• 10-24-2010 12:22 PM
    tbtadmin
    Spencer Kobren Interviews Dr. Jerry Cooley | ACell MatriStem Plucked Hair
    Spencer Kobren speaks with IAHRS accepted member and current ISHRS President, Jerry Cooley M.D. about what some are saying about Acell MatriStrem, the most groundbreaking development in the fight against hair loss since FDA approval of Propecia.Listen To Part 1 of The Exclusive InterviewJerry Cooley, MD: I started working with this wound healing product [...]

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  • 10-24-2010 02:33 PM
    wolvie1985
    Great interview! Thanks for keeping on top of this, Spencer. This is truly groundbreaking. One question that wasn't addressed was the percentage of hairs that regrow in the recipient area. I've heard different numbers - Hitzig suggests 60-80%, I think Cooley at one time suggested 75%... Dr. Rassman on his blog says it's less than 50% -- though I take his claims with a grain of salt.. Dr. Cooley, if you're reading this, could you let us know? Thanks.
  • 10-24-2010 09:38 PM
    Westonci
    Wow this is amazing, if more research goes into using Matristem with plucked hairs, than 2010 may be the year that baldness was finally cured!!!
  • 10-24-2010 10:26 PM
    TheDude
    We are still speaking about a hair transplant right..

    I think i understand the implications of this ultimately instead of having a strip off the back of your head, hairs are plucked and reintroduced and the regenerative process of the body takes over..

    My concern is a number of things.. firstly price secondly we are still talking about a hair transplant with man made hairlines right? thirdly thickness, does it look natural..

    I think most bald sufferers will agree with me when i say that we are looking to have the luscious, lavish hair we once use to have.. that to me is a cure to baldness.. now maybe im jumping the gun but ultimately does this process over this..

    Maybe i dont understand the implications of this..
  • 10-25-2010 12:48 AM
    ebutterg
    Yes, it's still a hair transplant. No, you probably aren't going to get the luscious, lavish hair you want. Of course we'd all like to rub some oil on our scalp and wake up as Brad Pitt the next day. Till then, this is a huge breakthrough offering immediate steps in the right direction. We should be celebrating, not moaning because it's not the holy grail. I'm still curious about the percentage of regrowth though..
  • 10-25-2010 03:04 AM
    KeepTheHair
    Definitely something good. But this is not the holy grail... It is still a transplant and it's still very new. most of all I think it is going to be extremely extremely expensive.

    But it's definitely a big step in the right direction
  • 10-25-2010 03:26 AM
    Fixed by 35
    That's the problem with a lot of hair transplant advances; your hair will still only be as thick as a human hand is capable of implanting grafts. To be honest though, for me this might be enough. Transplants for those with enough hair look pretty good to me, and to be honest having hair like Brad Pitt will look odd by the time I'm 40!
  • 10-25-2010 03:29 AM
    KeepTheHair
    Price is a big concern with this...

    If it was like $5000 to fix my hairline, yeah...sure id definitely do it. But this with traveling will be 5-10x+ that ..
  • 10-25-2010 03:34 AM
    Fixed by 35
    I think my limit would be about £20,000. To be honest, I just need to learn to be patient because there will definitely be a non-surgical solution soon, whether it is Histogen or something else. Although I believe hair transplants work, I have no particular desire to go through with one because I don't like operations!
  • 10-25-2010 03:42 AM
    KeepTheHair
    FUE has a low yield, this is fact.
    FUT leaves scarring and just seems somewhat brutal to me in a way. I just don't want someone cutting a part of my head at the back it's just weird.


    But yeah... they work but really I dno if it's worth it.
  • 10-25-2010 04:03 AM
    Fixed by 35
    I must admit I do wonder whether a top of the range wig would be more appropriate. I don't like the idea of wearing hair, but the alternative doesn't bear thinking about.
  • 10-25-2010 09:59 AM
    ebutterg
    'It's just weird'? You complain about losing your hair and yet you 'don't want anyone touching the back of you head'.. Yes, we would all love to have our cake and eat it too. You go ahead and wait for the miracle cream - I'm gonna take advantage of what science is offering now.. Which is a non-invasive technique that PLUCKS my hair and reimplants it in the front with high yield - for the SAME price as FUE. If you think that's too much to bear to fix your hairloss problem, then I guess your hairloss isn't that big a problem for you. All the best.
  • 10-25-2010 10:16 AM
    gmonasco
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Fixed by 35 View Post
    That's the problem with a lot of hair transplant advances; your hair will still only be as thick as a human hand is capable of implanting grafts.

