Is Hair Cloning My Only Hope for Treating DUPA Hair Loss?'

Olga

Question: I have been suffering from hair loss since I was 20, now I am 40 and my loss continuous. None of the medical or surgery helped me at all. I am DUPA (plain alopecia) and my only hope is cloning but I am not sure there is hope for me as I may loose all my hair till that time if will be possible. I would like to learn the updated progress for hair cloning as well as if it will be in near future also the beard hair may be cloned for hair?

Answer: Hi Olga. Although DUPA, or Diffuse Unpatterned Alopecia, is a fairly rare form of Male Pattern Hair Loss it is still a progressive hair loss condition. This means that it will continue to cause your hair to thin if left untreated and may ultimately result in baldness. As you started to experience hair loss 20 years ago, we would expect your hair loss to be at an advanced stage by now.

You mention that no 'medical or surgery' helped you - if you have had a hair transplant and that has not worked then it suggests that your hair loss may now be too advanced for the procedure to be successful. Hair restoration surgery relies on there being a healthy area of donor hair, usually at the back of the head, from which hair can be taken and transplanted to the thinning area(s).

If there was not sufficient donor hair to carry out a successful transplant operation - which can be the case with DUPA as hairloss can occur lower down the scalp than usual - it is also unlikely that hair loss treatments will work.

This is because the hair follicles need to be alive in order for treatments such as high strength minoxidil, to help them back to promoting healthy regrowth. When someone becomes bald, the hair follicles die and the skin scars over - which is what gives bald scalps a shiny appearance - meaning treatments can no longer penetrate the skin.

Belgravia Client Jose, Has Seen Significant Regrowth - Click to See his Treatment Success Story

Insofar as hair cloning goes, there have been a number of advances in cloning hair using stem cell technology, which we have reported on our blog. However, these have mostly been in relation to Alopecia-related hair loss conditions rather than Male Pattern Hair Loss, and are generally still in the testing stages.

The hair cloning treatment most likely to be available the soonest is RepliCel, which is expected to be licensed from 2016.

It would be worthwhile getting a professional assessment of your hair loss as your hair follicles may well still be active and treatments have been seen to produce significant regrowth in a number of Belgravia clients with severe hair loss, such as Jose, pictured here.

However, it is impossible to gauge your stage of shedding without seeing or speaking to you further. We would recommend you visit a hair loss specialist or complete our Online Consultation for personalised advice.