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I just sent an email to "my" clinic and will likewise to other clinics in the area. It would surprise me if none of them would be interested. Trying something new is always scary and safety concerns may arise (Yes, verteporfin is FDA-approved, but for a different usage. Don't know how that will factor in the equation), but the efficacy results so far are more than promising. A regrowth of 30% (which is what dr. Barghouthi guessed) for a first try is insane. If the hairs grow normally, don't fall out after some months and the process is repeatable, this is effectively a cure for baldness. 

Other fora, like hairlosstalk, are on the whole not that excited by this experiment. I really wonder why. If I am missing something, let me know.

On 12/30/2022 at 4:08 PM, Fego said:

Any update? 

That is what I would like to know!

Best wishes to everyone and of course, especially to dr. Barghouthi regarding his circumstances. 

Is the current trial by the doctor finished or delayed / stopped due the situation? Are there other experiments taking place or in the pipeline that we know of? I will contact some clinics in my country (the Netherlands) to see if they are interested and able to kick the ball further in this regard. 

It would be great if we could get more data on the efficacy of verteporfin in humans, as well as to familiarize clinic with its' use, benefits and applications.

8 hours ago, DrTBarghouthi said:

Hard to scientifically put a number. Nonetheless, I feel that test areas have somewhere in the region of 30% improvement on average. The important question to seek an answer for is that if we had some improvement in T areas, then how far more can we get if we make adjustments? 

Of course there are still a lot of question marks around this, but let's say it would indeed be the case that 30% of the extracted grafts regenerates and these follicles are not weirdly disappearing after some months and carry the same amount of hairs, that would be amazing for a first trial. If the process could be repeated (transplanted hairs re-transplanted grow back at a rate of 30% as well) that would already be a functional cure for baldness. Of course, in a transplant, some grafts don't survive, but that number would then easily be outmatched by the extra hairs verteprofin creates. Leaving the patient with more hair after each procedure.

But of course, we are not there yet. Hopefully further research will answer these questions and generate interest from the surgeon-community so they will actually use this in clinics.

Anyways: shukran ealaa kuli shay! (excuses for the google translate :))

On 11/18/2022 at 3:44 PM, DrTBarghouthi said:

Yes some sort of marking it is important I agree. Will aim to do so for the next trial. 

Thanks again for your update

Is there a percentage of regrowth, or at least a range, that we can derive from the experiment till now? Is it like 1%, 10%, 30%? Any word on that?

2 hours ago, Phil28 said:

Yes - please see the article on realself

Would think that it is wise to wait until a definitive protocol is established and a clinic's staff is trained in using verteporfin.

20 minutes ago, midnightsnack said:

Am i the only one who doesn't see any clear visible difference between the T and C pictures across different months? I do see some difference b/w the C and T pictures taken from afar.. but it could be that Dr. Barghouthi just took more grafts from C area.. Of course I want to be excited but reading that this could be the "magic cure" we were looking for feel like we are streching our imagination.. Or am I missing something?

The problem with such photos is that it is extremely hard to gauge the exact differences with the naked eye. Therefore, we have the tendency to see what we want to see. Understandable , but possibly inaccurate. 

Hard data could provide an answer, but is also hard to obtain at this point. However, a percentage, or at least a range, of regrowth would give a good indication of where we are.

1 hour ago, DrTBarghouthi said:

Yes correct. 

Maybe hard to tell, but do you have an idea what percentage of removed follicles has regrown yet? Is it in the single digits so far or really more substantial?

Is there a timeline known when the other assessments of hair growth in this verteporfin-experiment will take place? Then I would know when to check in again

How will the final results be evaluated? I would guess in terms of new follicles / grafts removed as an indicator for % regrowth? Does dr. Barghouthi have similar experiments planned with verteporfin in the future?

Keep up the good work and thanks for your continuous updates!

