Month: June 2014

Posted on

Not Hair Loss News – Immunotherapy Improves Cancer Treatment – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Snippet from the article:

For more than a century, doctors have dreamed of using the body’s own defenses to keep cancer in check, but most efforts either did nothing or over-revved the immune system causing terrible side effects or even death.

A half dozen experimental trials presented at the ongoing American Society of Clinical Oncology conference in Chicago show that researchers are finally making significant progress in both melanoma where therapies began, as well as in other cancers.

Block Quote

Read the rest at USA Today — Immune therapies improve treatment of cancers

Cancer can put the “brakes” on the immune system, and a skin cancer treatment called Yervoy was the first to take these brakes off. There’s now “several new papers looking at lifting two different brakes that seem to be more effective with fewer side effects.”

Immunotherapy appears to help treat those with bladder, genitourinary, head and neck cancers, and malignant brain tumors, as well as melanoma and lung cancer.

Posted on

If Finasteride Leaves the Bloodstream Quickly, How Can People Say Effects Last Forever? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

1 – Is it possible that taking finasteride for a certain period of time can alter the proper functioning of the endocrine system of a person?

2 – I’m kind of lost regarding side-effects and the possibility of them continuing after the stoppage of finasteride because from what I understand, the drug only stay in the bloodstream for a somewhat short period of time. How is it possible that the effects last if the drug is discontinued… It’s like saying that if you get drunk one night, you would be drunk for the rest of your life… it’s impossible.

Thanks

Block Quote

1.) There isn’t science that shows finateride permanently alters your endocrine system, as far as I’ve seen. There is anecdotal evidence and claims by lawyers, that may point to this but this is not scientifically based.

2.) The sexual side effect of Propecia occurs in about 2 % of the men who take it. Chances are, you’re probably the in the 98% who never gets a sexual side effect. If you do get the side effect, it will not last if you stop taking the drug, but in some people who stay on it, the sexual side effect lessens or disappaears. The medication is out of your bloodstream in less than 24 hours. That is why you take it every 24 hours (to keep it in the bloodstream). The drug binds to the tissues for up to a week and that is why it is effective after it leaves your bloodstream.

I realize there are Internet posts that report persistent side effects after stopping the drug, but I find this hard to understand/believe myself. In my years of practice, what I’ve seen in real life (face to face) patients is that they do have sexual side effects match the 2% statistics. In the actual patients that I see, the side effects are temporary and they go back to normal after discontinuing the medication.

I do recall meeting one patient who came in for a consultation asking me for advice, because he claimed he has the permanent sexual side effect, so I will keep my mind open, but I still find this hard to understand and this particular patient was not started on the medications by me.

Posted on

Hair Loss InformationI Took Pantestone (Testosterone Pills) for ED and Now I Have Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi docs,
Because of an erectile dysfunction, an urologist (seen in early 2008) gave me pantestone (40 mg) orange pills without any blood analysis. I didn’t need these pills!

So, I’ve been taking pantestone pills for a week, once a day since 2008. But one day, i took about 10 or 15 pills at a time because i thought i could get a better result. Since that day, i’m losing my hair on the temples and now, 6 years later, i’m at least at the second stage of Norwood Hamilton. My testosterone level is normal now. i would like to know if is it because of these pills that i’m losing hair and having a similar evolution as my fathers’.

Thank you for reading. Hope you could answer me because i’m getting anxious about these pills and i have got a lot of remorse of having taking it.

Block Quote

Pantestone is apparently a testosterone pill sold in some European countries. Taking testosterone will cause hair loss in individuals who are carrying the genes for balding.

You mentioned that you are now a Norwood class 2 pattern, which suggests to me that you might have a maturing hairline rather than balding. Some people confuse the evolving maturing male hairline with genetic MPB, and without seeing your photos, I can not tell the difference.

