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In the News – Patient History is Key to Assess Hair Loss

Snippet from the article:

When patients present with hair loss, dermatologists should focus most heavily on patient histories, according to an expert who spoke at the 72nd Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology.

Many dermatologists perform a cursory exam and order a battery of blood tests, says Leonard Sperling, M.D., chairman and professor of dermatology, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Md. Dermatologists often dread these encounters, he adds, because they can burn daylight and often reveal problems that can’t be treated successfully.

Read the rest — Patient history is key when assessing hair loss

Few dermatologists use the modern tools for assessing hair loss (hand microscope to map for miniaturization and the HairCheck device for measuring hair bulk). Most dermatologists don’t like to do hair assessments if they can not tell if a patient is balding or not.

NW7A good example was in a 17 year old that came in to see me last week. I had seen him a year ago at the age of 16 where I did the HairCheck bulk analysis. His family history is significant as his father is a Norwood class 7 patient and two of his three brothers are also balding. One year ago, his bulk analysis showed 55% loss of hair in the front and 30% loss on the top. The crown showed no hair loss. On the visit last week, bulk measurements showed that his hair loss in the front increased to 75% and on the top it increased to 60%. Most significant was his hair loss in the crown, which was 50% of his bulk.

His hair was black, his skin was white, and the hair was medium-coarse, so that to the naked eye he showed only frontal hair loss. I already know that he will probably be a class 7 pattern balding patient like his dad. Without these instruments, I would not have seen any hair loss last year if I had not measured it, but even a year ago, it was evident that he was balding. Last week, we knew what pattern of balding he will probably be developing. He was placed on Propecia 1 year ago, but it did not stop his hair loss. He took the news well and we spent some time discussing a future Master Plan on what he might want to do as his hair loss becomes more evident. Shaving his head once he gets into college might be an option (with or without SMP).

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In the News – Pain Relievers Linked to Erectile Dysfunction

Snippet from the non-hair-loss-related article:

Of those who took painkillers regularly, 64 percent said they could never get an erection, compared with 36 percent who did not routinely take NSAIDs.

After accounting for factors like age, weight, high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease, the researchers still found a 38-percent higher risk of ED among men taking painkillers.

Read the rest — NSAIDs Linked To Higher Risk Of Erectile Dysfunction

The study, published in Journal of Urology, looked at nearly 81,000 men aged 45-69 and found that of those that took aspirin, acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and similar NSAIDs, there was significant risk of developing erectile dysfunction.

USA Today also has the story.


2011-03-03 10:30:45In the News – Pain Relievers Linked to Erectile Dysfunction

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In the News – Offshore Stem Cells Treatments Offer False Hope

Snippet from the article:

Dr. George Q. Daley sits at his keyboard and types “stem cell treatments.” In less than a second he gets 13.4 million Google hits.

“Here’s a website where they claim over 1,500 patients treated,” says Daley, one of the world’s foremost stem cell researchers. “That doesn’t mean they’ve been treated successfully. It’s ‘buyer beware!’”

But consumers have a hard time sorting out all the stem cell claims out there. Websites often look professional and convincing. Typically they feature distinguished-looking white-coated doctors posed in front of bookcases, technicians holding up flasks with mysterious colored liquids, and happy, healthy-looking clients cavorting on beaches.

NPRRead the full story at NPR — Offshore Stem Cell Clinics Sell Hope, Not Science

This is a good article about scams and selling false promises online. Although it targets the people looking for stem cell treatments that don’t exist, much of this can be applied to the same people seeking out a hair loss “cure”.

Bottom line, there are unscrupulous people that are more than willing to take money from desperate folks looking for miraculous medical treatment via the web.

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In the News – NFL Star Wes Welker Got a Hair Transplant

Snippet from the article:

New England Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker has had a hair transplant and will appear in ads for the Rhode Island doctor who performed it.

Welker had the procedure done in Cranston this month during a five-hour session. It involved transplanting follicles to the parts of Welker’s scalp where his hair had begun thinning.

Read the rest — Patriots wide receiver Welker has hair transplant

This was sent to me by a reader, but there’s nothing I can really add. There are no after photos yet, since the surgery just happened… but if you want to see what he looked like before the surgery, check it out here.

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In the News – Newspaper Suggests Cayenne Pepper and Vodka Can Regrow Hair

Snippet:

Q. My beautician told me to add 8 ounces of vodka to a whole can of cayenne pepper, let it sit overnight, strain and apply it to the top of my scalp with a cotton swab to counteract hair loss. Does this work, or will it cause more hair loss?

A. Our first impulse was to discredit such a remedy. We feared that the ingredient in hot peppers, capsaicin, might be too irritating.

To our surprise, however, we discovered an article in Current Medicinal Chemistry (No. 29, December 2008) reporting that capsaicin can stimulate growth factors in the hair follicles of mice and in human volunteers with hair loss.

Read the rest — Can cayenne pepper help reduce hair loss?