2 hours ago, curious_12 said:

Could we get some information on this drug and how it was applied. I am not sure if it is something regular people can just buy but I imagine if it is fda approved it wouldn't be too difficult to find a willing vendor somewhere. I think these results show some promise and should really be investigated thoroughly (examining all applications and benefits) and promptly (even if it worked flawlessly, I imagine it would take some time for clinics to have enough data to feel comfortable with it). Since it is a fairly safe drug I don't think it is a bad idea for people to begin experimenting with it to chisel away some of this waiting time.  

I think I will wait until licensed clinicians perform the treatment. There is some wounding / follicle removal required, which can go wrong if done by the untrained people. 

Having said that, I can completely understand people experimenting with this, as there is literally nothing else promising even remotely on the horizon. Tsuji has failed, Stemson has yet to demonstrate a PoC, Dnovo is very small and hasn't shown anything in months. Other upcoming treatments just don't seem to be that enticing. Kintor might bring a small improvement at best, but nothing to get really excited over etc.etc.

This experiment however has the potential to significantly change the hairloss landscape. 

Although there are still many question marks regarding this procedure that can, in an absolute worst case scenario, render the addition of verteporfin pretty useless in the end (what if the regenerated hairs don't thicken up and disappear after 6 months?) , the results so far get me more hyped than any other new development as of the last decades. This includes the more sci-fi cloning stuff that only seems to work in mice but never shown any PoC in humans yet.

If everything falls our way (hairs grow thick and luscious, and even the removal of a transplanted follicle can cause a new follicle with verteporfin use), this might actually be the cure. Which is still a long shot, but not impossible.

Anyways, however it ends, again crazy credits for dr. Barghouthi for at least giving it a shot.

2 hours ago, DrTBarghouthi said:

Hi guys. Here are the updated photos. As you can see, there is scarring in both control and test areas. The test area is a bit more pigmented and I think that the scarring is slightly better. Maybe it needs more time or a dose adjustment. Nonetheless, the tiny hairs in the test areas across the 3 dosages is becoming more of an obvious feature in comparison to control areas. 

Thanks again for doing this experiment and sharing the pictures

The earlier update also had 1 or more hairs growing in the test area, but it believe that it wasn't completely certain that this was due to the effect of verteporfin as it could have been a follicle in the telogen phase or something similar.

With these amounts of growth in the test area and the lack of growth in the control area, would we be able to confirm that verteporfin at least has some regenerative effect? Or are there theoretically other explanations for this other than verteporfin?

2 minutes ago, Rasputin said:

To fill in the previous fue scars that can't be regenerated. If I understand correctly, Verteporfin has to be used rightaway to (possibly) regenerate hair.

If you would apply a protocol that creates a new wound on that same spot, would that regenerate the earlier transplanted hair?

35 minutes ago, Rasputin said:

So this could be also used to treat BHT extractions?

Why would you want that if you could regenerate normal hair follicles?

2 hours ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

 

Is it absolutely sure that this is a new follicle and not a dorment follicle or anything?

If so, this is true neogenesis and a really big deal that it works. The best protocol still has to be decided upon then, but that it works opens so many doors.

Thanks for you reporting on this!

On 8/20/2022 at 6:08 PM, Melvin- Moderator said:

There are a lot of unanswered questions. But I don't believe Verteporfin regenerates old dead hair, it prevents the formation of scarring and thus, keeps healthy hairs from growing back. I don't believe Verteporfin will regenerate hair on the top of the scalp. That hair is lost by a different mechanism (DHT). Even if the hair would theoretically regenerate, the DHT would eventually attack it and make it bald again.

Depends on the spot I guess. If it is hair that started miniturizing after 30, that means it withstood 15 years of peak DHT. If you would be able to revive that hair after 35, with lower DHT in the bloodstream, it might take a very long time to go bald again. If it ever happens. 

Like somebody else has said, verteporfin in combination with some kind of wounding protocol sounds very interesting. Microneedling 2.0

On 8/17/2022 at 7:30 PM, WhereIsMyMind said:

50% regrowth would basically double the donor of everyone, essentially making everyone able to fully return to NW0. Even that, would be a massive win for hairloss. I consider it the cure as long as it yields >50% regen.

How would your donor not be infinite with 50% regen? You could restack your donor with this technique and always end up with 50% more follicles than before the procedure.