Other – Page 42 – Balding Blog

December 11, 2009

Does Dr Rassman Only Endorse Big Pharma? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dr. Rassman,

Strictly for the sake of playing devil’s advocate with you here —

When you imply that products offered by non-“Big Pharma” companies are likely bogus or that you don’t buy into their efficacy because the only proof of their viability is based on their own self-promotion basically (i.e. your posts about Drs. Lee or Proctor or even laser product makers), isn’t that slightly hypocritical? I mean, your career and business is of course enhanced by people foregoing these alternate methods, so shouldn’t people just as much suspect an ulterior motive on your part?

I understand your usual answer that, without personally seeing the research, you cannot recommend one way or another on something. But frankly, were you physically present for the Big Pharma trials on minox or finasteride? I’m assuming not. Going a step further then, I assume you base your support for those “proven” products on the basis that you read their documentation — so how much documentation is necessary for you to believe a product is in fact what is says? Some of those non-Big Pharma products people have written in about have “some” documentation, though certainly not to the extent of the FDA mandated trials I’m sure. Where do you (or do you at all) draw the line?

Or is your ultimate argument that, “If [said product] were that good, a Big Pharma company would have picked it up?”

Thanks for your time, love your site (though I had to plead ignorance to my girlfriend when I recognized you on her favorite show “Jon and Kate Plus 8”, haha), your replies on these sort of issues just sometimes irk me — aspirin was discovered by a non-Big Pharma guy, after all.

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Boy scout Oh boy. I never said I needed to be there during the research study of a product to know it was true or not. No, I wasn’t physically present at the trials of the finasteride or minoxidil, but those medications are proven to work and FDA approved. The problem with many of the products I’m asked about is that they come out of nowhere — old wives’ tales, myths, etc. Most of them offer testimonials or mentions of a study, but offer zero evidence that the study was even conducted or if it was even valid. People write to me at this site every single day asking for solutions to their hair loss. Should I tell them to just go ahead and potentially waste their time and money on an unproven product while they lose more hair that they can’t get back… or should I let them know about medications that are proven to be effective?

I have no bias to solutions produced by the large pharmaceutical companies. I look at everything that is offered in this field by the evidence that is produced for me to review. I have, for example, evaluated the hair laser and found that the actual research was inadequate to recommend that patients use the laser for hair growth. I even took it one step further and acquired a large laser system and tried it for 12 months at my cost for as many patients as I could find willing to be studied (for free). The results were clear that the Low Laser Light Therapy (LLLT) had no value to those patients that were studied by me. If I would have found otherwise, I could recommend this treatment and charge for its use (making money), but I can not do that if I am not convinced that it will work. I learned from the days I was a boy scout that “honesty is the best policy”, and I guess I am an old-fashioned clinical scientist.

December 11, 2009

My Legs Below the Knees are Bald – Balding Blog

Hi Dr. Rassman,

I love reading your blog and after educating myself and talking to my doctor, I am now taking Propecia.

I have an “odd” question for you. I don’t have any hair on the outside of my legs below my knees. It is almost completely bald. Have you heard of this before, or could you offer any advice?

Thanks!

Leg shaving I assume you’re not shaving them in your sleep…

But yes, I have heard of this before (many times). We do not know the causes, but sometimes it comes from rubbing of the outside of the leg on the other leg (crossing them). There is probably a genetic cause of the problem if you can not associate any chronic rubbing that could cause traction to the leg hairs.

December 10, 2009

Why Did Dr. Rassman Become Interested in Hair Loss? – Balding Blog

What inspired DR.Rassman to become interested in hair loss related issues and how to tackle them?

There are a lot of men who would consider you and all the other scientists regarding hair to be their knight’s in shining armor

Thank you. I am humbled. In all of the fields of medicine I have practiced — heart surgery, orthopedic surgery, gynecology, cancer, and vascular surgery — the field of hair is the happiest of all. The patients are helped, grateful, and at times their lives are transformed. I am an agent of that transformation and that makes me a very lucky doctor. In my former practices, I did it all and felt that I lacked the challenges of new things with the more traditional surgeries. The hair transplant industry was generally doing terrible work and I saw opportunity to change it, invent new technologies, push the envelope and create something that was never done before, so I began doing hair transplants to meet those personal needs after doing the appropriate research. If you look at my CV, you will see what I did and what I published in medical journals, radically changing the field.

90% of my practice is made up of male patients, and these men want their youthful look back. I carry out the steps to get them what they want. Men are delightful patients and the bonding I have with everyone is wonderful. For the 10% of women I work with, there is a special relationship, because most doctors don’t want to deal with their hair loss problems. It takes great patience and time to diagnose female hair loss and the time to educate them makes them happy for the experience with me. About 80% of the women I see are not surgical candidates, but I take the time to get to know each woman on a one-on-one basis.

December 9, 2009

In the News – Exploring the Link Between Hair Loss and High Blood Pressure – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Snippet from the article:

Hypertension has been linked to heart disease, diabetes and early mortality. But hair loss?

