Limitless Donor Supply-Acell

I previously posted this information in the Hair Multiplication Forum but received no reply. Maybe the followers of this forum would find this information more usefull. Check out this companies website at Acell.com.

I just spoke with Acell reguarding using their extracellular matrix. I talked to someone (who I won’t name for fear of misquoting him) knowledgeable about the product (not a receptionist) and he said that he has had several calls about using Acell in the hair restoration industry. He stated that most of the inquiries were by patients and not medical professionals. If I understood him correctly, it seems that most callers want to remove the balding tissue and place the extracellular matrix in that area to restore the lost hair. He stated that he didn’t know if that would work because the tissue in that area is receptive to the hormones that cause hair loss and he wasn’t sure how deep they would have to go to bypass this problem. He also reminded me that he is not an expert in hair loss.

I then stated that I thought it would be possible to use the Acell product in a traditional hair transplant. That is, remove the donor tissue from the side or back of the head, transplant it on to the top of the head and instead of suturing the tissue back together in the donor area, place the extracellular matrix over the area and allow it to regenerate. It would regenerate the tissue and the hair follicles…PROVIDING LIMITLESS DONOR SUPPLY! He said that it WOULD regenerate the removed tissue AND the hair. He thought that this would be a good application for this product. He stated that they have been in court battling over patent infringements over the past four years which has halted their progress but they have won the legal issues are are moving forward.

He stated that it would be at least a year before they have products on the market for the cosmetic industry (due to FDA) and the product has not been FDA approved for hair restoration yet. This may slow down the process.

It sounds to me that THERE IS ALREADY A PRODUCT AVAILABLE that can help us to restore our lost hair but red tape must be cut to attain it. I would appreciate any input on this subject.

» I previously posted this information in the Hair Multiplication Forum but
» received no reply. Maybe the followers of this forum would find this
» information more usefull. Check out this companies website at Acell.com.
»
»
» I just spoke with Acell reguarding using their extracellular matrix. I
» talked to someone (who I won’t name for fear of misquoting him)
» knowledgeable about the product (not a receptionist) and he said that he
» has had several calls about using Acell in the hair restoration industry.
» He stated that most of the inquiries were by patients and not medical
» professionals. If I understood him correctly, it seems that most callers
» want to remove the balding tissue and place the extracellular matrix in
» that area to restore the lost hair. He stated that he didn’t know if that
» would work because the tissue in that area is receptive to the hormones
» that cause hair loss and he wasn’t sure how deep they would have to go to
» bypass this problem. He also reminded me that he is not an expert in hair
» loss.
»
» I then stated that I thought it would be possible to use the Acell product
» in a traditional hair transplant. That is, remove the donor tissue from the
» side or back of the head, transplant it on to the top of the head and
» instead of suturing the tissue back together in the donor area, place the
» extracellular matrix over the area and allow it to regenerate. It would
» regenerate the tissue and the hair follicles…PROVIDING LIMITLESS
» DONOR SUPPLY! He said that it WOULD regenerate the removed tissue AND the
» hair. He thought that this would be a good application for this product.
» He stated that they have been in court battling over patent infringements
» over the past four years which has halted their progress but they have won
» the legal issues are are moving forward.
»
» He stated that it would be at least a year before they have products on
» the market for the cosmetic industry (due to FDA) and the product has not
» been FDA approved for hair restoration yet. This may slow down the
» process.
»
» It sounds to me that THERE IS ALREADY A PRODUCT AVAILABLE that can help us
» to restore our lost hair but red tape must be cut to attain it. I would
» appreciate any input on this subject.

It sounds interesting (alhtough i probably won’t ever be a candidate for hair butchery). Anyway, from my point point of view this would add a stage to the transplant process, and thus imply additionnal costs. Considering that HT is already very expensive, this would probabl blow the price of a procedure even more.

that is gonna cost even more $$$. HT’s are already an arm and a leg for mediocore results.

Maybe a dermaroller used on the bald scalp would be enough of a wound to get the Acell to work. Can this product be bought now.

» that shyt is gonna cost even more $$$. HT’s are already an arm and a leg
» for mediocore results.