    Nothing says that graft implementation will always be done by hand.
  • 10-25-2010 10:43 AM
    skipstah70
    Interview with Dr. Cooley about Acell seems shockingly promising, but I have a few questions to wonder about.

    A. What is the projected success growth rate % of these replanted Acell treated "plucked" hairs?

    B. I think he said in the interview that the largest transplant done this way was like 1500 hairs, which I'm guessing create new follicular units at sites transplanted after treated with Acell and replanted. One of the questions posed was something like "if transplanted to a bald region affected by DHT, will the new transplants hair unit be receptive or immune to DHT?" He didn't answer this clearly, and merely said "I have a hunch it will be permanent"!?! Why is he offering up a transplant of 1500 hair on a woman as evidence, do this on a bald man.. and the answer will be quickly known!!!

    That being said... I hope to god he is right in his hunch... could be HUGE!! Can't wait to hear more!
  • 10-25-2010 08:58 PM
    Westonci
    I transcribed the entire Interview
    Jerry: I started working with this wound healing product about a year and a half ago, and initially got some promising results, its taken me definitely some time to understand it and understand what worked well and what didn’t as well as just to see long term results and one of the things ive been doing in the last few months is just making a real concerted effort to bring people back in which is not really that easy, but just to really look very closely at my results and I’ve just gotten that much more excited about it.

    Spencer: well I guess the big buzz is everyone is you know asking if this something that’s actually regenerating hair you know Dr Gary Hitzig put out the initial press release a few months ago, it looked like this was almost the holy grail, this was going to be hair cloning, and from what I gather its not exactly the case.

    Jerry: Yea, you know it really does require further explanation; the best way that I can describe it is this represents a very important piece of the puzzle, it is a breakthrough. Its an active area of regenerative medicine, hair restoration is just a very very tiny application, there using this product for all sort of applications which I can describe for you if your interested.

    Spencer: absolutely

    Jerry: Yea, but I have not documented new hair in other words a complete out of nothing hair follicle appearing were there wasn’t one

    Spencer: right

    Jerry: but, it does appear to be able to restore transacted or injured hair follicles

    Spencer: really

    Jerry: and something were very excited about which is to copy or what we call autoclone plucked hairs.

    Spencer: Yea explain that, you know a lot of people have been writing us about that there been some stuff circulating online about that, I know that you’ve been doing hair plucking ,and know that ive read some stuff about Dr Hitzig experimenting with it as well, explain it to us what exactly is it.

    Jerry: Sure the best way I can describe it is if you just look at the basic structure of the hair follicle there are two basic layers of cells around the hair shaft, the outer layer is what we call the mesenchymal layer and that’s what contains the dermal papilla; that’s what intercytex and Aderans are trying to isolate and culture and use for cloning applications and cell implants. The inner layer is what we call the epithelial layer and that where you have the bulge with the stem cells, the outer and inner root sheath and when you pluck a hair properly you can get this inner portion or the epithelia portion, now about ten years ago Dr. Hitzig began experimenting some of his patients who had multiple old transplants and had no donor hair to give he just got interested in the concept of plucking beard whiskers and using them as grafts and he had a pretty low rate of success, but once in a while it worked and he kept working over the years on ways to get it to work better, then a couple of years ago began using this product called acell and I had kept in touch with him over the years because I was very interested in this idea and once I heard about the acell I knew I had to get involved and the basic idea is this that when you pluck a hair its going to grow back from the site you plucked it because all of the elements inside are necessary to regenerate the hair follicle and anyone whos plucked there hairs knows it grows back, but the reason that it will grow where we planted it is that when we coat it with this acell product and then transplant it stimulates the bodies innate regenerative potential to rebuild the follicle that outer portion around the plucked graft.

    Spencer: that’s amazing,

    Jerry: it is amazing

    Spencer: that really is, I mean that’s basically if this is truly consistently possible you would basically have unlimited donor

    Jerry: Right, and it was just astounding and I knew a lot of people would be sceptical, and Dr. Hitzig although very excited about it you know didn’t really take the time to take macro photographs or biopsies and so thats some of the thins I wanted to do to really convince the sceptics.

