Q: I know that both Aderans and Intercytex are doing research with cloning hair. Is there any difference in their approaches?
A: Aderans is using the "two-cell” approach. They feel that the best way to produce viable hair follicles is to use a combination of inducer cells and responder cells. Each would be multiplied separately and then injected together into the skin. The inducer cells are follicular fibroblasts and lie at the base of the hair follicle. The responder cells are keratinocytes. They feel that the combination of cells will have the best chance of producing clinically useful hair.
Intercytex prefers a one-cell approach. Their researchers feel that when the cultured inducer fibroblasts are injected into the skin there will be enough existing cells in the skin to produce a cosmetically viable hair. In their experimentation, Intercytex uses a new animal model, termed the “flap graft” model, that involves the implantation of cultured dermal papilla cells with keratinocytes placed under a flap on the back of hairless mice. Later the flap is exteriorized (turned over), allowing the hair to grow normally. Exactly how this will be applied to clinical use in humans is not clear.
A completely different view is held Dr. Ralf Paus at the University of Luebeck in Germany. He feels that there are already enough stem cells in the bald scalp and that the key to hair re-growth is to target key elements in the hair cycle. He feels that topically applied inhibitors of catagen (the resting phase of the hair cycle), exogen (the formation of an empty hair follicle), or inhibitors of the terminal-to-vellus transformation (the process of a hair shrinking in size under the influence of DHT and referred to as miniaturization) will the most effective way to go. Finasteride and dutasteride are drugs that work in this way, but are clearly not very effective in stimulating new growth. He also feels that an anagen inducer, along the lines of a minoxidil-type medication has a better chance of success then the stem cell targeting strategies described above. In these cases one would, in a sense, rejuvenate dormant hair follicles rather than induce new ones to grow.
Intercytex uses a new animal model, termed the
» “flap graft” model, that involves the implantation of cultured dermal
» papilla cells with keratinocytes placed under a flap on the back of
» hairless mice. Later the flap is exteriorized (turned over), allowing the
» hair to grow normally. Exactly how this will be applied to clinical use in
» humans is not clear.
It isn’t applied to clinical use in humans. It is used in animal models for testing cell viability etc. Keep in mind, both phase I and phase II have been performed by injecting cells into the intact skin, and this results in minimal invasiveness. There is no need to use some weird inverted flap technique that ends up making a guy look like Franenstein. No scalpels for me please
»
» A completely different view is held Dr. Ralf Paus at the University of
» Luebeck in Germany. (…) In these cases one would, in a sense,
» rejuvenate dormant hair follicles rather than induce new ones to grow.
Good luck Ralf. But Minox is a 3 decade old technology that, for the most part, hasn’t been improved upon since. I hear what you are saying, but it ain’t coming anytime soon. If I want to rejuvinate my dormant follicles, I’ll inject follicular cells into them that possess embryonic properties
» What about Gho? Did he use one cell or multiple cells ? Maybe he failed
» because he only used one.
As JB will attest, Gho was using several different types of cells at once. However, Gho’s problems were really with the culturing of the cells, and his failure to perfect the right “proprietary steps” that ICX has developed, to cause the cells to retain all of their inductive properties which reliably lead to new follicles.
Gho was on the right track, but never developed something that was reliable and reproducible. He got bogged down in trying different protocols, but his funding from ABN-Amro was exhausted before he could deliver something useful. In the end, it appears his relationship with ABN was not fruitful, and he got screwed financially, losing his rights to much of his work.
» JTR,
»
» How’s the new look going for you? Is the swelling completely gone? What
» kind of feedback are you getting?
Hi ESP,
No, the swelling is not completely gone. It’s honestly taking longer than I thought for the swelling to go down, but it is improving (slowly) day by day. I definitely can see a significant improvement in my profile when I look in the mirror. According to the doctor and his assistants, you don’t really see the full effect until about 3 months after the procedure, and I had my procedure on April 5. So I still have a while to wait.
There’s no pain, just an area of swelling directly below my jaw, like a lump, center aligned, that was quite big the day after the procedure but is shrinking towards the center every day.
Otherwise, I can already see how good my new profile is going to look, and I’m very excited about it, because it is the result I predicted. The surgeon and his staff told me that because I have “good skin”, my chin and neck will look very good when I’m fully healed.
» huh ??? JTR you had something done? A hair transplant?
No, ipod - I had a submental liposuction and neck lift procedure done. I had a double chin (fat deposit under my chin that simply comes with age, at 40 years old)… The surgeon made tiny incisions near each ear, and directly below my chin at the jawline, and suctioned out fat.
» » huh ??? JTR you had something done? A hair transplant?
»
» No, ipod - I had a submental liposuction and neck lift procedure done. I
» had a double chin (fat deposit under my chin that simply comes with age,
» at 40 years old)… The surgeon made tiny incisions near each ear, and
» directly below my chin at the jawline, and suctioned out fat.
That sounds painful. What the hell is a submental lipo ? Where is submental ?
» » » huh ??? JTR you had something done? A hair transplant?
» »
» » No, ipod - I had a submental liposuction and neck lift procedure done.
» I
» » had a double chin (fat deposit under my chin that simply comes with
» age,
» » at 40 years old)… The surgeon made tiny incisions near each ear,
» and
» » directly below my chin at the jawline, and suctioned out fat.
»
» That sounds painful. What the hell is a submental lipo ? Where is
» submental ?
I know, submental sounds like it means retarded or something. Actually, “submental” just means below the chin. “Mentum” is latin for chin.
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