PODCAST TOMORROW At 12 PM PDT Verteporfin UNLIMITED GRAFTS?! With Dr. Taleb Barghouthi

[Melvin- Admin]

I'm super excited for tomorrows podcast. We have a special guest @DrTBarghouthi who has launched a clinical trial testing Verteporfin. Check out @Follicle_Thought article here. I don't believe there is any other surgeon in the world doing this type of study. It will be super educational. Please post your questions here and I will make sure they get asked. 

[RTC]

I would be interested to hear about the demographics of his patients. And being Arab, would like to know what kind of concerns his Arab patients have specifically - I can imagine the Gulf Arabs make some especially outlandish demands lol

[Melvin- Admin]

I would imagine he deals with thicker hair caliber, as arabs on average tend to have thicker hair and higher density. 

[Melvin- Admin]

6 minutes ago, Follicle_Thought said:

Thanks for sharing @Melvin- Moderator! Was just coming here to share and I see it's not necessary now. 

My question would be: will an FUT study with verteporfin definitely happen?

By the way, a glimpse at inside information for HRN, I've just connected with a US based surgeon who has discovered an FDA approved drug which he's looking to repurpose for wound healing and potentially hair growth. Article to come within the next 2 weeks. Edit* To clarify, the drug is not verteporfin.

Awesome man, thanks for sharing this with our community. I'll be sure to ask Dr. Barghouthi about possibly doing this with FUT. Can you give us a teaser of who this other surgeon is lol

[Dillpickle123]

Please ask every surgeon you have on from now on about this could be a game changer 

[Melvin- Admin]

1 hour ago, Follicle_Thought said:

The only teaser I could give you right at this moment is he's not a hair transplant surgeon lol. But, will update you all as I get a little further, haven't even drafted the article yet. Here is an official sneak peak of the final question I asked him in a brief article:

 Q: Are you currently looking for strategic partners for this research? (+ anything else you'd like to mention at this time)

A: Yes we are. My colleagues and I have collaborated with medical experts to form a company that is currently seeking funding from strategic partners to pursue these discoveries. No one knows what the future will bring, but we do know that the future is coming quickly.

I’m excited 😬

[Gatsby]

I'm super looking forward to seeing this one Melvin! 👌

[SimpleLife]

1. He cant give a definitive answer on it since the trial is still ongoing, but could you ask him whether hes optimistic about using verteporfin for already existing FUE scars based on the research / his intuition?

2. Can verteporfin be used in combination with stitches? (something dr Mwamba is known for using to reduce scarring when extracting grafts in the hairline)

3. Can verteporfin be used multiple times over the same area for better results? Or is it only possible to do it once?

4. I assume that after just a couple patients it will already be clear whether it works or not, but what sample size does he aim for to draw a conclusion? 

Also, please thank him on behalf of the community for stepping up and starting this trial, cuz afaik there arent any other Drs who are willing to do it

[MrFox]

If Verteporfin does work to regrow hair, how would he envision it be used in the recipient area? 

Does he plan to share to his protocol and results with other surgeons and clinics, so this becomes more avaiable to all of us?

How could we avoid shortage issues in the future, will it be possible to source the brand name Visudyne?

[Melvin- Admin]

8 hours ago, SimpleLife said:

1. He cant give a definitive answer on it since the trial is still ongoing, but could you ask him whether hes optimistic about using verteporfin for already existing FUE scars based on the research / his intuition?

2. Can verteporfin be used in combination with stitches? (something dr Mwamba is known for using to reduce scarring when extracting grafts in the hairline)

3. Can verteporfin be used multiple times over the same area for better results? Or is it only possible to do it once?

4. I assume that after just a couple patients it will already be clear whether it works or not, but what sample size does he aim for to draw a conclusion? 

Also, please thank him on behalf of the community for stepping up and starting this trial, cuz afaik there arent any other Drs who are willing to do it

Great questions 🙌🏼

[Melvin- Admin]

1 hour ago, MrFox said:

If Verteporfin does work to regrow hair, how would he envision it be used in the recipient area? 