The results would not be mediocre if there was an unlimited supply of donor hair. I’ve already had transplants and am fairly happy with the results…the only reason that I haven’t continued is the fact that I’ve come to the realization that they cannot give you a full head of hair (if you have a large balding area) as many of the companies promise.

Because of this, I’m waiting for better technology. This may possibly be that technology. (Trust me, I’d rather just get injections to grow my hair back, but if this product could give me limitless donor supply, and give me a full head of hair…I’ll take it.) The part that excites me is the fact that this product is already on the market.

As far as cost goes, I’ve already thought about that. I can’t imagine that the extracellular matrix can be THAT expensive because of the fact that they use in vet. science. Most people (unfortunately) do not place a high value on animals and therefore would not pay too much for this technology. But, the hair restoration industry would probably find a way to rip us off.

Just My Opinion

» that shyt is gonna cost even more $$$. HT’s are already an arm and a leg
» for mediocore results.

I was not the original poster of this subject…It was originally posted by WESB (I think that is correct username ?)

But anyways…

I do believe it should be available now since it already had FDA approval and is used in Vet medicine … check out the acell website :

http://www.acell.com/about.html

as far as costs, I find it hard to believe that this would significantly increase the cost of a traditional HT since it is basically just a wound dressing and is already used in vet medicine as stated above. And for “mediocre results” in HT’s, these are due to the limitation in donor hair. With “limitless” donor hair (due to regrowth of donor area)this shouldnt be an issue. Look at the case studies below and note “complete hair regrowth”

http://www.acell.com/vetcases/chadwick.html

http://www.acell.com/vetcases/fancy.html

http://www.acell.com/vetcases/lucille.html

http://www.acell.com/vetcases/twinkie.html

» I was not the original poster of this subject…It was originally posted
» by WESB (I think that is correct username ?)
»
» But anyways…
»
» I do believe it should be available now since it already had FDA approval
» and is used in Vet medicine … check out the acell website :
»
» http://www.acell.com/about.html
»
» as far as costs, I find it hard to believe that this would significantly
» increase the cost of a traditional HT since it is basically just a wound
» dressing and is already used in vet medicine as stated above. And for
» “mediocre results” in HT’s, these are due to the limitation in donor hair.
» With “limitless” donor hair (due to regrowth of donor area)this shouldnt be
» an issue. Look at the case studies below and note “complete hair regrowth”
»
»
» http://www.acell.com/vetcases/chadwick.html
»
» http://www.acell.com/vetcases/fancy.html
»
» http://www.acell.com/vetcases/lucille.html
»
» http://www.acell.com/vetcases/twinkie.html

well i’m open to anything if it works consistantly. but how come we’re not hearing more about this especially from any of the trusted HT docs on this site? just how new is this? if its been through FDA why isnt anybody hyping it up?

Acell was in a patent dispute with Purdue University (one of the researchers who developed it worked at Purdue and therefore the university thinks they have rights to the technology)

Acell recently won the dispute and are “moving forward” with their products…and also the original purpose of the Acell products was not for hair restoration, although its seems possible to use it for this purpose…

A down side to this method(if it worked) would be that you would have to have a strip HT surgery, and leave the wound open on the side or back of your head rather than suturing it closed…and dress it with the Acell product…and wait for it to heal on its own…which would probably take a more than a month…which would be hard for some people to do…but would be worth it in the long run

additionally although it is FDA approved for some uses, would it have to be FDA approved specifically for hair loss ???

Raptor,

While Im very impressed with the photogrpahs in the picture that shows dog fur in injured areas growing all the way back, there is a concern with this product in regards to efficacy for MPB.

That concern is that these animals do not have male pattern baldness. Dogs dont go bald naturally in response to testosterone like we do.

The recent Costarialis announcement that in response to wound healing, if wnt pathways can be upregulated, hair can regrow face much the same problem. Namely, we can get the miniaturized hairs to regrow, but for how long? Now the MPB hairs are growing again, and they are now producing larger dermal papillas that have many more receptor sites to be hit by …much more DHT. Unless the underlying genetics of the hairs in MPB are changed, how long would they last?

