Spencer Kobren Speaks With Dr. Michael S. Irwig About Post Finasteride Syndrome (PFS)
April 22, 2011
Michael S. Irwig, MD is an endocrinologist at the Medical Faculty Associates in George Washington University, he is also an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Endocrinology. Dr. Irwig recently published a study in the Journal of Sexual Medicine that dealt with Post Finasteride Syndrome (PFS), which is a relatively unknown and misunderstood phenomenon. Prior to the publication of Dr. Irwig’s study, this topic for the most part had only been discussed on various online support groups dealing with this issue.
While Dr. Irwig admits that the study has its limitations, he thought it was an important first step in understanding why a small subset of men are unable to tolerate finasteride and suffer with persistent sexual side effects, when a large percentage of men seem to do very well on the drug.
Irwig interviewed 71 men aged 21 to 46 using a diagnostic tool known as the Arizona Sexual Experience Scale (ASEX). While the study might not have been what many in medicine would consider truly scientific, the data collected was certainly compelling.
Spencer Kobren recently took the time to speak with Dr. Irwig about his findings on Post Finasteride Syndrome.
Propecia Feared To Cause Permanent Impotence
April 12, 2011
The hair loss community is in a panic, and our email boxes are full with correspondence from frightened hair loss sufferers from around the world.
According to reports on a recent study originally published online in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, men who choose to take the drug finasteride to treat their hair loss are playing russian roulette with their sex lives. Some researchers, anti-Propecia blogs, and the mainstream media assert either accept hair loss or risk permanent impotence by attempting to treat it.
According to the latest study conducted by Dr. Michael Irwig and his team at George Washington University Medical School, 92 percent of study participants reported developing erectile dysfunction after taking finasteride, with 94 percent reporting that they experienced low sexual desire, 92
percent reporting a decline in sexual arousal and 69 percent claimed trouble achieving an orgasm.
Well, these findings shouldn’t be too surprising especially since 100 percent of the study participants were men who reported suffering sexual dysfunction after taking the drug finasteride prior to participating in the study. [Read more]
Spencer Kobren Speaks With UCLA Scientist About Latest Hair Raising Discovery
February 18, 2011
The hair loss world has been buzzing ever since the news broke that a team of UCLA scientists accidently reversed baldness in mice while conducting studies on their digestive function.
While many people are hopeful that this might help lead to more effective hair loss treatments for men and women, there are several critics that are doubtful that this finding will result in anything favorable for the hair loss community.
Spencer Kobren took the opportunity to interview the senior investigator of this study, Yvette Taché, Ph.D. In the interview Dr. Taché describes how her research team made this hair loss reversing discovery, and she also talks about how this may help people dealing with all forms of alopecia.
Only time will tell if this discovery turns out to be helpful in finding effective treatments or even a cure for common male and female pattern hair loss.
Listen to the interview:
http://www.baldtruthtalk.com/showthread.php?t=4460
Accidently Reversing Baldness in Mice Might Lead To Cure for Humans
February 17, 2011
Veterinary digestive disease researcher Dr. Million Mulugeta had no idea that his research on mice might one day effect countless millions of human beings and the world as we know it.
Dr. Mulugeta and his team were were studying digestive function in mice that coincidently suffered with alopecia (hair loss) due to an increase in corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), a compound that seems to play a role in how the body responds to stress. When the team injected an antagonist, a compound that blocks CRF, once daily for five days, the mice regrew all of their hair. It was a surprising response that lasted for four months.
Although some types of hair loss have long been linked to stress, Dr. Mulugeta had no idea that inhibiting key receptors in a stress response pathway would have such a dramatic effect on stimulating once dormant hair follicles.
“This was totally unexpected,” said Mulugeta, co-director of the UCLA/CURE Digestive Diseases Research Center. “We do not work on hair; we did not set out to study hair growth.”
Read the story and join the discussion:
http://www.baldtruthtalk.com/showthread.php?t=4437
Histogen Update – Spencer Kobren Speaks With Dr. Craig Ziering About Possible Launch Date of Histogen’s (HSC) And More
February 5, 2011
Histogen’s Hair Stimulating Complex (HSC) is considered as cutting edge as it gets in the fight against male and female pattern hair loss.
A proprietary liquid formula created by the culturing of newborn fibroblasts in an embryonic-like environment, Histogen’s (HSC) is the first naturally stabilized and bioactive formulation of Wnt proteins and natural cofactors being developed and evaluated as an injectable product for hair growth.
Craig L. Ziering, D.O., FAOCD, Histogen’s principal clinical investigator joins Spencer Kobren to discuss Histogen’s latest developments.
ACell, Stem Cells and PRP- Are We Really Getting Closer To a Cure For Hair Loss?
January 28, 2011
According To Gary Hitzig, M.D., if Acell’s Matristem for hair restoration works as predicted, many men and women suffering with common androgenic alopecia will no longer be forced live their lives feeling uncomfortable in their own skin.