    Spencer: sure

    Jerry: and so I was using a high powered attachment to my digital camera to document the photographic evidence that these hairs would grow and then I did a series of biopsies and worked with a very prominent dermatopathologist to analyze these biopsies to say what do these things look like under the microscope. And I can show some of those images and basically they look like normal hair follicles, Im trying to be careful not to overplay it, and I don’t want to overstate these results

    Spencer: yea but its not like you just heard it through the grapevine, you actually were able to produce these results

    Jerry: Correct

    Spencer: okay

    Jerry: yea, and prove for what I consider to be beyond a shadow of a doubt that this phenomenon occurs you simply cant look at these biopsy results and dispute what you see.

    Spencer: Now are these plucked hairs growing into terminal hairs, full terminal hairs.

    Jerry: yes, yea, indistinguishable

    Spencer: wow,

    Spencer: I will tell you that ive been in this industry for thirteen years and this is probably the most exciting news that ive ever heard, and im not just trying to over hype this. If this is what it is, if this is what you say it is this is monumental news.

    Jerry: well I certainly think so , and I think so for two reasons, one I think the autocloning as it stands right now with the plucked grafts has clinical applications today. I mean im doing this in the clinic right now. But, I think more importantly it shows us something that you know until recently we hadn’t even thought of we were pursuing this idea of culturing dermal papilla and

    Spencer: absolutely

    Jerry: and applying and injecting them when the body has this miraculous regenerative potential and we can take this research this technology to the next level and learn how to trigger the body to regenerate hair follicles and in fact Dr. Anthony Atala who one of the worlds leading regenerative medicine experts was recently quoted in an article saying he thinks this is the direction that regenerative medicine is going, you know rather than constructing these complex organs in the laboratory and then putting them in or culturing all these cells that really the most promising direction is using these triggers and in this case acell using these triggers to get the body to regenerate.

    Spencer: well first of all its an amazing sounding process and a) its you know its gotta be less expensive in the long run b) your not worrying about like you said regenerating these entire tiny little organs in a Petri dish

    Jerry: right and you know the cell culturing process is incredibly complicated, and you know having these culturing facilities and so on, and whether or not it may turn out to be successful but, if there’s a simpler way it certainly would be much less expensive.

    Spencer: I don’t mean to cut you off but this aderans must be looking at this and be thinking holy cow, you know we spent all this time this money and obviously going in a specific direction to make this happen, but I mean this could completely eclipse what they’ve been working on.

    Jerry: well that’s one possible scenario, and another possible scenario is its going to take a combination of this technology and cultured cells so I think right now everything’s up for grabs, this is a breakthrough, but exactly what’s going to happen from here you know remains to be seen, it may be that will be using a combination of cells and extracellular matrix, but I think this is one critical piece of the puzzle.

    Spencer: well id say you’ve always been a very diplomatic guy Dr. Cooley, I mean whats your gut tell you from what you’ve seen in your own practice.

    Jerry: my gut tells me that his is where the action is at, this is what other researchers are focusing on for degenerative conditions and this is where we as you know people very interested in bringing this idea of hair restoration, this is where we should be heading, but im not, im not, I want to make it clear, im not, I don’t think this as of right now means the end of cell technology.

    Spencer: right im actually surprised that im hearing this because I knew that this was happening, but I had no clue that you’ve had such great success with it, and I think that whats going to happen especially once this interview gets out a) your going to be inundated with phone calls, and I don’t want consumers and hair loss sufferers to think that okay now this out , there the holy grail is their Im going to be able to get unlimited donor supply, its going to take some time.

    Jerry: oh absolutely, and I certainly that is not the message, this is in my opinion a breakthrough it is available now and it takes hair restoration to a whole new level in my opinion and it gives us options as will discuss as we get into my presentation, not just for this autocloning but just making current hair transplants that much better.

    Spencer: I mean do you think that guys who are considering minimal procedures would be great candidates for something like this

    Jerry: well this would probably be a good time to discuss unanswered questions, so we can create these new hair follicles we can duplicate hair follicles, are these hair follicles permanent? Are they subject to balding? Will they cycle normally? These are some important questions that I want to now that I know we can do it, these are the questions now that I want to look at is because they’re regenerated in the recipient area are they a hybrid? Will they show sensitivity to DHT? When they go through there growing phase of three years will they fall out and not come back? So one of the things im going to do is start plucking some of my plucked grafts you know that are growing and see if they regrow and just to make sure that they’re as durable and healthy as we want them to be.

