DrTBarghouthi

Hi guys. I did follow up with the first patient and took some photos. I must say a quick view of the patient showed a nice 0.4 mg site. I’ll arrange the photos and share them once I download them- just wanted to update. 

Just now, tatasabaya said:

Thank you, any plans to excise old scars in these upcoming trials or not yet?

Both patients have virgin donors. 

3 minutes ago, Nikoni said:

Thank you Doctor !!! Excited to see this happening , and please do not postpone trials, as rescheduling seems to be very difficult .

Do you have plans to do existing FUE revision trial ?

I think we need to optimize the “new scar” trials and see what Dr. Bloxham’s revision trial yields and then yes that can be a possibility. 

And I apologize for the recent silence- even across the forum. I’m actually busy with the induction of 2 new doctors who joined my practice and whom I think will be of value in helping with research and clinical work going forward. 

Hi guys,

I have few updates:

1. I have a scheduled follow up with the first trial for this coming Wednesday. The patient had several work trips and so our schedules weren’t working well. Hopefully we will have an update on him this Wednesday.

2. In view of Dr. Bloxham’s recent trial and him trying higher doses of Verteporfin, I think there is a potential to trial even higher doses to see if the effects can be optimized with higher doses or we should be maintaining a narrow range of testing. I have booked the trial for the 24th of October but my Volunteer patient is having constant difficulties with time off work. He is an ideal candidate- so I don’t want to give up on him yet. Hopefully we will have that done with him on that date. 
3. I have also scheduled another trial for November 21 with another patient who is also having a full FUE. 
As mentioned earlier, I have the Verteporfin ready for both of these trials. 

Thanks for sharing your experience and I totally understand your concerns. 
It does seem that there is a focal region with the reduced yield in the mid scalp region. I would therefore highly out rule any placement or transection issues to be the reason for that, given that the hairline and frontal region had a high yield of growth. We have to ofcourse keep in mind other reasons from reduced perfusion to ongoing loss (considering that you had native existing hairs in that region as well). 
I can probably prepare candid photos of the case with your consent ofcourse and we can discuss the options and possibilities here or at clinic. 

Hi guys,

I hope you’re all keeping well. I do appreciate the excitement and I equally share that. The trial is going ahead. I know we postponed it because we simply thought we might have some extra input that could help. Nonetheless, I don’t feel there is much need to wait. I will have a ser date to share by this coming week. I just want to clarify that when one date is missed it usually takes longer than desired to come up with a new date to fit in our schedule- as most patients will be usually booked ahead of time. It also has to take into account the availability of the volunteer on that new date etc. I just needed to clarify the reason why we get gaps between each set date. 
This has been a great collaborative effort and we should focus on keeping it as such - both in efforts and in spirit. We’ll get there! 

Thank you all for your understanding and kind thoughts. I think the support and enthusiasm of the community in general is something for everyone to be proud off. After-all this led to two trials being done already and backed by a caring community. 
Yes the first patient will be followed up as soon as he returns from a summer vacation. 

Hi guys. I agree the trials have been postponed several times partly for reasons beyond my control- drug availability, patient availability, time restrictions and finally a possibility to get better insight from Stanford and from the ongoing FUT trial. The trial is still going to happen and if there will be delay in Dr. Longaker’s phone call, then I will just go aheadis with that. I do feel that the regular updates here are being held against me for some reason- while the truth of the matter is that coordinating a trial takes a bit more than good intentions and the will to do so only. 
The bottom line is that it will take place and I only delayed the last one after feeling that the insight from the call might be helpful. 

Hi guys. So the rescheduled trial was due on the 1st of August but I’m waiting to hear the feedback from @Melvin- Moderator chat to Dr. Longaker as this may provide good insight or changes to the proposed dosing/protocol. I can reschedule the trial accordingly. Just thought of keeping you all updated regarding that. 

Hi guys. So the trial is planned for today and everything is set to go. However, few of us including the patient are unwell with a viral stomach bug that has been spreading the last week in the city. I will have to reschedule for next week and as soon as we know the date I will publish it here. 

12 hours ago, Nikoni said:

Hi @DrTBarghouthi, wanted to thank you again for the new trial. Are you planning a follow up with previous patient ? A lot of people are interested, but we would understand if there are difficulties with your schedule. Please just let us know.

Thanks guys. Yes ofcourse, but the patient when contacted was on holidays away. I will have him checked when he gets back ofcourse. 

Hi guys. Hope all is well and apologies for the uncertainty with dates but I needed to make sure we have both the patient and the medication. Our full FUE trial is now scheduled and booked for 23rd of July. 🙏🏻🙏🏻

Hi guys,

I do apologize for the silence, but I have been out of my office as I’m currently doing all the regulatory paperwork for another clinic in the region and this meant I had to spend the last few weeks there. 
Nonetheless, now that this is almost sorted and I’m back home, I can hope to get the next trial done this month. I have few dates set aside for this month and early July. The reason being is that I do have Vert at clinic but I’m also waiting for a new vial in case the existing one I have is not enough. It has also been stored for few months so I do prefer using a fresh vial. I’m expecting it to arrive next week and then I can give the exact date for the next trial (June/early July). 
I was also planning to be present for Killian’s trial with Dr. Saifi, but we had a delay with the Vert that was ordered and then logistically that made things harder to coordinate as everyone had other set plans for the month with work/ schedule etc. 

