acell

[shine on]

(promotional link removed)

 

Dr. Hitzig leads New Study of ACell's MatriStem products for scar correction and Cloning new hair growth.

 

For more information contact: (contact info removed)

 

Recent advances in the world of Regenerative Medicine have been very exciting. Fingertips are being regenerated, organs and heart valves have been cloned and are successfully being implanted in patients. Now one of the leading innovators in the field of regenerative medicine, ACell, Inc., has asked the Plastic Surgeons at Dr. Gary Hitzig's offices (promotional link removed ) in Rockville Centre, NY to test the use of their MatriStem product for healing the wounds associated with hair transplant sites. Dr. Hitzig and his colleagues will examine MatriStem's ability to reduce scar tissue and regenerate hair within the donor region of hair transplant patients. MatriStem will also be tested for cloning transplanted hair from the donor area and the beard and growing it in bald areas on the top of the scalp. In the past 6 months, ACell's MatriStem has been used on 8 hair transplant patients, one of which was Dr. Hitzig himself.

 

ACell's patented Extracellular Matrix (ECM) products are covered by multiple 510(k) clearances and address important unmet clinical needs, providing safe, effective and therapeutic outcomes. Derived from porcine urinary bladders and referred to as UBM (urinary bladder matrix), trademarked as MatriStem?„?, ACell's core technology is a naturally occurring, non-crosslinked, completely resorbable acellular biomaterial. A similar "first generation" ECM technology has been used to treat over 500,000 patients with remarkable effect. ACell's MatriStem products are the next generation of ECM technology due to its unique characteristics featuring a basement membrane surface which is ideal for epithelial cell growth in many applications.

 

"We are growing new hair in prior donor scar sites as well as duplicating (growing multiple hairs from a single transplanted beard or donor hair) in the bald recipient area" states Dr. Ted Chaglassian, a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon and former Chief of Plastic Surgery at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital and Attending Physician at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in NYC. He further states: "Where we go from here is anyone's guess but the future of cloning growing hair has just been made a reality in the present!"

[Bill - Seemiller]

Shine on,

 

Did you have a question about this or are you just sharing information? The content you posted is riddled with promotional content. I've removed the promotional links and contact information. Do you represent Dr. Hitzig or ACell? If so, you are required to disclose your affiliation in your forum signature. This is clearly stated in our terms of service.

 

Best Regards,

 

Bill

[shine on]

Found it interesting info. Link was to pics indicating some hope for those with poor strip donor results.

[bighosedragger]

I read about this on another site and also they had something on 60 minutes.....they were doing some amazing things with it. I think it was Dr. Cooley that was working on the hair portion with ACell. It seems very promising and looks like hair cloining is actually here.

[TheEmperor]

Originally posted by bighosedragger:

I read about this on another site and also they had something on 60 minutes.....they were doing some amazing things with it. I think it was Dr. Cooley that was working on the hair portion with ACell. It seems very promising and looks like hair cloining is actually here.

 

I dont think this is hair cloning. THe ECM has stem-cell like material in it that can take the properties of the surrounding tissue. It might be able to heal folicles that were transected in an incision, but it wont grow a new follicle from nothing.

[bighosedragger]

go to (promotional link removed) its on the front home page. you are correct in the fact it reapairs scars and hair follicles but if you listen it seems they have made the break thru on actually being able to clone or reproduce follicles. let me know what you think and if you know the rules or how to....maybe repost this info for this site. i just wanted to get the info out on this forum! thanks

[TheEmperor]

Propaganda. Until its peer reviewed they have nothing.

[bighosedragger]

Emperor, was wondering if you had visited the site and listened to the interview? would love to know your thoughts. also i did see the same acell on 60 minutes of dateline...not sure which one and althought they never mention hair or hair cloning what they did talk about was amazing, like growing back fingers, ears,hands, heart valves! Also Dr.Cooley who is a well respected dr. does mention for the first time anything about hair. just wanted to know yours or anyone elses thoughts!