Scientists are not exactly sure why, but a number of studies have suggested a relationship between blood pressure and men’s baldness, particularly the early-onset kind.

In a study published in 2007, for example, researchers looked at 250 men ages 35 to 65. After controlling for age, high cholesterol, smoking and other variables, they found that hypertension was “strongly associated” with male pattern baldness: those with a blood pressure reading above 120 over 80 had twice the risk of the others.

Read the rest at the New York Times — The Claim: High Blood Pressure Will Increase People’s Risk of Losing Their Hair

Hair loss might be an early indicator of disease risk in some people, but that’s a theory that requires further study.

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December 8, 2009

Supplements and FDA – Balding Blog

All the over the counter products (segals , foltene , viviscal , revivogen) keep on saying that FDA wont approve any vitamin and mineral supplements and thay also say they dont have enough money to do that is it true? Is getting FDA approval that much an expensive process.(One distributer of segals solutions told me that shortage of funds prevents them from proving the effectiveness of Saw Palmetto as DHT blocker)

FDA That is not entirely true. There are of course costs involved, but most dietary supplements don’t require FDA approval before they come to market. The key issue is that there is no patent on saw palmetto, so these supplement companies don’t have an exclusive right to sell it. They’d just be spending money to try to prove a supplement worked as claimed, only to possibly allow any company to reap the benefits of their costs. Plus, if that money was spent and it turned out that saw palmetto didn’t work as they claimed, sales of the supplement as a hair loss treatment would plummet.

I’ve written about a lot of this before, but the FDA oversees claims by any company or person who sells nearly any type of health-related product. The key to the FDA is that the products comply with good manufacturing practices (a term of art as used here) and that any claims can be substantiated with good science. Effectiveness and safety must be proved by the supplier when making any claims about benefits.

December 7, 2009

Colostrum Supplements and Hair Loss – Balding Blog

Hi, I have a question regarding colostrum supplements and hair loss. Colostrum supplements are supposedly rich in IGF-1 which I understand is implicated somehow in mpb.

My question is whether taking these supplements would trigger or accelerate hair loss, or have any negative effect on hair loss in general.

Reports on the internet forums are, as expected, mixed. Some say colostrum supplements helps their hair, others say it causes acceleration of loss. I can’t say definitively one way or the other, but I doubt that there would be any impact of this supplement on triggering or accelerating hair loss.

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December 2, 2009

Dermatologist or Trichologist? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Is hair falling problem to be discussed with a Dermatologist or with a trichologist.? If a doctor like you can address this problem then what is the role of a trichologist?Iam pretty much confused with who should be approached for treatment (many universities in australia and USA are conducting trichology courses)?

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A trichologist is not a medical doctor. A dermatologist is a medical doctor. You can discuss your issues with whomever you feel most comfortable. A trichologist can’t prescribe medication.

November 25, 2009

Hair Loss InformationIn the News – Shock Therapy for Your Penis – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Snippet from the article:

If you experience impotence, instead of a little blue pill maybe you want to apply shockwaves to your privates instead.

Experiments now suggest directing shockwaves at penises can help treat erectile dysfunction

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Shock Read the full article — Shocking Treatment Helps Erectile Dysfunction

ZAP! This is a preliminary study of only 20 men (though over 3 years), so don’t get your hopes up that a shock to the groin will cause your little guy to pay attention as well as it did in your teen years. There’s much more to learn from this, and as as long as there are willing participants I’m sure they’ll be conducting studies to figure it out.

Even though this isn’t hair loss related, I hope you all realize the value of BaldingBlog for men’s subjects.

November 24, 2009

Hair Loss InformationHistogen HSC Available in 2013? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dr. Rassman, I found out this update from Histogen, what is your opinion on this?

Videos: Histogen’s HSC – Highly Anticipated Hair loss Treatment Due to Hit “Shelves” As Soon As 2013

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I know nothing more about the Histogen HSC (Hair Stimulating Complex) than you do by watching those videos. I do give credit to Dr. Naughton for appearing in the videos, but I always worry about market hype and speculation in such announcements. I doubt we’ll see it move through the pipeline as quickly as hoped, but we can all keep our fingers crossed that I’m wrong.

November 17, 2009

Hives, Papules, Pimples – What Could They Be? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I just came across the diagnosis of trichostasis spinulosa, which I have seen in my practice on occasion and have failed to come up with a diagnosis.

eMedicine states, “In trichostasis spinulosa (TS), clusters of vellus hairs become embedded within hair follicles, with resultant elevated, dark, spiny papules on the face or trunk. Trichostasis spinulosa frequently is discovered as an incidental finding, and often it is confused with keratosis pilaris or acne comedones.”

This condition is more common in men, but does not cause risk for the people having it, just some cosmetic deformities of varying degrees. To see the various forms that it takes, see Google Image Search. Maybe you have seen these on your own body and wondered about it.