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Snippet from the press release:

RepliCel Life Sciences Inc. is pleased to report that the six-month post injection follow-up period of its TS001-2009 clinical trial is nearing completion.

To date, 17 of 19 subjects have had their six-month follow-up visit, during which time subjects had their overall health evaluated. This included subjective and objective assessment of verum and placebo injected sites and digital images were taken of the scalp and injection areas.

Read the full text — RepliCel Provides Quarterly Update on First-In-Man Clinical Trials

Hi Dr. Rassman,

My understanding from reading your blog is that FUE is over-hyped because it does not produce a linear scar, but is still inferior to the strip method in producing the most number of grafts with the least amount of transection. If hair cloning technology was to ever become a mainstream option that hair transplant surgeons offered, would that then make FUE the gold standard/go-to choice since the number of grafts needed could be created from a smaller amount of donor follicles?

Thanks

The point of the post you’re referencing from a couple weeks ago (FUE Back into the Linear Scar vs Scar Revision) was that once a strip surgery has been done and a linear scar is already present, a FUE procedure should not be the harvesting method of choice.

To answer your question on cloning, if the clone somehow came from the scalp, then FUE would be used, but if the cloned hair came from a petri dish, then no harvesting mechanism will be needed and the cloned hair would be put directly into the recipient site.

Since Acell has failed and seemed a year ago to be “A Cure for Baldness in Five Years” its seems to me that the only 2 research institutes that are really getting substancial funding are Aderans Research and Replicel. Aderans uses a small piece of tissue that is removed from the neckline…”Cells are cultivated in controlled conditions where they are encouraged to multiply by the addition of proprietary growth media. When enough new cells are formed, they are returned to the scalp, where they are injected and elicit new hair growth and thickness, ultimately producing more hair than the client had before.” Replicel has a way to isolate dermal sheath cup cells and cultivate them. They are hopeful that injecting them into the scalp will cause regrowth on the scalp.

Since both Aderans Research and Replicel are in phase 2 of their clinical trials one would think that unless the subjects of the trial were locked in a room for 6 months someone would obviously have come out and said that these injections are working. If so…investors and inside traders wouldn’t flinch to buy Replicel stock (Aderans Research is a private company.) But Replicels stock…regardless of its clinical studies that have been going on for all this time…has a low volume of trade and is at 2.35 a share. With all of this put together…it seems blatantly obvious that besides the procedure being safe…both Replicel and Aderans Research Institute’s attempts at regenerating hair follicles is failing. What is your take on this?

I guess that is one way to look at it. I am unaware of any leaked information, and I’m not even familiar with the ins and outs of these particular trials. I’d have to assume there are non-disclosure or confidentiality agreements which prevent participants from discussing their results (if any). If they are successful, the results will be announced when they’re ready. Rushing things isn’t going to help.

As for looking to insider trading as a sure-fire way to know if a product is coming to market… good luck with that.

Hi,
I read about Scalp MicroPigmentation (SMP) and I think this might be a good choice for me, because I am not candidates for hair transplant surgery. However, I am waiting for the day that the hair cloning technology can be used by people like me. My question is: Is SMP a barrier for future hair cloning?

Thanks

When properly designed, Scalp MicroPigmentation (SMP) can work with hair transplants and possibly with a good cloning process once cloning is practical. Hair cloning is “not ready for prime time”, but I expect that once it is viable, any good cloning procedure must restore a normal appearance, including the leading edge of the hairline which is critical to a normal look.

This process is often ignored by tattoo people who do SMP type of work, partly because the patient pushes a hairline design that may not be normal, or the tattoo person does not appreciate the blend between the natural balding process, the maturing hairline, and what they should look like.

The influence of someone like Dr. Pak (who designs all of our SMP work) is critical to the excellent results we obtain. I would imagine that the same conditions would apply to the cloning process.

Snippet from the article/interview:

For over a decade, leading hair biology scientists. Dr. Rolf Hoffmann and Dr. Kevin McElwee, have been studying the potential of dermal sheath cup cells to spark hair regeneration and the rejuvenation of miniaturized hair follicles. Hoffmann, RepliCel’s Chief Medical Officer, discusses his research, the process of developing this treatment, and the critical steps the company is taking along the way to ensure that it is successful.

Read the rest — Equities.com Interviews Dr. Rolf Hoffmann, Chief Medical Officer, RepliCel Life Sciences Inc.

Interesting reading! What little I know of RepliCel has been written before here, but this interview explains about their study of the dermal sheath cup cells and how this differs from others doing similar research.