[TheEmperor]

Been following acell for a couple of years. in the 60 minute report they interview two labs. The first one is cloning organs. The second one (acell) was using regeneration to repair organs.

 

Acell/ecm is not same as hair cloning. it may have some applicability in hair loss and HTs, but until it is peer reviewd, we have nothing.

 

Another doctor used ecm in a scar revision and saw minimal benefit over a year ago.

[dakota3]

Another doctor used ecm in a scar revision and saw minimal benefit over a year ago

Who was this doctor?

[Montrose02]

any updates about acell? I'm thinking about asking my doctor to use this during transplant procedure.

Edited October 25, 2010 by Montrose02

[pablo]

removed outside link.

 

However, coalition surgeon Dr. Jerry Cooley has become actively involved in this product and can probably offer further insight.

Edited October 26, 2010 by Future_HT_Doc

[Blake Bloxham]

Hey guys,

 

So for those who haven't heard much about this, from what I can gather, the science behind ACell works a bit differently than those avenues being pursued by companies like Aderans. Instead of trying to remove, clone, and re-implant, or inject growth factors that are designed to stimulate follicular growth, ACell (allegedly) allows the body to regrow hair and follicles that were previously removed. In theory (and as I understand it) this would create a nearly regenerative universal donor region.

 

Definitely exciting to see how this unfolds. Perhaps Dr. Cooley (or someone involved with ACell) will come to the boards and clarity/expand.

[Montrose02]

I also heard that some of the transplanted hairs have be cloned in the recipient area from acell. I don't think that all transplanted hairs were reproduced, but about 50% was.

 

This seems like a pretty big breakthrough. Unlimited donor and the ability to clone some of the recipient hair after transplantation.

[Blake Bloxham]

I also heard that some of the transplanted hairs have be cloned in the recipient area from acell. I don't think that all transplanted hairs were reproduced, but about 50% was.

 

This seems like a pretty big breakthrough. Unlimited donor and the ability to clone some of the recipient hair after transplantation.

 

I wanted to amend what I said earlier and try to address this question (to the best of my abilities):

 

From what I understand, follicles are not necessarily being cloned, but the science behind ACell is quite exciting and definitely regenerative in nature. In theory, during a procedure with ACell, hairs are plucked - meaning that only the inner part of the follicle (the central region of a two part follicular complex) is removed (unlike a follicle removal in follicular unit extraction), treated with the ACell formula, and implanted into the donor region.

 

The ACell formula stimulates the body's own regenerative abilities and allows for the second region of the follicle to be built around the core region (attached to the plucked hair) in the newly implanted area. Not only does this create terminal hairs in the implanted region, but also does not 'use' hair from the donor region because the body also recreates the center region of the follicle and, therefore, new hairs in the region where it was plucked.

 

According to the given information, 50% of the plucked hairs treated with the ACell formula regrew in the transplanted area.

 

From what I can gather, these findings are still in the preliminary phases and still require additional research, but a very interesting find indeed! It's also worthy to note that ACell takes a different approach than the other companies trying to create, patent, and market an injectable hair loss cure.

 

Remember, this is simply what I've gathered so far and make no claims as to what will come of this new information or its current efficacy. At this point in time, I still highly recommend proven methods such as Rogaine (minoxidil) and Propecia (finasteride).

Edited October 27, 2010 by Future_HT_Doc

[Bill - Seemiller]

Guys,

 

Very soon, I will be presenting the highlights of this year's 2010 ISHRS scientific meeting which will include Coalition member Dr. Jerry Cooley's presentation on ACell and the hair duplication (formerly known as "autocloning") technique. The preliminary findings are promising and do show some growth of "plucked" hairs when transplanted with ACell into recipient sites.

 

Whether or not these hairs will be permanent depends on whether or not they take on the characteristics of the donor or recipient area, which is unknown at this time.

