Author: Dr. William Rassman

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In the News – Finasteride and Dutasteride Raise Prostate Cancer Risk

Snippet from the article:

A class of drugs meant to improve symptoms of an enlarged prostate gland actually increase the chance of getting a more serious form of prostate cancer, health officials said on Thursday. However, they also said the drugs’ benefits outweigh the risks.

The drugs in this group include Merck & Co’s Proscar and GlaxoSmithKline’s Avodar and Jalyn, as well as Merck’s Propecia, which is approved to treat male pattern hair loss.

The Food and Drug Administration said it revised the labels on all such drugs, called 5-alpha reductase inhibitors (5-ARI), to include the risk after reviewing two large studies.

Read the rest — Prostate drugs raise risk of prostate cancer: FDA

Today comes news that the FDA is warning that drugs like Avodart and Proscar may increase the risks of some forms of prostate cancer.

In the original studies, the overall incidence of prostate cancer in the thousands of individuals enrolled in a double blind FDA sponsored activity showed that overall risks of cancer in those men treated with 5mg finasteride (Proscar) saw a 25% decrease in risk of developing prostate cancer. After the study was published, pathologists looked at the types of cancer that they saw, and reported that of those fewer men that did develop prostate cancer, the presence of more aggressive cancers was greater in that group.

These risks are very small and the overall reduction of prostate cancer standing at 25% in the 7 year trial should offset the other risks of a more aggressive cancer, but the statistics on this are dubious at best. For those men who are taking finasteride (at any dose), they must recognize that there is a risk of a more aggressive prostate cancer, no matter how small that risk is.

The information about cancer reflects the experience with finasteride 5mg (Proscar), not 1mg for treating hair loss (Propecia). What we do not know is the threat of the 1mg dose, if any. There have been no reports that separate the 5mg and the 1mg dose in the cancer risk scenario.

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In the News – Former Hair Model Now Has Alopecia Areata

Snippet from the article:

We are a culture obsessed with hair: From the big and small screens to the pages of fashion magazines, it seems no woman’s look is complete without a perfectly-coifed ‘do – and that poses a serious hurdle for aspiring actress Georgia Van Cuylenburg. Van Cuylenburg is bald.

Like 5 million others in the U.S., Van Cuylenburg suffers from alopecia areata. The disease results in sudden and often unpredictable hair loss on the scalp and often across the rest of the body. It is cyclical in nature and has no known cause or cure.

For the effervescent Van Cuylenburg, it is particularly ironic because she used to be hair model.

Read the rest — Hair Model’s Worst Nightmare: Going Bald

This is the story of a young woman’s journey after she suddenly found herself losing most of her hair from alopecia areata.


2011-12-07 12:56:58In the News – Former Hair Model Now Has Alopecia Areata

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In the News – Free Hair Transplants for Oscar Nominees

Snippet from the article:

OscarsNone of this year’s major Oscar nominees are from Chicago, but some of the losers may be making the trip here post-awards show. No, not to film a new movie, but rather to get hair transplants.

This year, the notoriously extravagant gift bags for Oscars losers include a voucher for Chicago surgeon Dr. William Yates’ hair restoration procedure. Dr. Yates says he is one of the few surgeons in the United States who performs the procedure using the new-age equipment known as ARTAS, and he wants to share the love.

Read the rest — Oscar Nominees’ Gift Bags Include Free Hair Transplants In Chicago

It’s award season, so companies are giving away everything from organic pet shampoo and hair transplant surgery to Las Vegas and Japan travel vacations. For those curious, the full list of free stuff is here.

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In the News – Follica Gets Another 7.5 Million in Funding

Snippet from the article:

Follica has raised more money for its quest against hair follicle disorders like male pattern baldness. The biotech startup, which is developing drugs that could spur the formation of new hair follicles, has raised $7.5 million in equity financing, according to an SEC filing.

Read the rest at Xconomy.com — Follica, the Biotech With Potential Drug Against Baldness, Nabs $7.5M Venture Financing

Follica is still in the development phase, so there’s no telling if this will end up working as well as many folks on the internet hope. The company’s policy is to not comment on their research and development, but the article at Xconomy.com does provide more insight into the venture capitalists that are funding it.


2010-06-03 09:22:28In the News – Follica Gets Another 7.5 Million in Funding

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In the News – Generic 5mg Finasteride Recall Over Switched Label

Pfizer Inc. subsidiary Greenstone LLC recalled one lot of its Citalopram depression medicine and its prostate drug Finasteride because the wrong labels may have been put on the bottles, said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Greenstone said in a recall notice that bottles of Citalopram, a generic drug with trade names including Celexa, may contain Finasteride, used to treat prostate problems and baldness in men. Finasteride’s trade names include Proscar, Propecia and several others.