Since Dr. Hitzig appears to have reversed his stance on acell 2 hairs for one process on a bald scalp, how much hair density did he say is required for the new hair to grow?

Are you planning to do studies using denser sites for transplantation? Or do you think we’ve been sold a too good to be true situation.
He must know others would try and duplicate the process. And fail.

Perhaps I wasn’t clear enough on the ACell matter…

ACell for use in hair cloning or hair multiplication (plucked hairs) does not work. I am not at all sure if it even has a future in hair multiplication. We aren’t planing further studies, but I can’t speak for other doctors that might be trying to get it to work as originally claimed.

Dr. Rassman,

What can you tell us about this new German development?

YouTube

Exciting stuff. Thanks for sending the link! I’ve embedded the video below.

The first two researchers are certainly stimulated to find a cure (they are very bald) so I would trust them. Growing hair follicles in a petri dish has been done before by Dr. Jahoda in the 1990s (here and here). When grown in the petri dish, it is exciting, but moving them into a scalp and having them grow is much, much harder.

Hi Dr. Rassman:

Once again, thank you for contributing to a great blog.

I am a 32 yr old white male with dark hair. Approximately 2 years ago I first noticed thinning hair on the Crown (about the size of a ping pong ball). I went on propecia and have been on it ever since. There has not been any visible progression (at least to the naked eye). In terms of family history, all of my immediate family members have their hair except once uncle in his 50s has a bald spot around his crown. My one deceased grandfather buzzed his hair but according to my Dad, still hair hair (not completely bald).

I went for a consultation with a hair transplant doctor who advised me that I would need around 2000 grafts to cover that space but since I have an unstable permanent zone (i.e. miniaturization) he did not recommend it.

1. The doctor did not use the acronym “DUPA” but is that what he was essentially saying?
2. I have had fine hair since I was in my teens. Is DUPA progressive or stable? I have what appears to be a full head of hair - will it stabalize here or continue to progress?
3. Dr. Bernstein states that those with DUPA can look “fine” if they keep their hair very short. Does he mean short as in the same look achieved through scalp micro pigmentation?
4. Can scalp micro pigmentation be of use to someone with DUPA?
5. There has been a lot of discussion about hair cloning/manipulation being available commercially within 10 years (according to Dr. Bernstein). In your professional opinion, do you think such an advancement be of any use to someone with DUPA?

1. Genetic male pattern baldness doesn’t include the permanent zone, so diffuse loss there could be DUPA.

2. DUPA is often progressive, but it can be stable for a number of years. These conditions tend to be unstable if it is associated with genetic balding.

3. No, not that short. I am sure Dr. Bernstein means clipping it to 1/4 or 1/3rd inch.

4. It can be, but I do not like to generalize on this without examining your scalp and hair loss.

5. That 10 year mark has been moving every year. There’s no use speculating on what cloning can or can’t do for treating various issues, as it won’t be commercially available in the near future. If hair cloning becomes closer to reality, I’m sure the answers will come.

Hello doctor, I don’t know if you already have seen this but I think you might find this interesting. Maybe you have comments on it?

YouTube

Thanks for sending the video. I had not seen it before. The video is of Dr. Ken Washenik from Aderans Research discussing where his company is at in the hair cloning race at the ICRAH (International Congress Research Against Hair Loss) meeting in France earlier this year. Even though it seems his voice was replaced with a female speaker in the video, this is very exciting stuff. It appears that we are getting closer to the final solution to the hair loss problem.

I’ve embedded the video below:

Hi sir:
I just found this site and you have pretty interesting material. I would like to know if you know of any intentional delays in hair cloning/multiplication access caused by the FDA, corporation or any other very influential source because it seems like a mighty slow process compared to even bigger breakthroughs science have accomplished. Thank you.

How do you really expect me to answer this question? If there is a conspiracy, how would I know this? But really, the question I must ask — Why would there even be a conspiracy? Why would corporations intentionally delay the cloning? What is the motive? Sometimes I can’t tell if someone is joking around or if they truly believe something as nutty as this.

Corporations will win by making money with the new technology. The doctors will make money with performing more cloning surgeries. Balding men will benefit in managing their problem possibly without surgery. The technology is slow to develop, but treating hair loss is a multi-billion dollar industry, so it would make no sense for any for-profit company to delay a new treatment if it were ready to market.

Then again, perhaps there is a secret club of men with full heads of hair who do not want social and economic competition from their bald counterparts. Something to think about…