    Spencer: so as far as a timeline, when do you think, how long do you think its going to take for you to be comfortable in saying you know what this works, this works to the extent that you believe that we can give somebody a fuller head of hair without using some of the conventional methods.

    Jerry: well ive very conservatively and very carefully starting introducing it into my practice that way, so ive started doing , you know ive stared off doing 100 test grafts, 200 test grafts, then 400 test grafts. My largest one to date is about 1500, and that’s an example of a women who had this really beautiful hair, she had had a prior STRIP with a bad experience at another clinic, came to see me we did a small STRIP with good results but even though she has this luxurious beautiful hair, her scalp is tight as a drum, so her option is basically FUE, and she heard about the plucking research and was interested so basically we did about 1500 grafts to her frontal scalp with plucking and a anticipating a good results. But that patient went into this process fully informed that yes its less invasive these are the advantages but we cant guarantee the permanence, you know I predict that they will be permanent but that will remain to be known, so anyone doing a new procedure

    Spencer: even if it lasted three years, even if it lasted you know one growth cycle I mean to go back in to get it done obviously, there’s a cost issue involved, but if its relatively less invasive and you know theres not a tremendous amount of downtime you know you can kind of replace some of the hairs that might be lost over time, and I think thats always a possibility, yea its gonna be kind of like an ongoing process which isn’t the best case scenario but it would still beat being bald especially for a women.

    Jerry: well I think time will tell and answer these questions, im certainly optimistic that these will be you know long lasting results.

    Spencer: okay, well good.
  • 10-25-2010 09:52 PM
    gmonasco
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by skipstah70 View Post
    One of the questions posed was something like "if transplanted to a bald region affected by DHT, will the new transplants hair unit be receptive or immune to DHT?" He didn't answer this clearly, and merely said "I have a hunch it will be permanent"!?! Why is he offering up a transplant of 1500 hair on a woman as evidence, do this on a bald man.. and the answer will be quickly known!!!

    Not necessarily. It could take years before DHT would determinably affect the regenerated hairs.
  • 10-26-2010 02:33 AM
    skipstah70
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by gmonasco View Post
    Not necessarily. It could take years before DHT would determinably affect the regenerated hairs.

    You miss my point. The huge mass majority of hairloss sufferers fit into the category MPB.. that's MALE patern baldness. Ergo.. it would make a stronger case for a hair loss solution if for example Dr. Cooley cited test that were actually performed on bald men.. not talking about 1500 graphs he did on a female head. Why didn't he talk about a 4000 hair session performed on a bald guy, I'm sure there's like 10,000 bald guys out there who even not knowing the permanency of this procedure would jump at the chance... but alas.. he talks about 1500 graphs he did on a female head. Why does this already make me uneasy about the promise of this procedure?!
  • 10-26-2010 11:21 AM
    mlao
    At least Dr. Cooley is moving the research forward. A lot of transplant surgeons will probably wait years before they embrace this technology. I for one think it's amazing that he has come this far in just a few years.
    Fingers crossed!
  • 10-26-2010 12:43 PM
    gmonasco
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by skipstah70 View Post
    You miss my point.

    I didn't miss your point; I was correcting your statement that using the technique on men would "quickly" determine whether the regenerated hairs were susceptible to DHT. That's a factor that could take years to evaluate.
  • 10-26-2010 07:32 PM
    skipstah70
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by gmonasco View Post
    I didn't miss your point; I was correcting your statement that using the technique on men would "quickly" determine whether the regenerated hairs were susceptible to DHT. That's a factor that could take years to evaluate.

    Quickly is a relative term. People talk all the time how "close we are to curing baldness", yet almost everyone agrees it's years away if not a decade or two. Of course you have to wait and see how the results will pan out on any test candidates.. but it might make things quicker if you at least chose relevant candidates.
  • 10-26-2010 10:08 PM
    Westonci
    How it works
    When Dr. Jerry Cooley says that the hairs need to be plucked in a very specific manner he means that the epithelial tissue must still be in tact to the hair shaft.

    For example here is a hair that i just plucked from my scalp that contains the epithelial tissue intact.

    [IMG]http://www.*************/hair-loss/img/uploaded/3580_image1.jpg[/IMG]

    [IMG]http://www.*************/hair-loss/img/uploaded/3580_image4.jpg[/IMG]

    [IMG]http://www.*************/hair-loss/img/uploaded/3580_image5.jpg[/IMG]

    [IMG]http://www.*************/hair-loss/img/uploaded/3580_image2.jpg[/IMG]

    [IMG]http://www.*************/hair-loss/img/uploaded/3580_image3.jpg[/IMG]

    and here is an example of a hair shaft that does not contain the epithelial tissue.

