Category: Other

I know you guys know about the MEP-90 laser and its manufacturer MidwestRF, I was looking around on the internet and I found something rather interesting.I found a page that goes somewhat in depth about the methodology as to how the MEP-90 received its clearance.

Apparently the MEP-90 study wasn’t double blinded and the the only explanation that the report gave was this: “However, a sham/placebo study is not applicable to the long term required treatment of female androgenic alopecia because too many variations exist that would make it unfeasible to run a large number of experiments and it would constitute unethical treatment of the subjects.”

Interesting considering that the Hairmax lasercomb recently recently received clearance for the treatment of androgenetic alopecia in females by use of a double blinded study. This report also stated that Midwest RF has been manufacturing hair lasers since 1999 but all records I could find indicate that the only thing they manufactured were MRI components. It’s also interesting to note that for some reason this company received stimulus funds why I have no idea. Here is a link to the report: here.

tell me what you or someone familiar with clinical trials thinks about it.

I generally do not trust clinical studies that are not double blinded, or have researchers with something to gain from the results. Most studies in the low level light area have failed to prove that there is a scientific result that is clearly positive.

I’m not a laser expert by any means, so I’ll defer to our readers that have more experience with this.

Labor Day is observed on the first Monday in September… and that is today!

We’ll be back tomorrow.

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):

Hi Dr. Rassman,

I’m a 18 year old male and my hair is really oily and I mean REALLY OILY I take a shower every night but once I wake up in the morning its already really greasy and it smells, this started 4 years ago when I started High School I went to a regular doctor about 2 years ago so he could check out my scalp but he said it was fine. I have used Paul Mitchell Tea Tree Oil Shampoo, Head & Shoulders Hair Endurance for Men, Selsun Blue and Suave Clarifying Shampoo in the past couple of years and have have little to no success, so I was wondering if you can help me with my “smelly hair syndrome” as they call it I will really appreciate the help.

Thank You for your time

It’s possible there’s some shampoo out there that might help, but I couldn’t specify which one help for your particular case. A good dermatologist might be able to help you.

There is a pretty good article on this “Smelly Hair Syndrome” available here.

Hey doctor,

please spread the word. If anyone is suffering hair loss due to a head injury please rub ginger on that area for a month and you will see results. Personal Experience guaranteed.

Rubbing ginger on your scalp might sound like an easy herbal remedy that wouldn’t hurt to try, but I doubt it’ll regrow hair. What kind of head injury did you have?

While I appreciate your dedication to spreading the word, the only guarantee someone will have if they do this is a ginger smell coming from their scalp.

Hello Balding Blog Team. Thank you for your very informative site. I have a question that I could not find a clear answer to in previous posts. I am a very early Norwood 3v and have decided to commence medical treatment in the form of finasteride and monoxidil.

I am wondering your opinion on the benefits of laser therapy combined with these systemic and topical medications. I could go on a treatment plan via a specialist company which would cost close to $4000 but the only difference between this and getting the medications via my general practitioner is the laser therapy…so in effect I will be paying $4000 for a laser session every 2 weeks for a total of 8 months. Do you think A) laser therapy per se is of benefit and B) if so do the professional machines give better results than any home based machine I could buy. I REALLY appreciate your advice. Kind regards

I’ve written extensively about laser therapies, and quite frankly, they don’t work. In my opinion, they’re a good way to sell something to the desperate patient, but the results are not what one might expect. I had a large professional machine in my office some years back and offered it free to my patients. No noticeable change was detected.

See many past posts about low level laser treatment (LLLT) here.

From my favorite satire site, The Onion:

According to a study released Wednesday by the California Pain Medicine Center, subjects suffering from male- pattern baldness were found to experience a level of physical pain at least seven times more intense than that experienced by women during childbirth.

Read the rest — Report: Male Hair Loss 7 Times More Painful Than Childbirth

If you’ve visited The Onion site before, you know they have some hilarious articles and photo captions there. And if you’ve got some time to laugh, other classics include:

• Potential Baldness Cure Leads Man To Reverse Position On Stem-Cell Research
• Archaeological Dig Uncovers Ancient Race Of Skeleton People
• Nation’s Dog Owners Demand To Know Who’s A Good Boy

Doc – you recently commented on PRP, this video is a few days old, just wanted to send it along.

WSJ – PRP Video

Here’s the video:

 

This treatment is for autoimmune disease and there are no studies that show it has value that can be replicated in other patients. Many doctors are offering this treatment for male pattern baldness, but with no proof that it offers better results, I still believe this is just a money-maker for the doc doing it.

I know that they have now discovered why hairs go grey, but are there any breakthroughs coming about getting or keeping hair from going grey biologically? I know that a person can dye their hair, but is there anything being worked on to get your natural hair color back?

Link: Grey hair in old age: Hydrogen peroxide inhibits the synthesis of melanin

I’m not familiar with any proven solution to gray hair other than coloring the hair. There are products that claim to “cure” gray hair, but I’m not so sure they work as claimed.

The last thing I recall reading about anti-gray breakthroughs was a month or so ago when researchers announced they had isolated a protein. We wrote about it here.

Hi Doc,

Is there anything (medicine or lifestyle related changes) that can be done to reverse or at least prevent greying of hair?

Does stress or inadequate sleep contribute to or accelerate greying of hair?

I can advise you to get adequate amounts of sleep to be healthy and figure out ways to reduce your stress, but that advice would not necessarily deal with your graying issue. Gray hair may be caused in whole or in part by genetics in your case.