Thats a conundrum. I’d love to see it tested though. Im for anything that will give men full heads of hair.

I could show you pictures of various topicals for instance that grow hair like wildfire on shaved mice. Minxodil will do this vs. placebo, grape seed proanthoscyandins will do it, barley proanthocyandins will do it, apple proanthocyandins will do it, copper peptides will do it, latanaprost will do it, phenytoin will do it, etc. There are abundant hypertrichotics out there, but counteracting the hormonal shutdown of hair in androgenic alopecia as a result of male hormone being uptaken at androgen receptors, too much TGF beta,TGF beta 2, thrombospondin, FGF-5, IL-1, and PKC being made by the dermal papilla and sent to other cells in the follicle, slowing their growth, and somehow inviting an immune response that sees the dermal fibroblasts around the hair follicle deposit to much collagen underneath the follicle and in the root sheath, surrounding it, and superoxides and inflammatory cytokines sent at the follicle scarring its structure and resulting in the apoptosis (cellular death) in some important follicle parts, are the etiology of the genetic condition we call male pattern baldness. I wonder if something like Acell could be used to get hairs growing so treatments like finasteride, spiro and minox could keep them “alive” however.

Like I said, I’d love to see it tested in human beings, but like lots of guys at hairsite, who have had our hopes raised before…we are kinda world weary when it comes to anything that doesn’t simply multiply the donor area for re-implantation.

Youre quite right about tranpslants,they would be wonderful if the docs could simply “make” about 40,000 more hairs to put it.

» Raptor,
»
» While Im very impressed with the photogrpahs in the picture that shows dog
» fur in injured areas growing all the way back, there is a concern with this
» product in regards to efficacy for MPB.
»
» That concern is that these animals do not have male pattern baldness. Dogs
» dont go bald naturally in response to testosterone like we do.
»
» The recent Costarialis announcement that in response to wound healing, if
» wnt pathways can be upregulated, hair can regrow face much the same
» problem. Namely, we can get the miniaturized hairs to regrow, but for how
» long? Now the MPB hairs are growing again, and they are now producing
» larger dermal papillas that have many more receptor sites to be hit by
» …much more DHT. Unless the underlying genetics of the hairs in
» MPB are changed, how long would they last?
»
» Thats a conundrum. I’d love to see it tested though. Im for anything that
» will give men full heads of hair.
»
»
» I could show you pictures of various topicals for instance that grow hair
» like wildfire on shaved mice. Minxodil will do this vs. placebo, grape
» seed proanthoscyandins will do it, barley proanthocyandins will do it,
» apple proanthocyandins will do it, copper peptides will do it, latanaprost
» will do it, phenytoin will do it, etc. There are abundant hypertrichotics
» out there, but counteracting the hormonal shutdown of hair in androgenic
» alopecia as a result of male hormone being uptaken at androgen receptors,
» too much TGF beta,TGF beta 2, thrombospondin, FGF-5, IL-1, and PKC being
» made by the dermal papilla and sent to other cells in the follicle,
» slowing their growth, and somehow inviting an immune response that sees
» the dermal fibroblasts around the hair follicle deposit to much collagen
» underneath the follicle and in the root sheath, surrounding it, and
» superoxides and inflammatory cytokines sent at the follicle scarring its
» structure and resulting in the apoptosis (cellular death) in some
» important follicle parts, are the etiology of the genetic condition we
» call male pattern baldness. I wonder if something like Acell could be used
» to get hairs growing so treatments like finasteride, spiro and minox could
» keep them “alive” however.
»
»
» Like I said, I’d love to see it tested in human beings, but like lots of
» guys at hairsite, who have had our hopes raised before…we
» are kinda world weary when it comes to anything that doesn’t simply
» multiply the donor area for re-implantation.
»
»
» Youre quite right about tranpslants,they would be wonderful
» if the docs could simply “make” about 40,000 more hairs to put it.