 

As you may be aware, hair transplantation works on the premise of "donor dominance" in which transplanted hair retains the characteristics of the donor area. Because donor hair is DHT resistant, they continue to grow. Recipient dominant hairs would be susceptible to DHT and most likely result in hair loss.

 

If this method proves to be successful, it could mean the potential for unlimited donor hair. However, we suspect that the cost of these procedures would be higher than traditional hair transplantation.

 

The initial findings are exciting however, there is definitely more research and testing required.

 

Stay tuned for a more detailed report.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[haircut]

Bill,

 

The progress of this technology is exciting news for those of us with limited donor area.

[Bill - Seemiller]

For those of you who are interested in reading the highlights of the annual ISHRS scientific meeting including several hot topics such as presentations on ACell, hair cloning (multiplication), and the much hyped NeoGraft, visit "Highlights of the Annual 2010 ISHRS Scientific Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts".

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[Shyguy]

very exciting indeed. i was wondering if there were any other doctors who are experimenting with Acell for hair regrowth? the more dr's we have participating the better. thanks for sharing.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Guys,

 

I had the privilege of viewing Dr. Cooley's presentation on ACell as it relates to hair restoration and hair duplication (formerly known as autocloning follicle regneration) at this year's annual 2010 ISHRS Scientific meeting (view highlights).

 

The presentation on autocloning in particular was very exciting although there is still a lot more research and testing needed to address several important unanswered questions about the viability of this method.

 

For those interested in seeing Dr. Cooley's entire presentation on ACell and hair duplication including photos, visit "Dr. Jerry Cooley's Presentation on ACell MatriStem in Hair Restoration and Hair Duplication (formerly known as AutoCloning)".

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[mahhong]

The more I read about this, the more it seems exciting and potentially useful the field of hair restoriation.

 

When I read through the basics of the experiments I thought Dr. Cooley was implanting hairs with the epithelial portion of the follicle into existing follicles in the bald part of the scalp (which I realise now was a stupid assumption, so I don't really know why I thought it would be that way!). My concern was this wouldn't produce a DHT resistant follicle.

 

I realise now the technique is much more simple and yet complex. The hair with epithelial portion of the follicle is implanted into the bald scalp (much the same way as a normal HT, to my understanding), but is coated in the matristem powder, which enables what is essentially 'half' a follicle to grow the other 'half'.

 

That offers a much more viable chance that the eventual follicle will also be DHT resistant in the long term, since its origins are purely from a bald resistant area of the head. That's really exciting and I get the strong impression Dr. Cooley is really optimistic these follicles will be fully functioning, long-term DHT resistant follicles. Potentially it's a normal HT but minus any 'strip' harvesting, minimal invasion to the scalp (so very little if any scarring, especially knowing the matristem stuff) and, of course, potentially unlimited donor supply.

 

There is of course more that needs to be done, but as a preliminary finding this strikes me as incredibly well developed already. The matristem is already FDA approved safe and usable, which means the hurdle of general safety is bypassed. Dr. Cooley, from what I have been able to gather, has had success rates of between 50-70% in some healthy areas of the scalp and 30-50% in less healthy areas (I think there were more factors than that, but basically the success rate ranges from good to not great in some places).

 

Of course there is still a lot of testing to be done and questions to be answered: Are the new follicles DHT resistant and do they work like a 'normal' follicle in terms of cycling/hair production etc? Can the technique be refined to produce more consistent results (which would be necessary in order to justify turning the results into a usable procedure)?

 

Hopefully Dr. Cooley and, ideally, more doctors will now be testing the treatment more rigorously; larger procedures, longer follow ups and more consistent techniques. They have to be able to turn a promising treatment into an economically viable procedure with the sorts of quality control patients should be able to expect. This testing and development will take some time but I don't think it will be a huge amount of time if I'm honest; the bedrock is there and FDA approval means the major clinical hurdles have already been overcome. But the doctors owe it to themselves and, also, to their patients to make sure the procedure is safe, effective and consistent.