This was from a Q&A section that is syndicated to a bunch of different newspapers, but it’s not like they finally revealed the secrets we have held back from the public. The article they reference has no information about the human volunteers, nor does their response even mention the vodka that was part of the original question.

Cayenne and vodka will not regrow your hair, alone or combined.


2013-09-08 11:16:07In the News – Newspaper Suggests Cayenne Pepper and Vodka Can Regrow Hair

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In the News – New Drug to Reduce Hair Loss from Lupus

Snippet from the article:

The first in a new class of experimental drugs that targets the disease process involved in lupus beat out standard treatment in a large clinical trial, researchers say.

If the findings hold up, the drug, Benlysta, could become the first new drug for lupus in five decades.

About 1.5 million Americans have lupus, a complex disease in which the immune system attacks a person’s own tissues, wreaking havoc on the joints, skin and other organs. Benlysta dampens the abnormal immune signals, calming down the immune system.

Read the rest at WebMD.

This is significant, as lupus affects millions around the world. Hair loss is common with those that have this autoimmune illness, and according to the article this drug is “more effective at reducing pain, hair loss, and skin rash than placebo.” More studies need to be done, and if successful, the pharmaceutical company plans to submit to the FDA for approval.


2009-10-22 10:38:07In the News – New Drug to Reduce Hair Loss from Lupus

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In the News – New 3D Follicle Model to Accelerate Baldness Cure?

Snippet from the article:

Hair loss is a common disorder that affects many men and women due to aging or medical conditions. Current FDA-approved drugs can minimize further hair loss but are unable to regrow new hair. The Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) has recently engineered a new hair follicle model that could help discover new drugs for hair regeneration1.

IBN Executive Director Professor Jackie Y. Ying said, “We have applied our cell and tissue engineering expertise to create a hair follicle-like structure that is very similar to the native hair follicle. This model allows us to better understand the mechanisms that control the development and growth of hair follicles. We hope that our invention would lead to novel ways to treat hair loss, which affects millions of people worldwide.”

Read the rest — New 3D hair follicle model to accelerate cure for baldness

The title of the article is quite hopeful, but essentially this is something they hope to sell to pharmaceutical companies to aid in their hair loss drug treatment development.

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In the News – More Korean Men Seeking Hair Loss Treatments

Snippet from the article:

The number of Korean men seeking treatment for hair loss is seeing an annual increase of approximately 4.8 percent, according to the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service in Seoul.

The institution said the number of patients increased from 180,000 in 2009 to 210,000 in 2013. They spent 12.2 billion won ($11.88 million) for their treatment in 2009, and 18 billion won in 2013.

About 30 percent of the patients are in their 30s and 40s. “Hair loss can have many causes,” officials of the organization said in a statement.

Read the rest from InsideKorea.com- More men treated for hair loss

This is great news for our branch in Seoul, Korea.

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In the News – More Circumstantial Evidence of Hair Growth from Botox

Snippet from the article:

Mean hair counts rose and mean hair loss slowed after injections of botulinum toxin A.

Botulinum toxin A (BTX A) has been used for the treatment of wrinkles, hyperhidrosis, and headaches. Now, here comes an open-label pilot study from Canada of BTX A to treat androgenic alopecia. The study was supported by an educational grant from the manufacturer, and the authors hold intellectual property rights to the treatment process.

Fifty males with Norwood/Hamilton alopecia classes II to IV had injections to the scalp muscles (divided equally to the frontalis, temporalis, periauricular, and occipitalis) of a total of 150 units of BTX A, followed by a second session 24 weeks later. Assessment included change in hair counts in a 2-cm scalp area, changes in hair loss counts collected by lint roller from the subject’s pillow, and patient responses to a questionnaire. The 60-week study period consisted of a 12-week baseline lead-in period and two 24-week treatment periods following each BTX A treatment session.

Read the rest — Growing Hair with Botox

As I wrote a couple weeks ago, I am concerned that there may be a rush to use Botox in balding men and women since this could become a lucrative money machine for the doctor. I’ve been asked if I’d consider offering this as a service, and to be honest, I probably would on the proviso that the patient will allow me to make bulk measurements of the scalp and hair before and after a period of 6 and 12 months. My goal here would be to determine if this approach works or not. With bulk measurements done before the treatment is started, the patient acts like his own control. In this way, this becomes an experiment of sorts and the results would then be made available to the medical and lay community.


2011-12-07 13:02:12In the News – More Circumstantial Evidence of Hair Growth from Botox

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In the News – More About Total Body Formula Causing Hair Loss

Snippet from the article:

Over the years, a Woodstock company’s fruit-flavored vitamin supplement gained a loyal following. Customers swore it made them healthier and their testimonials persuaded friends and family to take it, too.

They never imagined it would be the cause of bizarre and frightening symptoms that stumped their doctors.

At least 197 people in a dozen states — 53 of them in Georgia — were sickened earlier this year after taking the liquid supplement Total Body Formula. Their hair fell out in clumps, their fingernails fell off. They suffered nausea, vomiting and fatigue. Some had disabling joint pain, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state health officials.

Full article at Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Customers say company’s vitamins made them sick