His prediction: in one to two years it will all be over. However, many experts in the field have far less exuberance when it comes to these “miracle breakthrough” treatments.
Listen to Dr. Hitzig as he discusses his findings on last weeks broadcast of The Bald Truth:
http://www.baldtruthtalk.com/showpost.php?p=21208&postcount=120
Read What The Experts Have To Say and Join The Discussion:
ACell, a Current Review of Applications in Hair Transplant Surgery
Male Pattern Baldness Possibly Caused by Stem Cell Inactivation
January 11, 2011
New research published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation has found that faulty stem cells may play a role in male pattern baldness.
The study led by George Cotsarelis., chair of the Department of Dermatology at the University of Pennsylvania, examined stem cell samples from men who have undergone hair transplant surgery. Cotsarelis’ team compared the follicles from the thinning areas of the participant’s scalps to the DHT resistant hair bearing areas, and what they learned might hold the key to finding a more straightforward approach to prevent or reverse androgenetic alopecia.
The study revealed that men with male pattern baldness have an equal amount of stem cells in both the hair bearing areas and the balding areas of the scalp, with one very important difference: the areas of the balding scalp had a significantly lower number of progenitor cells. [Read more]
Dr. Gary Hitzig Responds To Dr. John Cole’s Recent Analysis of The Use of ACell MatriStem In Surgical Hair Restoration
December 17, 2010
Surgical hair restoration expert, Dr. John Cole, recently published a post on BaldTruthTalk.Com titled “ACell, a Current Review of Applications in Hair Transplant Surgery.” In his final summary, Dr. Cole writes:
1. There is evidence that ACell improves FUE healing and full thickness 4 mm punch graft healing in terms of skin color.
2. There is evidence that ACell can regenerate hair in FUE extraction sites, but more work is necessary to insure this is not an isolated anecdotal occurrence.
3. There is no evidence that ACell improves the growth of plucked hair.
4. There is no evidence that ACell makes the growth of transplanted hair more “Robust”.
5. There is no evidence that ACell improves strip scar appearance.
6. There is qualitative evidence that ACell improves the feel of a strip scar in some instances, but it is difficult to understand how Dr. Cooley arrived at this conclusion .
7. There is no evidence that ACell induces transected hairs to regrow, but it might.
8. There is no evidence that plucked hairs regrow in the donor area, but they might.
9. There is evidence that plucked hairs will grow finer and result is poorer coverage than transplanted hair.
10. There is no evidence to conclude that “autocloning” occurs.
This review has evoked several questions, concerns and criticisms about the use of ACell MatriStem in surgical hair restoration.
This week Spencer Kobren spoke with with Gary Hitzig, M.D. about his impressions concerning the recent questions and criticism expressed by CIT/FUE pioneer, Dr. John Cole.
Dr. Gary Hitzig Presents His Preliminary Findings Using ACell MatriStem For Hair Restoration
November 14, 2010
Since The Bald Truth first posted Spencer Kobren’s exclusive interviews with ACell MatriStem pioneers in hair restoration Gary Hitzig, M.D. and Jerry Cooley, M.D., the hair loss world has been buzzing with excitement. The number of emails being received by The Bald Truth, the IAHRS and The American Hair Loss Association have been overwhelming, illustrating just how hungry the world’s hair loss sufferers are for accurate information regarding this groundbreaking hair restoration technology.
As desperate as the hair loss community is to finally find a universally effective treatment for this devastating disease of the spirit, the hair loss industry recognizes this desperation and will likely find ways to exploit it. Our advice it to proceed with caution and realize that at this time, few physicians truly understand how to utilize ACell MatriStem in hair restoration correctly and that this process, even in the most capable hands, is still in its experimental stages.
Caveat Emptor “Let The Buyer Beware”
View Dr. Gary Hitzig’s Acell Matristem for Hair Restoration Presentation
Spencer Kobren Interviews Dr. Gary Hitzig – The Pioneer In Using ACell MatriStem For Hair Restoration
November 6, 2010
Hopes are high for the use of ACell’s MatriStem in the world of hair restoration, but hair loss sufferers need to understand that effective results are both user and protocol dependant. Only time will tell which physicians are utilizing these experimental techniques effectively, and as many of you know, recent history has shown that when used incorrectly this extracellular matrix is completely useless.
There are specific methods of application and maintenance that must be adhered to when utilizing ACell MatriStem in all of its applications, and hair restoration is no different.
It’s important for the hair loss community to be fully informed and to have an accurate history of today’s groundbreaking developments. We also think it’s important to pay homage to those in the field who are leading the way with these cutting edge developments.
There is no doubt that the original pioneer for the use of ACell MatriStem in hair restoration is New York hair transplant surgeon Gary Hitzig, M.D., who has been experimenting with the product in his practice for the past couple of years.
On November 4, 2010 Spencer Kobren had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Hitzig about his groundbreaking experiments and about the true history of the use of ACell MatriStem in the fight against hair loss.
