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First-of-its-kind hair restoration method may grow follicles on bald spots
CBS ^ | October 21, 2013, 6:12 PM | By Ryan Jaslow

Posted on 10/22/2013 6:18:34 AM PDT by Red Badger

A cure for baldness has long eluded scientists, but a group of researchers say they have created a first-of-its kind hair restoration method that may actually get a person to grow new hair. This could be especially helpful for women, burn victims and other hair loss patients who can't be helped with traditional hair loss methods.

The researchers had previously found certain cells that cause hair growth -- called dermal papilla cells -- could be harvested from rodents and transplanted back onto their skin to create new follicles.

When similar methods were used to create hair on human skin samples, the papilla cells would turn into normal cells and lost their ability to produce hair follicles.

The researchers suspected the hair was more transplantable in rodents because their dermal papilla cells spontaneously formed clumps. This allowed the cells to interact and communicate with one another, to ultimately reprogram the skin to form new hair follicles.

"This suggested that if we cultured human papillae in such a way as to encourage them to aggregate the way rodent cells do spontaneously, it could create the conditions needed to induce hair growth in human skin," study co-author Claire A. Higgins, an associate research scientist at Columbia, said in a statement.

Using a new technique to harvest dermal papillae from humans, the researchers cloned the human papilla cells before transplanting them between layers of human skin taken from newborn foreskins, which typically can't produce new hair. They then grafted the cells and skin onto the backs of mice. The transplants resulted in new hair growth that lasted about six weeks, with DNA tests confirming the new hair follicles were human and matched the original donor.

Watch study author Dr. Angela M. Christiano, a professor of dermatology and genetics and development at Columbia University Medical Center, and fellow research leader Dr. Colin Jahoda, professor of stem cell sciences at Durham University, in the U.K., explain the procedure in this video clip:

VIDEO AT LINK

Getting a hair transplant often entails placing tiny grafts containing individual hairs into holes cut into the scalp, WebMD notes. Once those hairs grow, they create the appearance of a fuller head of hair.

That's not the same as growing new hair in a spot that didn't have it before -- it's merely transplanting hair from a place where it already existed to a place where it's more visible. Sometimes doctors will prescribe a medication like minoxidil to help the hair grow more following transplantation, but it's not known whether this helps.

According to the researchers, one problem with hair transplantation -- especially for women with hair loss -- is when there isn't enough donor hair to get transplanted to the necessary areas. These people also tend to not respond to hair-loss medications. The researchers hope the new procedure can help women and other groups that don't have options .

"(The new method) could make hair transplantation available to individuals with a limited number of follicles, including those with female-pattern hair loss, scarring alopecia, and hair loss due to burns," Christiano explained in a statement .

Christiano said the procedure may completely change medical care for hair loss, which is now restricted largely to treating men with stable male-pattern baldness.

"Current hair-loss medications tend to slow the loss of hair follicles or potentially stimulate the growth of existing hairs, but they do not create new hair follicles. Neither do conventional hair transplants, which relocate a set number of hairs from the back of the scalp to the front," she said. "Our method, in contrast, has the potential to actually grow new follicles using a patient's own cells. This could greatly expand the utility of hair restoration surgery to women and to younger patients."

The New York Times reports Christiano got into this field in the 1990s due to her own struggles with alopecia areata, a condition that caused her to develop bald spots in the back of her head despite having luxurious locks in the front.

Over time, she has collaborated with researchers across the country to help identify genes linked to alopecia.

Much more research needs to be done on cells and skin tissues to fully understand how this mechanism behind the new treatment works, according to the authors. They anticipate clinical trials could begin in the near future.

The new research was published Oct. 21 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.


TOPICS: Health/Medicine
KEYWORDS: baldness; follicle; hair; health
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1 posted on 10/22/2013 6:18:34 AM PDT by Red Badger
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To: Red Badger
Using a new technique to harvest dermal papillae from humans, the researchers cloned the human papilla cells before transplanting them between layers of human skin taken from newborn foreskins, which typically can't produce new hair.

Give a whole new meaning to a certain term....................

2 posted on 10/22/2013 6:21:09 AM PDT by Red Badger (TANSTAAFL always wins. Always...........................)
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To: Red Badger

Saw Palmetto will do the same thing for some. Definitely cheaper.