    [IMG]http://www.*************/hair-loss/img/uploaded/3580_image6.jpg[/IMG]

    [IMG]http://www.*************/hair-loss/img/uploaded/3580_image7.jpg[/IMG]

    [IMG]http://www.*************/hair-loss/img/uploaded/3580_image8.jpg[/IMG]

    [IMG]http://www.*************/hair-loss/img/uploaded/3580_image9.jpg[/IMG]

    As you can see the hair shafts with the epithelial tissue intact look similar to an FUE single hair graft unit, however a FUE hair graft contains both the mesenchymal layer and the epithelial layer.

    A plucked hair only contains the epithelial layer, however according to Dr. Cooley, Acells matristem powder is able to regenerate the mesenchymal layer when implanted into the recipient site.

    And this is the jist of Dr Cooleys new breakthrough. Keep in mind that this plucking technique was tried many times before however those that tried it before did not use the Acell matristem and so the mesenchymal layer was not able to regenerate which is the key to this new breakthrough.
  • 10-26-2010 11:40 PM
    PayDay
    Did you guys see this?
    This presentation was presented at the 18th Annual ISHRS Scientific Meeting.
    Part 1 & 2:

    http://www.iahrs.org/news/dr-jerry-c...-presentation/

    Part 3 & 4:

    http://www.iahrs.org/news/dr-jerry-c...tion-part-3-4/
  • 10-27-2010 01:20 PM
    utah23
    Does anyone know if there is a way to watch the Tuesday night segment with Dr. Cooley? (or any old segments) I was away from the house and unable to watch it.
  • 10-27-2010 03:17 PM
    Jerry Cooley, MD
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by wolvie1985 View Post
    Great interview! Thanks for keeping on top of this, Spencer. This is truly groundbreaking. One question that wasn't addressed was the percentage of hairs that regrow in the recipient area. I've heard different numbers - Hitzig suggests 60-80%, I think Cooley at one time suggested 75%... Dr. Rassman on his blog says it's less than 50% -- though I take his claims with a grain of salt.. Dr. Cooley, if you're reading this, could you let us know? Thanks.

    I wish I had an exact % to give you. My success was much lower in the beginning but has steadily risen. Currently about 75% in a healthy recipient bed, and 40-50% in scar; because we keep refining the technique, I expect these numbers to rise.

    Thanks for your interest.---Dr Cooley
  • 10-27-2010 03:44 PM
    Jerry Cooley, MD
    Some replies to the above questions/comments:

    1. Success rate: 50-75% in healthy scalp, 40-50% in scar; we're actively trying ways to raise the success rate.
    2. Graft permanence: I've emphasized that we don't know for sure whether these hairs will cycle normally or whether they will be DHT sensitive. I predict they will be permanent or semi-permanent.
    3. I referenced the case of 1500 grafts in the female only to talk about numbers...that is our largest case so far. I've done quite a few small cases in men, in the balding crown, with good results. This will provide an opportunity to observe what happens over time and whether these new hairs will thin out (miniaturize).
    4. When surgeons started doing hair transplants in the 1960's, no one knew if they would be 'permanent'. In fact, for many people, standard hair transplants may in fact thin as they get older.
    5. Many popular cosmetic procedures don't produce 'permanent' results....Botox, fillers, even face lifts, wear off over time. This is part of the informed consent process before surgery.

    Thanks for all the interest in our work.

    --Dr Cooley
  • 10-27-2010 07:41 PM
    Westonci
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Jerry Cooley, MD View Post
    Some replies to the above questions/comments:

    1. Success rate: 50-75% in healthy scalp, 40-50% in scar; we're actively trying ways to raise the success rate.
    2. Graft permanence: I've emphasized that we don't know for sure whether these hairs will cycle normally or whether they will be DHT sensitive. I predict they will be permanent or semi-permanent.
    3. I referenced the case of 1500 grafts in the female only to talk about numbers...that is our largest case so far. I've done quite a few small cases in men, in the balding crown, with good results. This will provide an opportunity to observe what happens over time and whether these new hairs will thin out (miniaturize).
    4. When surgeons started doing hair transplants in the 1960's, no one knew if they would be 'permanent'. In fact, for many people, standard hair transplants may in fact thin as they get older.
    5. Many popular cosmetic procedures don't produce 'permanent' results....Botox, fillers, even face lifts, wear off over time. This is part of the informed consent process before surgery.