Benji,

I agree with you that our hopes have been raised over and over again only to be deflated and send many on this forum on an emotional roller coaster ride. Therefore we should be skeptical about new advancements in hair technology. I’ve been following this board for years and I can relate. I’ve been suffering from hair loss for about 17 years (I’m 37) and have gotten excited about many of the snake oil treatments that have come down the line…only to be disappointed later. I can understand your feelings about this product. I am not completely convinced by it either (because of my past experiences) but see it as one of the more promising advancements to come along in a while. I just think that it should be examined more closely.

As far as the hair still be susceptible to the genetics that cause hair loss, I agree with you. Placing this extracellular biomatrix on the balding area of your scalp will not change the fact that that area is genetically determined to being bald. That is why I think that a much better idea would be to take the hair from the area from the side of the head (as in a traditional hair transplant where the hair is not genetically determined to fall out) and move it to the top of the head. I’ve had transplants about 15-16 years ago and still have all of the hair that was transplanted. After removing this “genetically protected” hair to the top of the head, apply the acell material to the side of the head (rather than closing the wound) and allow the wound to close and regrow more “genetically protected” hair…thus ultimately producing and UNLIMITED DONOR SUPPLY.

I think that it is worth a trial (at least). For a patient who is willing to have a conventional hair transplant, there is not much to lose. It is simply a matter of having the transplant (like they were going to do anyway) and instead of suturing up the wound on the side of the head, covering it with the extracellular biomatrix and allowing it to heal. Hopefully it will heal naturally and regrow the hair that was previously in that area (a new crop of “genetically protected” hair). If it doesn’t, the tissue can always be removed and sutured together later. I would definately start with a SMALL area of the scalp to test this theory.

Although this new technology has not been around long enough to determine long term outcomes…neither has anything else. The only options that have been on the market long enough to remotely state long term consequences are minoxidil and traditional transplants. When ICX comes to market, those who have that procedure done will be gambling on the long term effects also. The only other option would be to spend the majority of your life bald…waiting to observe the long term effects before you have the procedure done.

Many are having body hair transplants done. The outcome of this procedure is somewhat risky. The thickness and terminal length of this hair often does not completely match that of the surrounding hair (on the head). I feel that the Acell product may allow the patient who is willing to undertake these types of surgeries a better outcome. Obviously, these patients are willing to take a certain amount of risk with a procedure such as bht, maybe they would be willing to give Acell a try.

Take Care,
Raptor

» I think that it is worth a trial (at least). For a patient who is willing
» to have a conventional hair transplant, there is not much to lose. It is
» simply a matter of having the transplant (like they were going to do
» anyway) and instead of suturing up the wound on the side of the head,
» covering it with the extracellular biomatrix and allowing it to heal.
» Hopefully it will heal naturally and regrow the hair that was previously
» in that area (a new crop of “genetically protected” hair). If it doesn’t,
» the tissue can always be removed and sutured together later. I would
» definately start with a SMALL area of the scalp to test this theory.

This certainly sounds like a good way to permanently disfigure yourself. Are you willing to be the person who leaves a gaping hole in the back of their head?

» » I think that it is worth a trial (at least). For a patient who is
» willing
» » to have a conventional hair transplant, there is not much to lose. It
» is
» » simply a matter of having the transplant (like they were going to do
» » anyway) and instead of suturing up the wound on the side of the head,
» » covering it with the extracellular biomatrix and allowing it to heal.
» » Hopefully it will heal naturally and regrow the hair that was
» previously
» » in that area (a new crop of “genetically protected” hair). If it
» doesn’t,
» » the tissue can always be removed and sutured together later. I would
» » definately start with a SMALL area of the scalp to test this theory.
»
» This certainly sounds like a good way to permanently disfigure yourself.
» Are you willing to be the person who leaves a gaping hole in the back of
» their head?

I would be willing to try a small area. Why would there be a permanent disfigurement? If it didn’t regrow the hair, the wound could be closed up as it would have been after a conventional transplant anyways.

There will be a risk with any of the advances in hair technology. We cannot possibly know the long term effects (at least for a long time). You’re only other option is to stay bald.

