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Really Cure Hair Loss? |
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Recent research shows that bald mice can grow hair after being
implanted with "blank slate" stem cells. (These are different to the embryonic stem cells that generate so much controversy). Stem cell cloning is not real cloning in the true sense of the word. But, it is very similar because hundreds of hair follicles can be produced from just one donor follicle. |
(Follicular multiplication or follicular cell regeneration are more accurate terms).
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Follicle hair transplant therapy is still in a stage of research and
testing, and so is not yet
available as an alternative to conventional hair transplants. However, this treatment (which is also known as follicular cell implantation) will involve the following procedure - A scalp biopsy is first taken to obtain a few healthy hair follicles. (This uses a local anaesthetic and takes about 30 minutes). The extracted follicles are then dissected to obtain the papilla (see diagram), each of which contains between 200 and 400 dermal papilla cells (DPC's). |
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These cells are then incubated in cultures to produce hundreds of thousands of new papilla cells. This process takes about 8 weeks.
The DPC's are then implanted (injected) into a bald area of the scalp and release cytokines (chemical signals) that tell the skin to start producing new hair follicles.
However, the process of growing new hair is far more complicated than just that!
A new hair follicle is made from epithelial cells. But, the growth cycle of a follicle is governed by DPC's. So, both epithelial cells and DPC's are needed to produce a follicle.
Also, DPC's don't only originate from the papilla - many migrate from the dermal sheath (see diagram above) into the papilla during the hair growth cycle, and then migrate back out again once the cycle is complete.
The added complexity of epithelial cells and dermal sheath involvement in the process of creating new follicles has presented additional problems that must be solved if this type of therapy is ever to work successfully.
Problems with stem cell cloning and follicle hair transplants
Whilst stem cell cloning for follicle hair transplants has managed to produce hair regrowth in about 70% of volunteers in one very small trial, there are several areas of difficulty concerning this "therapy of the future."
- The culturing technique must preserve the stem cell's ability to reproduce hair, and ensure that a significant number of DPC's can be grown within that culture.
- Any hair produced must be of an acceptable standard to the client (i.e., thick, strong, healthy hair growth).
- The implantation method must guarantee that thousands of implantations per client will produce acceptable and standardised hair growth for the client.
- There's a risk that any hair grown might not survive.
- Given that the process requires the transplantation of perhaps thousands of cells, and involves rapid cell division, it could potentially cause cancer.
- The procedure will be very expensive - the price will almost certainly be comparable with today's conventional treatments.
- An inconsistent number of follicles may be produced - even if the same quantity of cells are injected into the scalp (i.e., as were injected into another area, or in another patient) hair growth can vary from one area to the next, and from one patient to another.
- Normal hair growth has an even density (distribution) throughout the scalp. But, transplanted cells can lump together and then cause hair growth to be patchy.
- Regular hair growth is directional (normally it's in a clockwise direction around the vertex). But the hair grown from implanted cells could be at any angle. This, of course, would give a very shabby looking result that's unacceptable to the patient.
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Another approach for using stem cell cloning and follicle hair
transplants is based on the observation that hair loss involves
shrinkage of hair follicles. (This creates weaker and weaker hair with each successive growth cycle). The implanted cells could force the existing follicles to regenerate, and so produce healthy hair growth once again. This theory is based on trials where hair growth from both implanted cells and original follicles was observed in mouse ears. |
If the implanted cells can influence existing follicles, this method might also address the last three problems mentioned above, since it would involve original follicles that already exist in an acceptable quantity, density and direction of growth.
However, yet another problem could see implanted cells migrating from the area of new hair growth, and so lead to alopecia emerging once again!
It's because of ongoing problems like these that stem cell cloning and follicle hair transplants have received many different estimates of when such a therapy might become a reality. These vary from 3 to 8 years, or even longer. And that's of no use to you if you're suffering from hair loss right now!
It may also be that the stem cell cloning and follicle hair transplant procedure will not reach the same level of effectiveness that a high quality conventional transplant may be able to produce.
There is one more area of concern that could influence whether stem cell cloning and follicle hair transplants will ever become viable solutions for male pattern baldness - the reason why hair loss happens in the first place. In other words, why follicles shrivel.
What previous studies and trials have not considered is that the real reason why scalp follicles shrivel and stop growing healthy hair is skull expansion.
The realisation that skull expansion causes this type of hair loss led to the development of new techniques for hair loss.
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