    Thanks for all the interest in our work.

    --Dr Cooley

    Thank you so much for making this breakthrough, i just have two quick questions.

    How do you intend to find out whether these hairs will cycle normally? How long will this take?

    Also

    How do you intend to find out whether these hairs will be sensitive to DHT? How long will this take?

    Thanks again.
  • 10-27-2010 09:05 PM
    wolvie1985
    Sorry to pile on with the questions Dr. Cooley. One more:

    Would a recipient area that has already endured a transplant and that simply needs more density still be considered a healthy scalp for the purposes of reaching approx 75%, or would the little scars resulting from the previous procedure make it fall into the 40-50% range? In other words, by 'scar' are you just referring to the donor scar in the back?

    Thanks again for all you're doing. Many docs may push back against or remain skeptical of these advances but I hope you stay resolute! You're drastically changing the face of your medical profession as we speak!!
  • 10-28-2010 04:23 AM
    Jerry Cooley, MD
    What do you mean by "scar" vs "healthy skin"? Is previously transplant scalp considered 'scar' or 'healthy'?

    By "scar", I mean the dense, hairless scar in the donor area from prior surgery. I would consider recipient areas treated with prior transplants to be relatively healthy.

    --Dr Cooley
  • 10-28-2010 04:26 AM
    Jerry Cooley, MD
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by wolvie1985 View Post
    Sorry to pile on with the questions Dr. Cooley. One more:

    Would a recipient area that has already endured a transplant and that simply needs more density still be considered a healthy scalp for the purposes of reaching approx 75%, or would the little scars resulting from the previous procedure make it fall into the 40-50% range? In other words, by 'scar' are you just referring to the donor scar in the back?

    Thanks again for all you're doing. Many docs may push back against or remain skeptical of these advances but I hope you stay resolute! You're drastically changing the face of your medical profession as we speak!!

    How do you intend to find out whether these hairs will cycle normally? How long will this take?

    We plan to re-pluck the hair and see if it grows back. This will indicate it is cycling into anagen again.
    Also

    How do you intend to find out whether these hairs will be sensitive to DHT? How long will this take?

    One option is test for androgen receptors and 5-alpha-reductase levels in the new follicles, but this is difficult to do. Another way is to simply observe what happens to grafts placed in balding areas (e.g. the balding crown). This will take time.

    --Dr Cooley
  • 10-28-2010 04:42 AM
    Fixed by 35
    Quote:

    You miss my point. The huge mass majority of hairloss sufferers fit into the category MPB.. that's MALE patern baldness. Ergo.. it would make a stronger case for a hair loss solution if for example Dr. Cooley cited test that were actually performed on bald men.. not talking about 1500 graphs he did on a female head. Why didn't he talk about a 4000 hair session performed on a bald guy, I'm sure there's like 10,000 bald guys out there who even not knowing the permanency of this procedure would jump at the chance... but alas.. he talks about 1500 graphs he did on a female head. Why does this already make me uneasy about the promise of this procedure?!
    It always troubles me when pioneers are criticised in this way by amateurs. To be fair, this is quite tame; sometimes, hair growth researchers are treated like criminals for trying to do something (think Whitfield). What they're doing is not only huge, it is almost certainly beyond our comprehension. I hope I speak for everyone when I say show these people some RESPECT.
  • 10-28-2010 05:30 AM
    abb83
    i jsut dont get it
    maybe it's because english it's not my first language but if you have a transplant then the donor site is stitch back together, where does the new clonned hairs will appear??
  • 10-28-2010 07:39 AM
    utah23
    I'm so impressed that Dr. Cooley is taking the time to answer these questions. News like this is very exciting and I am sure he is being flooded with questions and phone calls. Like everyone else, I am excited for this breakthrough.
    I mean absolutely no disrespect to Dr. Cooley when I say that we have all learned to take news like this with a grain of salt. The hairloss industry as a whole is really a scary place. It eases my mind that Spencer seems to be excited about this and I also noticed that respected surgeons like Dr. Bernstein and Dr. Rassman have blogged about their excitement as well.
    I don't personally know any of these men though and when you look at us as a group of hairloss sufferers on this forum, we are small. I hope that I am not crazy to get excited about something I read on a small forum on the internet. (again, no disrespect intended).
    The point of my post is that, if this were all true (which it very well could be, as far as I know Spencer and Dr. Cooley have good track records) wouldn't it be receiving some more major national news coverage? Does anyone know if it has and if I have just missed it? It just seems like news as big as successfully creating hair follicles where there weren't any before would be talked about in more places than on bald truth talk.
    I mean ABSOLUTELY no disrespect with this post. I am as excited to see the results of Dr. Cooley's work as anybody else. I think that I can speak for a lot of us when I say that hair loss can be exhausting and I have become a little bit of a sceptic.
    One more thought... I know that Dr. Hitzig was heavily involved in this as well and from things I have read about him, he doesn't have a great reputation. I know that this is the internet and people can say anything about anyone and remain anonymous but this still worries me. Any input from anybody would be great.
  • 10-28-2010 07:52 AM
    Fixed by 35
    I think the lack of news coverage may be because this is a cosmetic procedure. In much the same way as gastric bands et al never made the headlines, nor has this. FUE only reached the British press early this year as far as I can tell, when it was already being offered to patients.

