Advances in Hair Loss Treatment
Hair loss is a common problem among men, that is
increasingly becoming a concern for women who also suffer the condition.
For people experiencing balding to
any degree, the problems are actually numerous.
While some are capable of dealing
with the problem without any kind of treatment, it is still a struggle.
So you can imagine how it feels like
for those that need expert care. Self-esteem,
confidence, drive, all of it goes down the drain.
It is no surprise then that millions
are spent on hair loss research. People
are willing to spend thousands on all kinds of treatments, and most don’t
even work. There are a few new
innovations out there, however, that show some promise.
Currently, there are two FDA approved drugs that work.
Propecia is taken as a pill, while
Minoxidil is applied to the scalp. The
problem with Minoxidil, other than a few uncommon side effects, is that the
substance does not always penetrate the scalp.
This is where the Scalproller comes
in. This new innovation from Nanogen,
a British biotech company, uses titanium microneedles on a roller to
penetrate the skin by around 0.5 mm. Minoxidil,
and any other developing scalp tonic, is then five times more effective when
used on a Scalproller treated head. Another
use for this hi-tech microneedle roller is that it can eliminate the scars
left by hair transplantation.
This one claim however, should be carefully scrutinized.
They say the Scalproller can
encourage growth of new hair on its own. Being
the only microneedle roller designed specifically for hair treatment,
hundreds of trichologists are already very interested in the device.
Another new tech being developed for hair growth is
platelet rich plasma or PRP, which can also be used with microneedle
therapy. The growth factors in PRP
supposedly help heal the scalp, and the hairs contained therein, after being
traumatized by said microneedles. Even
miniaturized hair is supposedly restored. Also,
by coating sites and grafts with PRP, hair transplant donors are also said
to benefit greatly. Although
expensive at the moment, the future is bright for this cutting edge medical
discovery.
There are also some hopeful discoveries that won’t be
available until several years from now, but they are still worth mentioning.
One is the application of an altered
cold virus to quickly push hair in the resting phase into the growth phase.
This therapy supposedly triggers the
nicknamed “Sonic the Hedgehog” gene responsible for growing new hair.
Currently this has only been
successfully tested on mice. Only
time will tell if this can be applied to humans.
Lastly, donated hair follicles might contribute to hair
growth techniques a decade from now. Current
transplant technology depends highly on the number of remaining active
follicles on one’s own head. This is
why some people are rejected for the procedure.
If this new method, called
cell-transplantation, were to be successful, there will be no limits to how
much hair anybody can grow. It
certainly looks like a brilliant tomorrow is ahead for hair loss sufferers,
with no reference whatsoever to shiny pates.
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