Hello all

[mlamber5]

Hey, have read these forums for a while, interesting stuff. I'm a 26 year old NW 4. Have been noticing losing my hair since 17. No surprise as my dad was completely bald by the time he was 21. Was on fin for a while (about age 17 to 20ish) and then decided to stop. Have definitely noticed an acceleration in hair loss since. I'm very optimistic about future treatments. I know "5 more years" has been said for a long time, and probably frustrates the hell out of the old timers, but i truly believe a lot of pieces to the puzzle are on the table now, it's just a matter of putting them together.
Don't think it will ever be "cured" in the sense you can just take a cream or pill and your old hair grows back, but, I think that regaining hair via things currently underway will be a reality within 5-10 years (probably closer to ten). You would go into a clinic, get some of your stem cells taken out (from AGA resistant hair follicles), get how ever many you want cloned, and have dermal papilla which has also been recently shown to be able to be cloned; both injected back into the scalp. Throw in a PG2 blocker and i believe it will be a reality to get it all back. Also to connect it all together maybe they would have your scalp put back into an "embryonic state" before injection of the cloned hair/papilla by wounding the skin. Who knows. Maybe I'm too optimistic, but I am a firm believer that past results don't always indicate future performance. Way too much money is on the table for this not to happen.

[jamesst11]

The thing with science, in any field, is that you can neither be pessimistic or optimistic, or you will just be let down. I see people on forums that constantly say things like, "they said there would be a cure in 5 years, 5 years ago, f*ck this!!" Or things like, "These guys have found a way to deliver IGF1 and if that's so, then we should have a cure bingo... blah blah blah... I have studied molecular bio for 6 years, I have my masters in it... The biggest thing I ever learned from the lab is... Never try to predict or assume the outcome of science.. Tomorrow, scientists may reveal that there is indeed some rare magical snake in the rainforests of Peru whose oil actually DOES cure baldness, haha... you get my point. So, personally, I try to shy away from thinking that it will NEVER be cured, or that it WILL be cured within 5 years...because, honestly no one knows and anyone that claims they do, is simply wrong. Use what you have now. What does your regiment look like? I found some of the most useful things for me are nizoral 2%, minoxidil, spiro seems to help..There's a shampoo called the big three that I think helps. I have always been scared to shit of finasteride, but I am compromising and taking 1mg every other day.

[Notcoolanymore]

I'm very optimistic about future treatments.

Why is that?

Treatments/cures seem to move at a snails pace. Take for example bimatoprost. They have been talking about that since 2011 and we still haven't seen it released yet. And that treatment is already in use for something else. Now I am hearing that we may get clinical trial results by next year. If it is taking this long for a treatment like that to be released how long do you think the waiting period will be for a cellular based treatment. Yeah I agree we are getting closer, just like the earth is slowly getting closer to the sun. Hopefully our kids or our grand kids will have a cure for this crap.

[x4342]

Why is that?

Treatments/cures seem to move at a snails pace. Take for example bimatoprost. They have been talking about that since 2011 and we still haven't seen it released yet. And that treatment is already in use for something else. Now I am hearing that we may get clinical trial results by next year. If it is taking this long for a treatment like that to be released how long do you think the waiting period will be for a cellular based treatment. Yeah I agree we are getting closer, just like the earth is slowly getting closer to the sun. Hopefully our kids or our grand kids will have a cure for this crap.

Unfortunately, it's been longer than that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZaKRsPAPps

That story is coming up on 6 years. As you noted there's an strong disconnect between the time frames of scientific progress and living time frames. Six years can pass by quickly while you are waiting for even a minor advancement, but six years is an eternity when it comes to wasted life.

[Notcoolanymore]

[QUOTE=x4342;200291
but six years is an eternity when it comes to wasted life.[/QUOTE]

Yes it is. That is why I spend very little time in the cutting edge section of these forums. I think it is great that potential cures are in the works, but I know it will be a while until we see them. I would rather deal with what we can use now.