Online genetic test predicts baldness in men

Stem cell; cell based hair therapy
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Online genetic test predicts baldness in men

2 hours, 39 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A US biotech firm has announced a genetic test kit that predicts the likelihood of baldness in men and can be ordered over the Internet, the company said Tuesday

Men interested in finding out if they are genetically predisposed to losing their hair before age 40 can order the kit online for 149 dollars, take a swab sample from inside the mouth and send it to the lab, HairDX said in a statement.

The company then checks the DNA sample for a variation to the X-chromosome which with 95.1 to 98.1 percent accuracy can predict androgenic alopecia, or male pattern baldness. Once the test is complete, customers can retrieve the results via secure connection to the company’s web site.

“Looking at your father’s or grandfather’s head has been an inaccurate, nonscientific barometer,” said Peter Novak, a researcher at the University of Massachusetts medical center.

The CEO of the startup company, Andy Goren, said it aims to save consumers money, not to promote any “miracle” product that promises to cure the condition.

“Each year, men in their 20s and 30s spend millions of dollars on pharmaceuticals, topical products, and other costly treatments trying to prevent baldness,” Goren said.

“Some of this is done by males who may not go bald in the first place.”

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»
» The CEO of the startup company, Andy Goren, said it aims to save consumers
» money, not to promote any “miracle” product that promises to cure the
» condition.
»
» “Each year, men in their 20s and 30s spend millions of dollars on
» pharmaceuticals, topical products, and other costly treatments trying to
» prevent baldness,” Goren said.
»
» “Some of this is done by males who may not go bald in the first place.”
»

I would argue that the advantage of this is the inverse: to learn early in life whether your are suseptible, and to get on treatments early. If you’ve got the gene, the earlier you get on Fin/Dut, the better.

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“The company then checks the DNA sample for a variation to the X-chromosome which with 95.1 to 98.1 percent accuracy can predict androgenic alopecia, or male pattern baldness”

That alone says alot about where science is in isolating and coming up with a countermeasure for androgenic baldness.

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from the prostaglandin D2 patent (for hairloss, acne, rosacea, prostate cancer, and BPH):

"[ 0015 ] In another embodiment, the present invention provides a method of testing a subject for a presence of an AGA, comprising the steps of: (a) measuring a level of a prostaglandin D2 (PGD2) in the scalp of the subject; and (b) comparing the level to a reference standard, wherein, if the level is appreciably elevated 15 relative to the reference standard, then the subject has AGA.

[ 0016 ] In another embodiment, the present invention provides a method of TESTING a subject for a presence of an AGA, comprising the steps of: (a) measuring a level of a PGD2 metabolite in the scalp of the subject; and (b) comparing the level to a reference standard, wherein, if the level is appreciably elevated relative to the reference standard, then the subject has AGA.

20 [ 0017 ] In another embodiment, the present inventi on provides a method of testing a subject for a presence of an AGA, comprising the steps of: (a) measuring a level of a PGD2 in a body fluid of the subject; and (b) comparing the level to a reference standard, wherein, if the level is appreciably elevated relative to the reference standard, then the subject has AGA.

Costarialis apparently thinks PGD2 is some kind of lynchpin in androgen-related disorders. That patent is a motherphucker to read though. Apparently alot of inflammatories are upregulated in scalp that has alot of PGD2 activity. They found that PGD2 is 4.4 times more prevalent in bald scalp over hairy scalp, and that shaved mice can have their next growth phase of fur inhibited by prostaglandin d2 administration topically only where PGD2 is placed.

Here is the whole prostalgandin patent for anyone who wants to look at it:
http://www.wipo.int:80/pctdb/en/wo.jsp?ELEMENT_SET=F&LANGUAGE=ENG&KEY=07%2F149312&IA=07%2F149312&DISPLAY=DESC

Gotta love that title: Methods and compositions for treating hairloss, acne, rosacea, prostate cancer, and BPH…if only. I hope he is right though.

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Hey, there’s nothing written on Moses’s stone tablets from Mt Sinai saying that hair loss advancements must always be incremental and of little real cosmetic impact. Bad track record or not, there’s no reason that they can’t possibly stumble onto something life-altering sooner or later.

It seems clear that the body is naturally set up to regrow skin & its various assorted parts pretty easily. It’ll eventually happen if we can just learn to manipulate the kinks & specifics of the process.

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I don’t have to pay for the test.

I already know the result without genetic technology.

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» I don’t have to pay for the test.
»
» I already know the result without genetic technology.

lol exaclty, however i dont know why they can predict (and how?) before the time our MPB and DONT know how to cure it ! i mean, if they know exactly what happened inside our DNA that make us losing hair, why they cant change it? =\

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Knowing the genetic cause and fixing it are two very different things unfortunately.

They’ve known exactly what genetic fluke causes Down Syndrome for many years.

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http://www.hairdx.com/

Hairdx

Hair Loss Genetic Test
If you are afraid of hair loss, knowing your risk for early onset Androgenetic Alopecia (Pattern Baldness) will help you make the right decisions to preserve your hair.

The HairDX test will provide you with a genetic analysis of your risk for developing Pattern Baldness.

HairDX reports about a genetic variant found in more than 95% of bald men. Scientists found that people with this genetic variant are at 60% risk of going bald by the age of 40.

HairDX also reports about a less common genetic variant of the same gene, that if present indicates a greater than 85% likelihood of not going bald before the age of 40.

Included with your analysis you will receive detailed information about Pattern Baldness and the various options available for management of hair loss.