PfizerRead the rest — Fear of Switched Labels Prompts Recall of Antidepressant, Prostate Drugs

The recall includes 100 count bottles of 10mg citalopram and 90 count bottles of 5mg finasteride. Both are generic, non-name-brand varieties (so you’re fine if you have Proscar; Propecia is not included in the recall).

The article does say — “Both have the lot number FI050058-A on the label.” So if you are taking 5mg finasteride, double check the lot number on the bottle.

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In the News – Full Face Transplant in the US

Snippet from the non-hair-loss article:

A Texas construction worker badly disfigured in a power line accident two years ago has received the nation’s first full face transplant at a Boston hospital.

More than 30 doctors, nurses and other staff at Brigham and Women’s Hospital led by plastic surgeon Dr. Bohdan Pomahac performed the 15-hour operation last week on 25-year-old Dallas Wiens of Fort Worth, Texas. He was listed in good condition at the hospital today.

The electrical accident in November 2008 left Wiens blind and without lips, a nose or eyebrows. In Boston, doctors transplanted an entire new face, including a nose, lips, skin and muscles and nerves that animate the skin and give sensation. The donor’s identity was not disclosed nor would the hospital say exactly when the surgery was done for privacy reasons.

Read the rest — Boston Hospital Performs Nation’s First Full Face Transplant

An amazing story of perseverance. The problem that this poor man has is monumental, as is the surgery and the recovery process. His attitude and drive make him unique. We all wonder how we would respond to such an injury, asking ourselves if we are fighters or quitters?

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In the News – Gay Sex Addiction a Side Effect of Parkinson’s Med?

In non-hair-loss-news:

A French father-of-two is to take GlaxoSmithKline to court on Tuesday, alleging the British firm’s drug to treat Parkinson’s disease turned him into a gay sex and gambling addict.

The 51-year-old’s lawyers say their client’s behaviour changed radically after he was first administered the drug in 2003 for the illness, which causes tremors, slows movement and disrupts speech.

Read the full story — Man claims Glaxo drug made him ‘gay sex addict’

That’s a hell of a side effect. The drug in question is Requip (also known as ropinirole).


2011-02-04 09:30:17In the News – Gay Sex Addiction a Side Effect of Parkinson’s Med?

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In the News – Frozen Hair Leads to Sequencing Mammoth DNA

Snippet from the article:

MammothTufts of frozen woolly mammoth hair have yielded a rough draft of its genome. It’s the most successful attempt to sequence the DNA of an extinct ancient animal to date, and although we won’t see resurrected mammoths grazing the tundra anytime soon, it could give us a peek into the reasons for their extinction.

Sequencing extinct organisms is tricky since DNA strands quickly degrade after death into short fragments that are difficult to piece back together. In porous tissue like bone, these fragments can also become flooded by DNA from bacteria and fungi growing on the decomposing body, making it hard to pick out the genetic material of interest.

Read the full text at NewScientist — Frozen hair gives up first mammoth genome

This is very, very cool stuff. We can learn much about the genetics of an animal from the DNA of hair. Scientists now know that elephants and mammoths are closely related (more so than previously thought), and this is the best example of a near complete genome of an extinct animal, since they used an elephant as the blueprint.

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In the News – Genetic Defect Repair

Snippet from the article:

Doctors have treated a life-threatening blood disease by repairing flaws in the genetic code of a living animal, the first time such an ambitious feat has been achieved. The work raises the prospect of powerful new therapies that can target and repair the genetic defects behind a wide range of human diseases that cannot be tackled with modern medicines.

The new technique, called genome editing, holds particular promise for a group of illnesses that run in families and are caused by faults in genes that underpin the healthy working of the immune system, bone marrow and liver.

To demonstrate the therapy, researchers treated mice that were bred to develop haemophilia B, an inherited bleeding disorder that destroys the body’s ability to form blood clots. Normally, when the body suffers a cut or graze, proteins called clotting factors combine with platelet cells in the blood to make it sticky and form a clot that stops any bleeding.

Read the full story — Doctors make breakthrough in repairing genetic defects

This is fascinating… and while not directly about hair loss, imagine the possibilities for genome editing in the future.

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In the News – Gene Identified for Psoriasis

Snippet from the article:

Scientists in the United States have pointed the finger at seven genes that appear to play a role in psoriasis, a study published on Sunday says.

The work could unlock new drug targets and tailored treatments for this painful, disfiguring skin disease, they said.

Read the full text at Yahoo! Health

We are unlocking more and more of our genetic codes. The balding four most probable genes have been identified. Now we have identified one of the main culprits of psoriasis. Once we know the gene and command it, we will develop appropriate drugs for its cure.