» »
» » This certainly sounds like a good way to permanently disfigure yourself.
»
» » Are you willing to be the person who leaves a gaping hole in the back
» of
» » their head?
»
» I would be willing to try a small area. Why would there be a permanent
» disfigurement? If it didn’t regrow the hair, the wound could be closed up
» as it would have been after a conventional transplant anyways.
»
» There will be a risk with any of the advances in hair technology. We
» cannot possibly know the long term effects (at least for a long time).
» You’re only other option is to stay bald.

I don’t think you’re thinking this through. You say that BHT is “risky”, yet you feel that this would be safe thing to try?
Even with a small area, it is not always easy to close a wound that has begun healing by secondary intention, ie, with granulation tissue growing in at the base and sides of the wound. It would be necessary to re-excise the edges of the wound (which would necessarily make it larger) and then suture it closed. The base would also need to be excised to rid it of the granulation tissue so that healing could proceed by primary intention.
Another important issue is that of bilogical individuality. One or more persons might heal up OK, with “full regrowth of hair”. If this experience were extrapolated to the population at large, another patient might not heal this way, leaving a very large, disfiguring wound which would heal slowly, resulting in a correspondingly large scar on the head.
Then we would be hearing once again, how these doctors should have told us that the procedure we were begging them to do, might have adverse consequences.

Why not just use FUE and try it on a few sites to see if the hair regrows.

I can see how extracellular matrix can help to close the edges of wounds. But I don’t think that it is regrowing hair. I think that when the hair grows around the closing wound, it shows that there is minimal scarring taking place in that area. How does extracellular matrix grow hair? Is it assumed that the existing matrix in blading areas is contaminated with DHT, so you want to replace it with fresh matrix? Just trying to understand the applications to hair growth…

» I would be willing to try a small area. Why would there be a permanent
» disfigurement? If it didn’t regrow the hair, the wound could be closed up
» as it would have been after a conventional transplant anyways.
»
» There will be a risk with any of the advances in hair technology. We
» cannot possibly know the long term effects (at least for a long time).
» You’re only other option is to stay bald.

This forum is full of people who had just regular strip surgery who are permanently disfigured and they didn’t intentionally leave a wide open gap to “self-heal” with the hope that hair would grow back in it’s place.

At a minimum, wouldn’t the gap also be ridiculously and noticeably shallower than the other hair. What would keep the gap from continuing to stretch? Are the plans to staple the scalp to the skull?

The idea of trying it on FUE gaps makes much more sense.

It is surprising to me that the people (especially in the hair transplant forum) are not more excited about this technology. I can understand the people in the hair multiplication forum not being interested (if they have no interest in getting a hair transplant under any circumstances) but the people considering a transplant should be interested in this company.

I’m not saying that this is the answer to our dreams, but it might be. It is at least worth checking into much more closely. It may offer the limitless donor supply that we are all seeking.

What surprises me is the fact that there people in this forum who are willing to place pubic hair/beard hair/leg hair/back hair on their heads, but dismiss the possibility of growing a limitless supply of HEAD hair without even doing any research. At the very least you sould check out the website ACELL.COM and watch the videos. Call the company and ask questions you may have.

It would be great of some of the TRANSPLANT DOCTORS would check into this technology. If it works, they could truly offer the FULL head of hair that they all promise before performing a transplant (usually to disappoint us).

Personally, I believe that most of the doctors could care less about emerging technology. Most of the people in this forum know FAR more than doctors performing transplants. They are happy to take your money and go home at the end of the day. I believe that it partly up to us to push for better results.

Keep pursuing this. I am very interested in this. If it can regenerate hairs extracted via FUE, then this would be very useful, especially for NW2/3 like me.

» Keep pursuing this. I am very interested in this. If it can regenerate
» hairs extracted via FUE, then this would be very useful, especially for
» NW2/3 like me.

Thanks for the reply. I am very excited about this also. I have already called the company. They stated that they may need FDA approval for hair regeneration. I’m not sure why…if it is already approved for wound closure, why would it need additional approval for wound closure that happens to grow hair?

I think that the more people that contact the company the better. We will gain more knowledge about the product and show the need for the product in the hair loss industry. I wish a hair transplant doctor would contact Acell. You can view their website at ACELL.COM.

I just contacted them. Maybe they’ll let me use their stuff on my FUE donor region.