3 posted on 10/22/2013 6:21:26 AM PDT by meatloaf
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To: Red Badger

Will it work for my lawn?


4 posted on 10/22/2013 6:21:39 AM PDT by count-your-change (you don't have to be brilliant, not being stupid is enough)
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To: Red Badger

Probably makes your manhood shrivel up and make you want to vote democrat in future elections.


5 posted on 10/22/2013 6:23:27 AM PDT by Portcall24
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To: Red Badger

Let me guess.

A cure in 5 years.

There’s been a cure for Baldness and Cancer coming in just 5 years for the past 50 years.


6 posted on 10/22/2013 6:25:00 AM PDT by qam1 (There's been a huge party. All plates and the bottles are empty, all that's left is the bill to pay)
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To: count-your-change

Why would you want a hairy lawn?.................


7 posted on 10/22/2013 6:27:42 AM PDT by Red Badger (TANSTAAFL always wins. Always...........................)
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To: Red Badger

There are people coming up with ideas to graft human newborn foreskins on to the back of rodents for testing? Sheesh


8 posted on 10/22/2013 6:29:56 AM PDT by kjam22 (my newest music video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7gNI9bWO3s)
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To: Red Badger
could be harvested from rodents and transplanted back onto their skin to create new follicles.

Hairy DemoRats?

9 posted on 10/22/2013 6:30:08 AM PDT by Zuben Elgenubi
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To: Zuben Elgenubi

How does one circumcise a rat?..................


10 posted on 10/22/2013 6:33:51 AM PDT by Red Badger (TANSTAAFL always wins. Always...........................)
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To: Red Badger

Bald and proud of it.


11 posted on 10/22/2013 6:35:56 AM PDT by Usagi_yo
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To: qam1

A cure? The premise is seriously flawed. It implies that baldness is some kind of disease. In fact, is a continuation of mankind’s evolutionary improvements. Or perhaps we should go back to being cavemen with hair covering our entire bodies.


12 posted on 10/22/2013 6:38:42 AM PDT by privatedrive
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To: Red Badger
( * First-of-its-kind hair restoration method may grow follicles on bald spots * ) a free new added sigh up bonus for the first 1,000,000 suckers who sign up for Obamacare in the next 36 hours...... ( humor of course tag )
13 posted on 10/22/2013 6:40:22 AM PDT by American Constitutionalist
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To: Red Badger

14 posted on 10/22/2013 6:41:51 AM PDT by JoeProBono (SOME IMAGES MAY BE DISTURBING VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED;-{)
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To: Red Badger

Meh. My wife used to sell “arbonne”. One of their products is a “hair restorer”. It costs about $30 for a tube that lasts me 18 months. It’s ridiculously easy to use. I started using it about ten years ago. When I was 43 my daughters were laughing at “dad’s growibald spot”. I’m almost sixty now and have a full head of hair.

The strongest testimony? The woman that always cut my hair saw the new growth and wondered what happened. When I told her, she bought a ton of the stuff for her customers.

Oh, and the same thing happened regarding my wife’s hair and her hair stylist.

As far as I’m concerned, the whole baldness thing is a nut that has been successfully cracked quite a while ago for the lion’s share of cases.


15 posted on 10/22/2013 6:42:01 AM PDT by cuban leaf
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To: Usagi_yo

16 posted on 10/22/2013 6:42:47 AM PDT by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn.)
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To: Portcall24


17 posted on 10/22/2013 6:53:36 AM PDT by TurboZamboni (Marx smelled bad & lived with his parents most his life.)
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To: Red Badger

Cure lawn bald spots?


18 posted on 10/22/2013 7:04:58 AM PDT by count-your-change (you don't have to be brilliant, not being stupid is enough)
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To: Red Badger

Will it work on your back? I have some bare spots there.


19 posted on 10/22/2013 7:41:00 AM PDT by SC_Pete
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To: Red Badger

“The years passed, mankind became stupider at a frightening rate. Some had high hopes the genetic engineering would correct this trend in evolution, but sadly the greatest minds and resources where focused on conquering hair loss and prolonging erections.” - Idiocracy


20 posted on 10/22/2013 7:42:35 AM PDT by dfwgator
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