Anything new?

[Dewayne2015]

I'm back after about eight years, and thinking of another transplant at 49 yrs. old. I owe a lot of happiness to this forum as I would probably have made another mistake in '06 with surgeon choice. Back in '91 I got 300 plugs from Latham's that looked ridiculous. Dr. Cooley fixed it up nicely in '06 with 2900 fue's.

 

I thought I heard they were on the breakthrough of a cure for MPB a couple years ago. What's the word? Anything new available?

[FUEAsianHairline]

I'm certainly no expert, but I've had a number of consultations with some of the most highly recommended surgeons in the field and seems like it's all about FUE or FUT.

The main differences between surgeons other than cost seem to be whether they use robotic assistance (ARTIS or Neograft) or not. Some clinics offer platelet-rich plasma therapy (PRP) or A cell: https://www.hairreplacementsurgeon.com/acell-prp/

 

I'm intrigued by low level laser therapy LLLT, although it's a very controversial subject. I will say a number of recommended and respected surgeons offer it and it's potentially a low cost tool that may aid in hair regrowth/slow down hair loss.

 

The growth of human scalp hair mediated by visible red light laser and LED sources in males. - PubMed - NCBI

[Dewayne2015]

I hear you on the laser. It was endorsed in last month's "Men's Health" magazine. I thought bought buying one for $699 (the helmet) for me and my oldest son, who's 22 and starting to lose it.

 

It's weird for me, back in '06 I had made myself an expert on hair loss and treatments so now I feel like I'm starting over.

 

Thanks for the reply.

[ModernHair]

GREAT summary FUEAsianHairline!!!

 

A few other things have changed in the past few years as well. First, the use of ATP during the FUE/FUT procedure to preserve as many hairs as possible and substantially increase the yield. It's a pretty big advance in just the past few years. Plus, my doctor had me spraying ATP aggressively for 4 days after my FUE and then less often for a few more days. Result was no scabbing at all and, hopefully, a super impressive final yield.

 

My doctor also utilized the platlet-rich-plasma therapy at the conclusion of my FUE to enhance the results and decrease healing time which is pretty innovative.

 

Finally, some interesting shampoo technology has emerged pretty recently. I use Hair Surge shampoo which combines Ketoconazole, Caffeine and Saw Palmetto, all recently found to enhance growth or slow/stop loss.

[Spanker]

Not much new. Cooley is still top notch. I'd contact him and consult with him to see what he thinks of your current situation.

[Blake Bloxham]

Dewayne,

 

Actually, not much new at the moment. A few interesting things potentially on the horizon:

 

-Kythera pharmaceuticals bought the patent to U Penn's/Dr Cotsarelis' PGD2 patent and plan on creating a PGD2-based oral pill. If it does eventually come to market, I think it will likely serve as a maintenance medication with efficacy similar to minoxidil/finasteride.

 

-Allergan completed phase 2B clinic trials for their bimatoprost (Latisse) hair loss product. They've been very quiet about the results, however, and some are uncertain they are moving to phase 3. Again, this would be more of a maintenance treatment.

 

-Histogen is still looking for investors for their injectable growth serum.

 

-Replicel is still doing clinical trials with their dermal sheath cup stem cell treatment in Japan as well. Both of these -- Histogen and Replicel -- would likely provide gains on the level of minoxidil/finasteride as well.

 

-Dr Mwamba was working on hair multiplication/donor doubling techniques at his clinic. But he recently updated us on his progress, and it doesn't sound like he's researching it further. Frankly, I still think donor doubling has the most potential for a "future" treatment.

 

Like Spanker said, not much new. I think we're starting to realize just how complicated androgenic alopecia really is. It's a very complicated condition, and I don't think you'll ever see a miracle cure. I may be a bit biased, but I think surgical hair restoration will give you the greatest results for the foreseeable future.

 

Good luck!

[Spanker]

Dewayne,

 

Actually, not much new at the moment. A few interesting things potentially on the horizon:

 

-Kythera pharmaceuticals bought the patent to U Penn's/Dr Cotsarelis' PGD2 patent and plan on creating a PGD2-based oral pill. If it does eventually come to market, I think it will likely serve as a maintenance medication with efficacy similar to minoxidil/finasteride.

 

-Allergan completed phase 2B clinic trials for their bimatoprost (Latisse) hair loss product. They've been very quiet about the results, however, and some are uncertain they are moving to phase 3. Again, this would be more of a maintenance treatment.

 

-Histogen is still looking for investors for their injectable growth serum.

 

-Replicel is still doing clinical trials with their dermal sheath cup stem cell treatment in Japan as well. Both of these -- Histogen and Replicel -- would likely provide gains on the level of minoxidil/finasteride as well.

 

-Dr Mwamba was working on hair multiplication/donor doubling techniques at his clinic. But he recently updated us on his progress, and it doesn't sound like he's researching it further. Frankly, I still think donor doubling has the most potential for a "future" treatment.

 

Like Spanker said, not much new. I think we're starting to realize just how complicated androgenic alopecia really is. It's a very complicated condition, and I don't think you'll ever see a miracle cure. I may be a bit biased, but I think surgical hair restoration will give you the greatest results for the foreseeable future.

 

Good luck!

 

Unfortunately I agree that no miracle cure is expected. Although I'd love to be wrong. I was just listening to the radio talking about hot the NIH is underfunded. I thought, hey, cure baldness and you'll fund all your needs. So, I also agree that it's very complicated and anything more than a finasteride type break through is unlikely but I'm always hopeful.

 

I'd also say that I do think a finasteride minox combo early is better than anything available, including transplantation for those destined to be advanced norwoods. They're just is no substitute for native hair.