 

Whilst this could also potentially solve the limitations of donor hair (or at very least severely limit those problems) it is still an HT procedure and there will still likely be some limitations. It would seem very possible now that getting an even distribution of transplanted hairs across our bald scalps may now be within our grasp, but the treatment doesn't answer some other questions posed to HT physicians. Vascularity in the scalp and human precision will still probably be an issue, meaning that the 100/cm2 hair density lots of people dream is still alluding us. But by contrast comfortably putting maybe 50-60/cm2 from the hairline through to the crown no matter what the size of the balding area may well be a reality within the next few years; a stunning achievement and one that could drastically, drastically improve the cosmetic quality of a HT. I think the majority of men would be bowled over by that idea and, indeed, in many people I reckon this would essentially represent a 'magic bullet' to them, even if strictly speaking that isn't true.

 

Of course, cost could be an issue. Whilst I don't imagine this treatment would be some horrendously overpriced procedure, just the very fact it offers potentially so many extra grafts means that, even if the price-per-graft stayed exactly the same from doctor to doctor, getting more hair could end up being costly. In my opinion, however, it's a price many people would pay. Knowing you have near enough unlimited donor hair and the potential to cover an entire balding scalp; whether it's N3 or N7, would be worth coughing up for! Add to that the fact this would be a virtually scarless procedure (and genuinely so) and you're talking about a simpy amazing development.

 

Anyway, those are my thoughts on Acell and its development. All I know is that this feels like it's going somewhere. I'm not one for mindless optimism, or for hailing every obscure trial from the depths of anywhere as the future for hair restoration. But this feels credible and Dr. Cooley's presentation demonstrated in good detail that the principle works. Whether or not we can turn that into a long term successful procedure remains to be seen, but you only have to look at the results and the underlying science to realise this is not some far-flung pseudo-science stab in the dark; this is applying proven principles to a new area of cosmetic surgery and getting the sorts of results that suggest it could really, actually work. Perhaps this is my more optimistic side bursting through the pragmatic exterior, but I sense from Dr. Cooley's voice in the interviews and presentations he's done that he really can't see why this won't be capable of going all the way. We must always prepare for disappointment, especially the doctors that experiment and tinker away with new ideas. But usually a new 'treatment' in development pretty quickly encounters myriad unknowns, complications, failures and problems. This is the first time I get the feeling, even if it's just a feeling, that the option put in front of us is viable. And I'm heartened to know many other people infinitely more knowledgeable than me are just starting to get that feeling too. Where this will end up? Who knows. But at least it's now been proven this is most certainly not some dead in the water theory. This is working science that has gone much further than most in proving itself.

 

Let's hope the results continue to improve and the research continues to be so exciting!

[azn_guy]

Hey Guys,

 

Dr. Cooley was my HT Surgeon and I had a HT beginning of this year so I was probably one of his ACell experiments (I will double check with him)

 

My donor scar looks similar to this

 

http://www.regrowhair.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/4.jpg

 

Here is a quote from Dr. Cooley's Presentation that Bill provided

 

"Using ACell made a good closure better and was especially helpful in re-excision of wide donor scars. Photo 6 shows a patient with a 1.5-2.0 cm donor scar three months after excision with use of ACell. Although greatly improved, there is still some ‘hairless gap’ which is related to the tension at closure."

 

This leads me to believe that when Dr. Cooley when suturing me up, must have been related to the tension at closure

 

Check out my blog if you're interested

[Shyguy]

**edited by Future_HT_Doc

Edited December 9, 2010 by Future_HT_Doc

[JoeKid0000]

I posted this on another thread, but Dr. Rassman posts updates on Acell:

 

ACell - Hair Loss Information

[Shyguy]

**Edited by Future_HT_Doc

Edited December 9, 2010 by Future_HT_Doc