal or outer layer and underlying mesenchymal layers of cells that causes the formation of a “bud” in the epidermal layer. The fact that under normal circumstances, new hair follicles do not develop in an adult makes the process of bioengineering new hair follicles even more challenging.
Getting to the core of the matter
The overall goal is the indisputable revelation that cultured human cells can induce new follicle formation and hair growth in human skin. Ultimately the hope is that the research can be used successfully to cure such conditions as premature balding and alopecia and offer solutions for hair loss due to chemotherapy, rather than from the cosmetic angle.
It is a well-established fact that adult hair follicles do not grow and produce hair continuously but undergo intermittent phases of regression before resuming a new growing phase. This entire process is termed the follicle growth cycle. It is imperative that the principal cell types in the follicle retain powerful interactive signaling properties to maintain and control this composite series of events. Scientists have been triumphant in isolating dermal cells from the base of rodent follicles and shown that small collections of these cells can induce new hair follicles when combined with the epidermis.
There are two possible scenarios for using dermal inductive cells to generate new follicles in bald scalps. Research has demonstrated that the dermal cells from the base of the hair follicle, the dermal papilla cells are the key to the formation of hair follicles and to control hair growth in mature follicles. Dermal inductive cells are a group of specialized cells at the base of the hair follicle that give rise to the hair follicle at birth and supply the materials necessary for hair growth during the life of the person.
One approach to hair follicle cell based therapy would involve removing a small number of hair follicles, isolating inductive cells from them, and multiplying those cells while maintaining their ability to regenerate new hair follicles. The other approach actually entails forming hair follicles in vitro (biological phenomena that are made to occur outside the living body), and then transplanting the newly generated follicles back to the scalp.
In fact, Kurt S Stenn and Dr. George Cotsarelis have raised the question that since the competence to form follicles is not exclusive to bulge cells, there is a possibility that even other types of stem cells could be coerced into forming hair follicles by proper inductive cells.
Conclusion
No one can predict how soon dermatologists and pharmaceutical companies will be able to make use of the discoveries emerging from basic research into hair follicle development and cycling. However, by working on cell types that “know” how to form a hair follicle, researchers and scientists have made remarkable progress and provided inspiration for future therapeutic application.
Study shows hair stem cells might repair nerve damage
Study shows hair stem cells might repair nerve damage
US and Japanese scientists reported Monday that tissues differentiated from human hair follicle stem cells have helped mice with severe sciatic nerve damage to walk again.
These results suggest that hair follicle stem cells can promote nervous axon growth and functional recovery after nerve injury, thus creating a potential opportunity for the clinical treatment of peripheral nerve diseases.
Embryonic stem cells, which are known to be capable of differentiating into almost all tissue cells, are at the center of ethical debates in many countries. Another problem linked to embryonic stem cells is immunologic incompatibility.
Because of these problems, many recent studies have focused on using adult stem cells for future clinical applications. Hair follicles afford a promising source of relatively abundant, accessible, active, pluripotent adult stem cells.
The research team, made up of researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Kitasato University of Japan and the University of California at San Diego, reported these recent study results in the latest issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
In earlier studies, the team (led by Robert Hoffman of the University of California at San Diego) induced hair follicle stem cells to differentiate into blood vessel cells and neurons. These studies indicated the potential of hair follicle stem cells to form diverse cell types.
Now the team has successfully coaxed the hair follicle stem cells to evolve into the Schwann cells, a variety of glia cells that wrap around axons in the peripheral nervous system. When injected into mice with injured sciatic nerves, the Schwann cells produced myelin sheaths to surround the nerve axons, after which event the mice were able to walk normally.
“Therefore, by differentiating into Schwann cells, the hair follicle stem cells might stimulate the host axons to extend and, thus, to fill the transection gap,” reported the researchers. Cell-replacement therapies show lot of promise in the nervous system, where transplanted embryonic or bone-marrow stem cells have been demonstrated to promote functional recovery in animal models of spinal cord of peripheral nerve injury.
The paper does note that though the therapeutic potential of stem cell transplants is clear, many problems still exist. The use of fetal tissue raises ethical issues. And “the use of heterologous human tissue requires immunosuppression, which is particularly problematic in individuals with long-term, neuron-specific problems.”
