Bernstein Medical - Center for Hair Restoration

Tag Archive: Terminal Hair

Hair Cloning Study Shows RepliCel’s Efficacy In Increasing Hair Density

RepliCel Life Sciences; a company out of Vancouver, Canada; is studying the use of hair cloning techniques to treat male pattern baldness and hair loss in women.

The study is in progress, but analysis of the 6-month interim results of the first phases have been published. As indicated in the graphic above, the preliminary results at 6 months show that vellus hair density has increased 24.9%, terminal hair density has increased 14.5%, overall hair density increased by 19.2%, and cumulative thickness per area increased by 15.4%.

Also, almost two-thirds of subjects (10 subjects out of 16, or 63%) received a greater than 5% increase in hair density at the injection site. Of that group of 10 subjects, 7 of them saw hair density improve by more than 10%, with the biggest improvement in hair density being an increase of 19.6% in one subject.

Lortkipanidze N, et al. 2012

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Posted by Robert M. Bernstein M.D. Updated 2018-01-09

Can Propecia After Hair Transplant Cause Shedding Of Normal Terminal Hair?

Q: I have been reading various articles and forum postings and it would seem that a person utilizing Propecia might experience increased “shedding” of hairs (outside of the normal hair cycle) around the 12 week mark after a hair transplant and lasting around 2-4 weeks. The forum postings suggest that one will see not only the miniaturized hairs being lost but also normal terminal hair in larger than expected levels. Does an explanation exist to explain this increase in shedding hairs?

A: Our understanding is that finasteride only affects miniaturized hairs — i.e. hair affected by DHT — and that this is all that should be shed. Remember, however, that much of the thinning a bald person experiences is due to thousands of partially miniaturized hair, and these can look very much like a full terminal hair in its early stages.

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Posted by Robert M. Bernstein M.D. Updated 2015-05-21

Strategies for Follicular Cell Implantation

Follicular cell implantation (FCI) is based on the ability of the dermal papilla (DP) cells, found at the bottom of hair follicles, to stimulate new hairs to form. DP cells can be grown and multiplied in culture, so that a very small number of cells can produce enough follicles to cover an entire bald scalp.

In order to produce new follicles, two types of cells must be present. The first are Keratinocytes, the major cell type in the hair follicle, and the second are dermal papillae cells (DP) which lie in the upper part of the dermis, just below the hair follicle. It appears that the DP cells can induce the overlying keratinocytes to form hair follicles. There are a number of proposed techniques for hair regeneration that use combinations of cells that are implanted in the skin. The two major techniques involve either transplanting dermal papillae cells by themselves into the skin, or implanting them with keratinocytes.

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Posted by Robert M. Bernstein M.D. Updated 2017-11-15

Does Propecia Affect Beard Growth?

Q: I am a 21 yrs old male having serious hair loss over the last few years. I also have very little facial hair. Since Propecia is a DHT blocker can it inhibit beard growth? — E.M., Astoria, N.Y.

A: As you suggest, it would be reasonable to assume that since DHT stimulates beard growth, blocking DHT (with finasteride) would tend to inhibit its growth. In practice, this does not seem to be the case, i.e. we don’t find that Propecia has any effect on facial hair. The reason is not clear.

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Posted by Robert M. Bernstein M.D. Updated 2017-12-11

Why Should Hair Transplant Doctor Measure Miniaturization in Donor Area Before Transplant?

Q: Why should a doctor measure miniaturization in the donor area before recommending a hair transplant? — E.B., Key West, F.L.

A: Normally, the donor area contains hairs of very uniform diameter (called terminal hairs). In androgenetic hair loss, the action of DHT causes some of these terminal hairs to decrease in diameter and in length until they eventually disappear (a process referred to as “miniaturization”). These changes are seen initially as thinning and eventually lead to complete baldness in the involved areas.

These changes affect the areas that normally bald in genetic hair loss, namely the front and top of the scalp and the crown. However, miniaturization can also affect the donor or permanent regions of the scalp (where the hair is taken from during a hair transplant). If the donor area shows thinning, particularly when a person is young, then a hair transplant will not be successful because the transplanted hair would continue to thin in the new area and eventually disappear. It is important to realize that just because hair is transplanted to another area, that doesn’t make it permanent – it must have been permanent in the area of the scalp it initially came from.

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Posted by Robert M. Bernstein M.D. Updated 2017-12-01

What is Difference in Hair Cloning Techniques Studied by Aderans and Intercytex?

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 […]

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Posted by Robert M. Bernstein M.D. Updated 2013-06-06

Follicular Hair Transplantation Makes Splash After Bernstein Introduces Procedure To American Academy of Dermatology

Cosmetic Surgery Times features Dr. Bernstein’s presentation to the 55th annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology in their April 1997 issue.

The article describes Dr. Bernstein’s introduction of the concept of Follicular Unit Transplantation to the academy as well as the keys to making the technique successful. From the article:

“‘Hair doesn’t grow singly it grows in naturally occurring groups of from one to four hairs. In follicular transplantation, we use these naturally occurring groups as the unit of the transplant,’ he told CST.

Although the procedure is highly labor intensive, it can actually be less expensive than conventional hair replacement surgery, because it can be performed in a single, but lengthy, session.

‘It is also much more efficient and conserves donor hair much better than conventional hair transplants. Every time you make an incision in the person’s scalp you waste some hair and make the remaining hair more difficult to remove. Accessing the donor area just once or twice will increase the total amount of hair that is available for the transplant,’ Dr. Bernstein told CST.”

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Posted by Robert M. Bernstein M.D. Updated 2014-07-14

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