WCHR 2014 Presentations (Community-funded)

[joachim]

also if we take a look at the video where lauster presents his follicle back in 2010 it looks like they're approach of creating the 3D environment for forming the follicle is different from what we heard from others. culturing methods like hanging drops or pva tubes etc. are not used here it seems to me. seems like they have a special method here to let the cells interact with each other and form the follicle. this is maybe the reason why they are ahead of others in regards of dp gene expression.

other thoughts?

[Arashi]

so what you're saying, sdsurfin, is that Xu goes the way of creating dp cells from iPS cells (pluripotent stem cells), which are easy to multiply but still not figured out how to turn them into DP cells. is this what you mean?

because this is a whole different approach. both ways lead to the result we want.
if culturing DP cells is solved now by multiplying them, there is no need to go the way with iPS cells anymore (DP cells problem can only be seen as solved if gene expression is achieved). if Xu manages to create DP cells from iPS cells then he still has the major problem that he has to arrange the cells in a 3D environment so that they form a follicle. a task which other teams are doing already.

about the sebasceaus glands: from what i read so far, i'm pretty sure the gland is not required while creating the follicles. once the follicles are implanted they will attach to the existing ones in the scalp. because the glands are still all there in the scalp, independent of bald or not bald.
also, none of these researchers ever said that they have a problem with the seb. glands. none of them is trying to create them too. (or did i miss something?)

regarding hair cycles: this is actually a good question. best case scenario would be that the lab-grown follicles do not fall into the normal cycling scheme and just produce hair all the time =)
worst case: they fall out after 2 or 3 years and don't grow back. so you would have to go for treatments every few years. wouldn't be that bad. if this were the case and they would try to market it under this circumstances, they would have to drastically reduce the price of the procedure.

Yep you're right Joachim !

Man I'm just dying to hear from Desmond what he's found out from Lauster's group regarding what's still standing between us and a cure. Can't wait to hear it !

[joachim]

so what you're saying, sdsurfin, is that Xu goes the way of creating dp cells from iPS cells (pluripotent stem cells), which are easy to multiply but still not figured out how to turn them into DP cells. is this what you mean?

because this is a whole different approach. both ways lead to the result we want.
if culturing DP cells is solved now by multiplying them, there is no need to go the way with iPS cells anymore (DP cells problem can only be seen as solved if gene expression is achieved). if Xu manages to create DP cells from iPS cells then he still has the major problem that he has to arrange the cells in a 3D environment so that they form a follicle. a task which other teams are doing already.

about the sebasceaus glands: from what i read so far, i'm pretty sure the gland is not required while creating the follicles. once the follicles are implanted they will attach to the existing ones in the scalp. because the glands are still all there in the scalp, independent of bald or not bald.
also, none of these researchers ever said that they have a problem with the seb. glands. none of them is trying to create them too. (or did i miss something?)

regarding hair cycles: this is actually a good question. best case scenario would be that the lab-grown follicles do not fall into the normal cycling scheme and just produce hair all the time =)
worst case: they fall out after 2 or 3 years and don't grow back. so you would have to go for treatments every few years. wouldn't be that bad. if this were the case and they would try to market it under this circumstances, they would have to drastically reduce the price of the procedure.

[Slam1523]

Because it can't!!!! what is so hard to understand??? No one, and I mean no one, has created a fully functioning human follicle from all human cells. Lauster made a measly one, and christiano et al grew a measly one in foreskin on a mouse. Tsuji used MOUSE DP cells and human epithelial cells to grow hair on a bald mouse. They can also no create a hair like fiber from human cells. This is different from a full follicle with a cycling temrinal hair and sebaceous glands etc etc.

Also, you are all wrong about creating new DP cells. They can culture cells from the back of your head, multiply them to some degree, and now retain good inductivity (which does not mean full gene expression, it just means they are able to create some kind of hair). What Dr. Xu is working on is making DP cells from stem cells, like he did with epithelial cells. When you culture existing DP cells, it is time consuming, cells get damaged and lose gene expression, and it is not a productive way to make the basics for new follicles. this is what Dr. Xu has explained if you take the time to read my previous posts. He has stated that with good funding, his team can make DP cells from stem cells and then work on making a whole follicle, but that it will take around ten years. This is pretty much where all the teams are at. yes, someone will probably make a hair follicle in the next decade (and even then, we don't know if it will have a sebaceous gland or if it will survive and cycle corecly). then they will have to figure out how to mass produce these, test them, go through FDA, figure out how they are implanted by the thousands, figure out if they will survive in balding scalp (especially for those who are already bald, i assume the fibrotic and scarred nature of the scalp will pose further problems), and who knows how many other obstacles. In other words, I'm interested in the science and helping it progress for new generations, but we are pretty screwed. That's why when Aaron gardner wrote to me, he said that a good treatment is "somewhere on the horizon" and that they are "moving towards it", but "no one knows what obstacles will arise."

People on this forum don't understand science, and the complications that come with creating a human organ. it's amazing that they know what they know, but what we really need now is just a treatment that keeps us looking decent until we're around 50 and dont give a crap anymore, and that doesnt kill our brains and penises. I'm fully down to crowdfund, but I don't expect it to help my generation much, unless is still care about this crap when I'm an old man.

K just a couple things... First of all calm down! It was a question so pull the line bavk on that thong of your's so it doesn't ride any higher and toss bavk a few ruby relaxers... Thanks for the explanation but bro take a few anxiety mess before blowing up next time!

[TheSwingingGate]

Couple points.

Not everyone that has a hair transplant is successful. By and large most are, but some people's transplanted hair eventually wipes out in the balding areas.

Perhaps the donor was unstable, not yet considered part of the MPB "zone" at time of transplant, the work wasn't done properly, there could be several reasons.

My point Hellouser, was more from a personal standpoint. I am fairly certain I have DUPA, cannot tolerate Finasteride, and may not have a stable donor area. My entire scalp is affected, man it went quick, so I hope that there is some research going into the scalp environment along with the follicular neogenesis. I want my scalp to feel normal again too some day!

Further, I am hairstylist, I have felt thousand of scalps over the years, and there seems to be strong correlation between scalp condition and hair miniaturization, or degradation. These clients are men and women, and while not all of them are "balding" but rather diffusely thinning, I have been able to watch the process happen over the course of years.

Lastly, I don't buy in to the theory that balding is just a part of getting older. I doesn't happen to everyone. I have seen 70, 80 year old men and women with full heads of hair. Everyone's face ages, that is fact. Part of getting older. Not everyone goes bald. If it was part of the aging process, it would happen to everyone. I have even watched my clients for changes in face shape correlated to the balding process, thinking one aging area surely would correlate to the other so close on the head, nope, no connection.