Posted on

Not Hair Loss News – Pistachios and Almonds Could Protect Against Type 2 Diabetes? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Snippet from the article:

Eating nuts could help protect against the development of type 2 diabetes in individuals who are already at high risk for the disease, 2 new studies suggest.

Researchers from Spain and the United States reported on the potential benefits of pistachio nuts and almonds, so-called “tree nuts,” here at the 2014 European Congress on Obesity. Mònica Bulló, MD, of the human nutrition unit at Virgili University, Reus, Spain, and senior author on the pistachio study, told Medscape Medical News: “I would advise people to eat a handful of nuts whenever they can.”

Her study, conducted in 49 overweight or obese prediabetic subjects, showed that 57 g of pistachios daily for 4 months significantly reduced fasting glucose, insulin, and insulin resistance. Importantly, there was no change in body weight after eating the nuts.

The other trial, presented in a poster by Sze Yen Tan, PhD, of department of nutrition science, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, reported on 137 adults at elevated risk for diabetes who were randomized to consume 43 g of almonds per day — either with meals or as a snack — or to no almonds, for 4 weeks.

Block Quote

Read the rest — Eating Nuts May Help Pause Path to Type 2 Diabetes

Clearly a small study, but the results are promising. A second trial of 137 adults were given almonds, but the full results were not published yet.

Posted on

Hair Loss InformationCan I Inherit Balding or DUPA from My Great Grandfather? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi

I am a 17 old male and I recently realized that my hair is thinning. I believe my hairline has only receded a bit on the right side. The left is still a boxed NW1.

I have very little family history of MPB. My father is 48 with no visible signs of hair loss, my grandfathers both died with maybe slight temporal recession but nothing serious, but I had a great grandfather (paternal, grandmaternal) who lost his hair early (he might have started balding the same age as me as he was slick bald by 30). He only had hair in the back of his head/nape area (he completely lost the sides and there was a small gap between the ears and the hair), but that remained thick (as far as I can tell, there is a picture from the time when he was 40 and it is clearly visible that it’s not see through, but completely fine). Did he have DUPA?

Now I went to a hair specialist and he confirmed that there is early miniaturization (no vellus hairs yet) on the top of my head and also the sides, but the back area/ nape is completely fine, there is a clearly defined area where the hair is not miniaturizing. He put me on minox and told me that we should consider fin when I turn 18/20.

Could I inherit my balding from my great grandfather? Also will the back remain safe for the rest of my life or could it start miniaturizing? Is this DUPA or severe retrograde alopecia?

Thank you for your answers.

Block Quote

Genetic hair loss in men can be inherited from your father’s side or your mother’s side of the family, which means you could have inherited the gene from either of your grandfathers. It’s possible for the expression of the gene to skip generations.

I can’t tell you (no one can) that you’ll be “safe” with respect to balding. You need to find a doctor and possibly get a good serial measurements (hair bulk and miniaturization) to see if there is a pattern developing. A one time measurement doesn’t really mean much, unless there is an obvious pattern already. Taking a medication such as Propecia is something you need to discuss with your doctor if you indeed have MPB.

As for Diffuse unpatterned alopecia (DUPA), it is less understood than MPB, and the inheritance and expression of this process genetically is presently unknown. I can’t tell you if you have DUPA without an examination and I certainly couldn’t tell you if your great grandfather did.

Posted on

Are US Companies Making Generic Propecia Now? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

According to the WiKi, the patent of Propecia in US has expired in Nov. 2013. Would you explain updates about generic products of finasteride? Is there any US company that has started manufacturing it?

Thanks

Block Quote

Generic Propecia (finasteride 1mg) has been available here for about a year and a half, though it was exclusively made by Dr Reddy’s until around mid-2013. There’s a list of Propecia manufacturers at Drugs.com that have FDA approval, and while some of them might be US-based, I’m not sure if the medication is manufactured in plants elsewhere in the world.