Does he plan to share to his protocol and results with other surgeons and clinics, so this becomes more avaiable to all of us?

How could we avoid shortage issues in the future, will it be possible to source the brand name Visudyne?

Good questions as well.

[trynagetaHT]

Am curious if this can replace the need for medication if it ends up regrowing hair, as it'd basically be hair cloning at that point, right?

[Melvin- Admin]

5 minutes ago, trynagetaHT said:

Am curious if this can replace the need for medication if it ends up regrowing hair, as it'd basically be hair cloning at that point, right?

Well, the idea is that it could potentially regenerate a percentage of hair. Let’s say they extract 2,000 grafts, and out of those 2k, 1,000 grow back. That would allow people to get close to 15k number, which would ultimately be a full restoration. I don’t believe it’s hair cloning out right, rather regenerative medication that can help. Although, if it does regenerate all the hairs (which I doubt) but if it does, we’re talking unlimited grafts.

[Jokel]

Question: Is it possible to heal already existing hair transplant scars or acne scars by excision of the scar and treating the resulting wound with Verteporfin?

Edited July 21, 2022 by Jokel

[Melvin- Admin]

35 minutes ago, Jokel said:

Question: Is it possible to heal already existing hair transplant scars or acne scars by excision of the scar and treating the resulting wound with Verteporfin?

Good question. I’ll ask.

[Nick1234]

Question - Could follicles be plucked from the donor area and use Verteporfin  when they are implanted in the recipient area.  There are a few stem cells that cling to the plucked hair bulb and when implant with Verteporfin they may start to grow.  The plucked hairs in the donor area always grow back so there would be an unlimited supply of donor hair.

[Melvin- Admin]

1 minute ago, Nick1234 said:

Question - Could follicles be plucked from the donor area and use Verteporfin  when they are implanted in the recipient area.  There are a few stem cells that cling to the plucked hair bulb and when implant with Verteporfin they may start to grow.  The plucked hairs in the donor area always grow back so there would be an unlimited supply of donor hair.

I don’t believe that would work because you need to remove the root for it to grow elsewhere. 

[Nick1234]

Hair plucking was tried and they did get a couple of hairs to grow.  The follicles we're plucked from the sideburns.  The doctor said he thinks the sideburn hair had more stem cells in the bulb.  With verteporfin applied to the repcipent area and the small wound for the follicle implant site might be enough to get the follicle to grow.

[Melvin- Admin]

Here’s the podcast guys. I will post it on YouTube shortly as well.

 

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CgSY9ItOy9n/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

[MrFox]

 @Melvin- Moderator Thank you for asking my questions, I really appreciate it! And thank you @DrTBarghouthi for partaking in the interview and again for undertaking the study! I think the way I worded my question about the recipient area may have lead to some confusion. I am aware that injecting Verteporfin alone would be insufficient to regenerate the follicles, there would need to be some sort of injury occurring first. I was more referring to the protocol for injuring the tissue. For example we could extract miniaturized follicles via an FUE punch and then inject Verteporfin. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I was under the impression that even severally miniaturized hairs are still able to be viewed under a microscope, even if only the follicular opening remains. I would argue that the follicle that would regenerate would be more than likely a hair that is not miniaturized. As we all know DHT takes time to affect the follicle. So in theory as long as someone remained on the DHT blocking drugs, either topical or oral, that hair follicle should not miniaturize. @DrTBarghouthi Would love to hear your thoughts on this!? Thanks again!

Edited July 22, 2022 by MrFox

[Melvin- Admin]

 

[Lenzman]

Wow! I've only just discovered Dr Taleb Barghouthi and the Verteporfin trial. Could it really be that the donor region can be regenerated after FUE extraction?! 😮 Exciting times! 

Does he offer this as an optional extra when having an FUE hair transplant with him?? This could be a game changer in the world of hair transplant!