I will be also talking to Dr. Bloxham hopefully this week as there are some protocol items that need to be discussed for his trial to also go through. 
 

Finally, I will arrange a follow up with the existing trial volunteer as he is now approaching the 1 year mark this month. 
 

I hope to have more news these coming few weeks for everyone and let’s hope for the best. 

Just waiting on Verteporfin reaching them before finalising the date. 

We will potentially have 2-3 FUT trials in May hopefully. One is a new FUT procedure and one is a revision. These will be done in other clinics with some colleagues (will mention who once they’re happy for me to do so). I will probably travel there to share what I know so far during their trial. Will keep you updated ofcourse. 

On 3/22/2023 at 6:10 PM, bigmistake said:

1) Can a hair piece be made so that it looks age appropriate as the patient ages.

2) If the patient does not wear a hair piece, will this hairline look unnatural or do people go bald behind the hairline as well ? 

It would depend on the case. In some cases you have to make sure the patient knows that not wearing the piece might be odd looking or require a buzz cut. It can be made age appropriate using even grey hair or less density to a certain extent. 

Hi guys, 

I received the biopsy results for both test and control areas as follow. Please be aware that the pathologist had very little insight at what the test area and control areas are and that he only knew that it is an area of an extraction site. He has no insight about the trial whatsoever. I also randomly assigned which areas to take the biopsy from and was taken from the 0.32 mg injection and control sites. 

Test: Sections show follicular hyperkeratosis, focal follicular plugging, No Lichenoid perifollicular lymphoid infiltrate, No dyskeratosis of the follicular epithelium, No perifollicular concentric fibrosis and minimal dermal fibrosis. 10 Hair follicles are seen. Three in anagen, 5 in catagen and 2 in telogen phase. 

Control : Sections show follicular hyperkeratosis, focal follicular plugging, focal lichenoid perifollicular lymphoid cell infiltrate, No dyskeratosis of the follicular epithelium. Perifollicular concentric fibrosis in some hair follicles and focal dermal fibrosis. 5 hair follicles are seen, 1 in anagen, 2 in catagen and 2 in telogen phase. 

I do think this is clearly a positive analysis on a cellular level. Ofcourse we do have limitations in that we couldn't biopsy all areas but I think it is a good result after all especially the variation in dermal fibrosis and hair counts. 

23 minutes ago, Fego said:

What is the photo update says? Is there any further regeneration of new hair than the last photo update? 

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to do a photo update like the ones we did before during this visit. This visit was intended for the biopsy so we had to give local anaesthesia in the area and prepare him for it. I only did a quick check to identify previously extracted areas and mark them to take the biopsies from there. 

We transplanted the area under the 9 cm as seem in the photos. 

Thank you sir. 9 cm is the height from the glabella to the beginning of where the hair system will be placed. It is important to have a fixed distance so we can always apply the system in the exact same place to fit the shape of the head properly and to know that we are placing it right behind the transplanted area. 

I don’t think you have anything to worry about at this stage. However, my advice would be to keep a series of photos and track them every 6 months (not daily) and compare so as to start any maintenance therapy if there is a more noticeable difference. 

Hi guys,

I spoke to the pathologist today about a date for the biopsy result and it should be ready in the next day or two. I have to mention that I have provided him with no clinical background and no indication of what these biopsies are. I understand that his view of the sample might be generalised and non specific as there is no clinical background (apart from FUE extraction sites). Nonetheless any positive difference between both scarred areas could give us an indication. Will keep you posted ofcourse. 
 

I do have a plan for the new trial this month.  It will be either an FUE in full (half donor injected and half not) and one injecting vert straight into the recipient area and assessing response of DHT sensitive hair. 

Hi guys,

Hope you’re all well. I took two biopsies today for our patient. I took them from one Test area and one Control area. Ideally I wanted to take from all sites but unfortunately these 4mm punch biopsies would need a stitch in each and felt a comparison between one control and one Test area could give us some indication for the time being about the scarring itself and the type of hair around the scarred area or within it. Will keep you posted once I get the pathology report back.

I’m looking at the 18th of March as a possible date for the second trial. I’m looking at either an FUE or at the possibility of injecting into the recipient area. 

Thank you guys for all your support - in all means possible- whether by posting, sharing or even contributing to the donations. With the generous contribution of people here and across channels we have closed the target for the next study and I will share the details of this based on patient availability and the follow up schedule needed- but we will absolutely move forward with that. 
Thank you @Arcturus9for your generous contribution which will expedite our efforts- and help in reaching a significant milestone in treating hairloss. 
Thank you all once again and will be updating you shortly. Please feel free to update any other channels that I may be slow in responding to or keeping track with as well.