Almost all of our patients have started using the generic, but the prices have not come down to levels I expected. The lowest price is still had by dividing a 5mg generic Proscar pill into quarters, though your doctor will need to prescribe this higher dose with instruction to cut the pill.

Posted on

Not Hair Loss News – Early Chemo Helps Prostate Cancer Patients Live Longer? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Snippet from the article:

Men diagnosed with prostate cancer will often put off chemotherapy, with their doctor’s approval. But new research suggests that men who get chemotherapy early on may actually live longer.

Typically, men with prostate cancer will start their treatment with simply active surveillance of their tumors, before starting hormone therapy. Men will undergo chemotherapy only when their tumors become resistant to hormone therapy. But a recent clinical trial found that men treated early with chemotherapy lived longer than men who underwent the standard treatment.

The clinical trial randomized 790 men with recently diagnosed prostate cancer into two groups. One followed the standard treatment guidelines, and the other received chemo right away alongside their hormone therapy. The men who underwent chemotherapy lived over a year longer than the men on the standard treatment regime.

Block Quote

Read the rest — Early Chemo May Help Men With Prostate Cancer Live Longer, Study Says

The study was deemed among the most noteworthy of the thousands of studies presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

Posted on

Hair Loss InformationDesigning a Frontal Hairline with SMP – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I think I’m what one would call a Norwood 7 balding pattern. There is no hair almost throughout my head and its been years since I had a hairline. I am concerned that if I have scalp micro pigmentation, that everyone I know will be able to tell that I had something done. My temple points are also not there, as the hair that is left does not go past my ears.

What has been your experience with SMP for this type of most extreme balding?

Block Quote

We have done Scalp MicroPigmentation (SMP) on many people like you. The detectability of it depends upon many factors, especially your hair color. If it is jet black, then the SMP will make an appreciable difference in your look; however, what I have found in doing hair transplants and SMP procedures over the years is that unless what you see looks abnormal, many people will not detect that you had anything done. The key to undetectability is a normal, natural look, especially in the hairline.

What I’ve seen on various SMP websites where the operators only know one style of look, the hairline appears abnormal, with harshly straight edges, like it was shaved with a straight razor. That type of look is not normal and if you don’t believe me, look at some of the people who walk around you at shopping centers and try to find the shaved frontal leading edge of the hairline on anyone with normal hair. The hairline must be designed with an irregular frontal leading edge, and that type of skill is something we developed after performing thousands of hair transplant procedures.

I have always been amazed how poorly hairlines are designed, even amongst the hair transplant community; nevertheless, our experience in creating hairlines makes our skills far beyond what a tattooist has in performing SMP on a man like you. To see what I am talking about, look at the following hair transplant in a Norwood class 7 patient, and note that this is a completely transplanted hairline done in the baldest of men. Proper SMP should be just the closely cropped look of that hairline.

Posted on

In the News – Goodbye to the Comb-over? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Snippet from the article:

TrumpThe dodgy seventies comb-over made famous by personalities like Donald Trump, Christian Bale in American Hustle and Bobby Charlton has been abandoned by modern men, according to new research.

Let’s be honest, the hairstyle, which saw men grow their side patches and sweep the extra hair over their bald patch, was never a good look. While men thought they were hiding a multitude of sins, in many cases they were actually drawing more attention to their lack of fuzz.

But modern men seem to have come to their senses. A study, by Crown Clinic in Manchester, reveals that the 21st century chap is opting for new methods to hide his lack of hair including shaving, covering up and going under the knife for transplants.

Block Quote

Read the rest — Death of the comb-over

This was just a survey of 1000 people by a hair clinic in the UK, but I’d agree that the comb-over is becoming less common than it seemingly was in past decades. With new surgical and non-surgical treatments available, men are able to take control of their hair loss rather than just styling the limited amount of hair they have.

It also helps that the shaved head look is fashionable, allowing men the option to just shave it all off or go for SMP to have that closely trimmed look.