Cloning: The future in hair transplants

Cloning: The future in hair transplants

Date: Visited September 7th, 2013
Source: ilterclinic.com

At the Ilter Clinic, we pay constant attention to new scientific and technical advancements in hair transplantation. We are also active in researching new progress in the field so that ever-better techniques may be developed in the future.



High-tech research is providing new hope. These methods are still far from becoming commercially available, but gene therapy and cloning may one day reduce limitations we face in the donor area.

Gene therapy

The idea behind gene therapy is to introduce new DNA into a patient’s hair cells. The new DNA would prevent cells from being affected by the DHT (dihydrotestosteron) hormone that causes Male Pattern Baldness.



However, the research is still in its infancy. Some genes have already been identified as the cause behind hair loss, but there are still many other factors to be considered. With this in mind, a great deal of research needs to be done before gene therapy becomes a reality.

Hair cloning

Cloning hair follicles is a new technology. Even though it is considered something of a Holy Grail for people suffering from hair loss because of the potential for an unlimited supply of hair from a single strand, cloning hair follicles is keenly debated. There have been exciting breakthroughs, but the method needs another ten years of research before it is commercially available.

There are two organizations seriously researching a commercially viable way to multiply hair loss-resistant donor follicles. They are Aderans, headquartered in Japan, and Intercytex, based in England.

Hair cloning is a lay term for tissue-developed hair growth. The approach being pursued involves extracting single hair cells from the hair loss-resistant donor area and attempting to replicate them in the laboratory. These "dermal papilla" cells mature into hair follicles in a process known as follicular neogenesis. If they can be stimulated to multiply, then theoretically there is no limit to the number of hair follicles that could be grown in the laboratory and transplanted onto a person’s scalp.



However, controlling the direction of new hair growth from cloned follicles has been problematic. Many people believe hair cell implants will initially be used as filler hair, primarily on the top and crown areas, while critical areas such as the hairline will continue to receive transplants using conventional FUE grafts. Also, the cost of this laboratory-intensive procedure is expected to exceed conventional hair transplantation when it is introduced.

At this point in time, it is not recommended that patients wait for cloning. If and when hair cell implants arrive in the future, they could well be used to create even greater levels of density and fullness behind the transplanted hairline.

Previous post - Next post

British scientists confident of baldness cure

by FIONA MACRAE
Last updated at 20:19 08 October 2006
(Source: dailymail.co.uk)



Hair today, gone tomorrow: New treatment

could help those suffering from

alopecia or male pattern baldness

It is a ray of hope for men limited to choosing between an unflattering comb-over, a toupee or a transplant.

British scientists are working on a new cure for baldness and are confident they will have perfected their technique by the end of the decade.

So far, the remedy, which involves a series of injections under local anaesthetic, has improved hair growth in almost three-quarters of those treated.

Researcher Dr Paul Kemp, who is using himself as a guinea-pig for the pioneering new treatment, says the results are so encouraging that soon 'baldness will be a choice'.

And the Government is so tickled by the thought of a cure for the condition that affects 7.4million British men at any one time that it has ploughed almost £2million of taxpayers' money into Dr Kemp's research.

The treatment centres around tiny scalp cells called dermal papilla cells. Found at the bottom of the hair follicle, they are responsible for the growth of new hair.

Scientists at Cambridge-based biotechnology firm Intercytex, have found a way of harvesting these cells, growing them up in the lab and then injecting them into the scalp at a point where the hair is thinning. There, the cells happily sprout new hairs.

Science Minister Lord Sainsbury believes the technique could establish the UK as a 'world leader' in research into baldness.

Dr Kemp, a biochemist, said: 'The idea is to inject the cells back into the scalp, where many of them will develop into new hair follicles.'

'Sometime in the future baldness will be a choice rather than something you have to suffer.
'Any bald people will have chosen to be bald.

'There is huge potential in the market. Analysts estimate that a good baldness treatment could be worth £1 billion a year in Britain and many times that worldwide.'

The treatment, which is still experimental, could end severe hair loss in older people and thinning on top for the young.

Intercytex says the technique is quicker, less painful, and, crucially, gives better results, than conventional hair transplants. It is also likely to be cheaper than the current transplants which cost up to £10,000.

These transplants generally take two eight-hour sessions under local anaesthetic. The results are often patchy, with patients complaining the relocated hair looks unnatural and 'tufty.'

With the new technique, a small section of hair and skin is removed during a 30-minute operation carried out under local anaesthetic.

The hair is taken from the side of the head, where the follicles tend to live longer - and so produce hair later in life - than those on the top of the scalp.

The sample is then taken to the lab, where the dermal papilla cells are separated out and coaxed into multiplying in flasks.

After two months, the patient returns to the clinic to have the lab-grown cells injected into his bald patch, again under anaesthetic.

But it is not all good news for those with thinning barnets. A typical bare pate would currently need around 1,000 injections. with each jab penetrating 3mm into the skin.

Three months later, new hair should start to poke its way through the previously bald skin.

In early trials, five out of seven men treated experienced hair growth. Larger-scale trials, boosted by a £1.9million grant from the Department of Trade and Industry, are underway.

Male-pattern baldness affects two-thirds of men as they get older, and despite, being a supposed sign of virility, it can have a devastating effect on self-esteem.

Earlier this year, LibDem MP Mark Oaten blamed his midlife crisis and ensuing sex scandal on losing his hair.

Previous post - Next post