Because hair follicle stem cells are generated from an autologous and accessible adult tissue source – namely, the skin – and because they can readily generate neuron-specific cell types, they may provide a solution to these problems.
Who knows, in the future, patients with injuries of the nervous system could be cured with their own hair follicles.
US and Japanese scientists reported Monday that tissues differentiated from human hair follicle stem cells have helped mice with severe sciatic nerve damage to walk again.
These results suggest that hair follicle stem cells can promote nervous axon growth and functional recovery after nerve injury, thus creating a potential opportunity for the clinical treatment of peripheral nerve diseases.
Embryonic stem cells, which are known to be capable of differentiating into almost all tissue cells, are at the center of ethical debates in many countries. Another problem linked to embryonic stem cells is immunologic incompatibility.
Because of these problems, many recent studies have focused on using adult stem cells for future clinical applications. Hair follicles afford a promising source of relatively abundant, accessible, active, pluripotent adult stem cells.
The research team, made up of researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Kitasato University of Japan and the University of California at San Diego, reported these recent study results in the latest issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
In earlier studies, the team (led by Robert Hoffman of the University of California at San Diego) induced hair follicle stem cells to differentiate into blood vessel cells and neurons. These studies indicated the potential of hair follicle stem cells to form diverse cell types.
Now the team has successfully coaxed the hair follicle stem cells to evolve into the Schwann cells, a variety of glia cells that wrap around axons in the peripheral nervous system. When injected into mice with injured sciatic nerves, the Schwann cells produced myelin sheaths to surround the nerve axons, after which event the mice were able to walk normally.
“Therefore, by differentiating into Schwann cells, the hair follicle stem cells might stimulate the host axons to extend and, thus, to fill the transection gap,” reported the researchers. Cell-replacement therapies show lot of promise in the nervous system, where transplanted embryonic or bone-marrow stem cells have been demonstrated to promote functional recovery in animal models of spinal cord of peripheral nerve injury.
The paper does note that though the therapeutic potential of stem cell transplants is clear, many problems still exist. The use of fetal tissue raises ethical issues. And “the use of heterologous human tissue requires immunosuppression, which is particularly problematic in individuals with long-term, neuron-specific problems.”
Because hair follicle stem cells are generated from an autologous and accessible adult tissue source – namely, the skin – and because they can readily generate neuron-specific cell types, they may provide a solution to these problems.
Who knows, in the future, patients with injuries of the nervous system could be cured with their own hair follicles.
Propecia: Finasteride and dutasteride increase risk of high-grade prostate cancer
Propecia: Finasteride and dutasteride increase risk of high-grade prostate cancer
A recent announcement from the FDA (http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/ucm258314.htm) and several manufacturers of these tablets, further underscores the need to use 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors such as finasteride or dutasteride with caution.
We advise physicians who treat male alopecia to only use finasteride as a last resort and not a front-line treatment and always for the shortest duration possible. With the latest progress in topical therapy patients can achieve outstanding results and control this problem by applying various agents locally and therefore limit their presence in the general blood circulation.
The goods news is that very significant advances have been made in topical therapies with various molecules that trigger certain processes in the scalp and can control many of the underlying factors that lead to male pattern baldness. In addition, new encapsulation techniques enable more precise targeting of ingredients to the dermal papilla.
The products in our Revita and Spectral lines are the culmination of this vast body of research. We encourage you to investigate these products closely when considering your options.
A recent announcement from the FDA (http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/ucm258314.htm) and several manufacturers of these tablets, further underscores the need to use 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors such as finasteride or dutasteride with caution.
We advise physicians who treat male alopecia to only use finasteride as a last resort and not a front-line treatment and always for the shortest duration possible. With the latest progress in topical therapy patients can achieve outstanding results and control this problem by applying various agents locally and therefore limit their presence in the general blood circulation.
The goods news is that very significant advances have been made in topical therapies with various molecules that trigger certain processes in the scalp and can control many of the underlying factors that lead to male pattern baldness. In addition, new encapsulation techniques enable more precise targeting of ingredients to the dermal papilla.
The products in our Revita and Spectral lines are the culmination of this vast body of research. We encourage you to investigate these products closely when considering your options.
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