    Certainly, the British media will only cover what they perceive as a miracle. Now, don't get me wrong, if this works it is a miracle. But the British press will only consider a magic pill or potion worthy of coverage, rather than cosmetic surgery.
  • 10-28-2010 08:18 AM
    ryan555
    You're doing the Lord's work, Dr. Cooley. I am so glad there are doctors with the cojones to move technology forward instead of just sitting back and accepting the status quo. Keep pushing forward.
  • 10-28-2010 10:57 AM
    Skywalker
    Potentially Fantastic News
    It is very hard not to get very excited by this, but I have seen so many 'false dawns' that I am trying hard to retain my usual scepticism :D

    Thanks for posting Dr Cooley and for trying to move things forward for us, if this new hair can be delivered consistently and cycles properly with donor dominance then you and Dr Hitzig (good reputation or not) will have changed the hair loss restoration industry forever. It would mean that for the first time people with poor donor like me can consider an HT transplant a real possibility instead of an impossibility.
  • 10-29-2010 03:57 PM
    utah23
    I'm sure that I am not the only one who has been thinking a lot about this news recently. I really want to believe that we are seeing a light at the end of the tunnel (overdramatic ha ha).
    I have been wondering, since the big presentation at the ISHRS conference, if there are plans to study the ACELL technology in a more aggressive way? Weren't there clinical trials that tested thousands of men using Propecia before it was approved? Even with the clinical trials that Histogen is now involved in, it seems that there is a plan to get their product to the consumer as fast as possible.
    With Acell (since it is already FDA approved), it kind of seems like there are just a couple of doctors experimenting with the stuff in their clinics with trail and error. I wonder if there was more of a program, doctors got on board and really aggressively tried to make this work, if it could become a realistic option in a quicker amount of time. Something similar to the clinical trial programs that we are all so used to hearing about. Not telling anybody how to do their job, just wondering if anybody has heard of any programs that are being created to more aggressively study this technology. Thanks
  • 10-30-2010 04:29 AM
    Jonathan
    Dr Cooley,
    I am writing from Sweden, and I am very excited over Your promising research results. Are you planning to build out Your organisation, train new surgeans etc, to meet the request that will come from all over the world?
    In short, when do you think a person like me will get access to this new technique?
    Yours sincerely
    Jonathan
  • 10-30-2010 04:38 AM
    KeepTheHair
    Does Acell change anything for someone with more than enough donor? Or is it just good for people that need to have several HTs with only minimal donor.


    I don't really see how this changes everything although it definitely is a big step.
  • 10-30-2010 05:55 AM
    mlao
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by KeepTheHair View Post
    Does Acell change anything for someone with more than enough donor? Or is it just good for people that need to have several HTs with only minimal donor.


    I don't really see how this changes everything although it definitely is a big step.

    I think you should CAREFULLY read the interview it implies that in theory a person could have an unlimited donor supply. You pluck a hair from the donor area which grows back, you apply the acell to the plucked hair, you implant that hair and it produces a new hair.
  • 10-30-2010 07:30 AM
    clee984
    I was so excited by this news that I went out and got drunk last night.

    Don't get me wrong, I go out and get drunk every night, but I am still vibrating with excitement because of this news. Unlimited donor hair is a cure, as far as I'm concerned. It's all gravy. :D

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