Could Hair Follicle Injections Treat Pattern Hair Loss?

A five-year study is underway in the former Soviet Union country of Georgia to ascertain whether or not hair follicle cells grown in a lab can be used to treat hair loss.

With a specific focus on the genetic conditions Male Pattern Baldness and Female Pattern Hair Loss, the study is based around a fairly simple idea that involves extracting a tiny sliver of skin from a patient during a biopsy. From this tissue the hair follicle cells will be isolated and replicated; these replicated cells are then injected back into the patient’s scalp.

Final stages of hair loss trial

The study is being sponsored by Canada’s TrichoScience Innovations Inc., with input from the Pharmalog Institute for Clinical Research, PRA Health Sciences, Innovacell Biotechnologie AG, German company DatInf and The Hair and Skin Research and Treatment Center. No data on the current status of the trial is available, though it is believed that the study is in its final stages as the trial registration was submitted to the clinicaltrials.gov database back in 2011.

The registration information states that 20 people are involved in the trial 10 males, 10 females and that as well as measuring any increase in hair growth, the study will make regular checks to ascertain if there are any medical problems that have arisen as a result of the test.

The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled test has been taking place at the Scientific Research Institute for Skin and Venereal Diseases, Department of Dermatology in Tbilisi, Georgia. All participants have been given two injections in different parts of their scalp: one contained the follicle cells, the other a placebo.

There are currently multiple trials taking place around the world in which scientists are hoping to harness their growing knowledge of stem cells to treat hair loss conditions. One of the most successful if also slightly freaky so far involved the successful implanting of human hair cells in mice.

The Burnham Medical Research Institute in California told the media in January 2015 that “"We have developed a method using human pluripotent stem cells to create new cells capable of initiating human hair growth. The method is a marked improvement over current methods that rely on transplanting existing hair follicles from one part of the head to another."

Growth factors to boost hair

Alongside this there are trials into the use of ‘growth factors’ taken from body fat as a possible cure, and also into the use of platelet rich plasma, which involves taking growth factors from blood and re-injecting it back into a patient’s scalp.

Click to View Belgravia's Hair Loss Treatment Success Stories Gallery

While science is forging ahead with possible new hair loss treatments, thousands of men are happily reversing what nature has thrown at them today with clinically-proven hair loss medications already available. While not yet the ‘instant fix’ that the scientific community may like them to be, they have nonetheless proved successful for numerous men and women worldwide.

Primary treatments, such as the unisex, topical preparation high strength minoxidil which Belgravia specialists often recommend from the wide range of formulations available from each clinic's pharmacy, to treat hair loss in women and particularly stubborn hair loss in men, such as a receding hairline, have been seen to produce many significant regrowth success stories.

A visit to a dedicated hair loss clinic can be an eye-opening experience, especially when properly-documented success stories are available to see and a knowledgeable team can bring you up to speed with your condition and the treatments available.