PL  |  NL  |  FR  |  ES  |  PT  |  IT  |  DE  |  DK  |  NO  |  SE  |  FI  |  GR  |  JP  |  CN  |  KR  |  RU  |  AE

  Report this article

More information

Loosing your hair because of your thyroid problem

What should you expect after a hair transplant surgery

Transplanting hair into areas with severe scarring

Hair loss can occur at both the recipient site and the donor site

Possible Complications of Hair Transplant Surgery

Preventing Hair Loss Acceleration: Shock Loss

The Hype About Hair Cloning

Are You a Candidate for Hair Transplant Surgery

Those who may qualify and benefit from a hair transplant

Psychological Considerations for Hair Transplantation

Having Enough Hair for a Transplant

Keeping your hair from falling apart

Rather than replicating a new organism, genetic engineering alters the DNA of a particular cell so that it can manufacture proteins to correct genetic defects or produce other beneficial changes. Genetic engineering involves three steps:

1. Isolate the problem gene(s). 2. Clone (multiply) the gene(s). 3. Insert the gene inside the cell so that it can correct the problem.

The first gene causing hair loss in humans was discovered by Dr. Christiano at Columbia University. She found that individuals with this gene are born with hair that soon falls out (as infant hair often does) but then never grows back. Unfortunately, this isn’t the gene that causes male pattern baldness (which is probably the result of more than one gene), but labs are working to isolate the genes responsible for that widespread condition.

Multiplying hairs

In hair multiplication, hairs are simply plucked from the scalp or beard and implanted into the bald part of the scalp. The idea is that some germinative cells at the base of the hair follicle are pulled out along with the hair, and when the hair is implanted, these cells should be able to regenerate a new follicle at the removal site and produce a grown hair at the implant site. In other words, one beard hair removed and implanted in the bald scalp would produce a beard hair in the bald scalp and in the removal site.

In theory, microscopic examination of the plucked hair could help the doctor determine which hairs have the most stem cells attached and thus which are most likely to regrow. The procedure is called hair multiplication because the plucked follicles regrow a new hair, potentially giving an unlimited supply.

In a modification of this procedure, the bulbs of the hair are separated from the shafts and then cultivated in vitro (outside the body). After the cells multiply, they’re injected into the pores of local, dormant hair follicles in the balding area. There are three areas where stem cells can be found in the human hair:

• Above the sebaceous gland near the epidermis in the upper 1mm of the hair follicle
• At the sebaceous gland 2-3 mm down on the hair follicle
• Just below the sebaceous gland (the bulge area about 3-4mm down on the hair follicle)

The problem with obtaining stem cells with either technique (hair multiplication and modification) is that:

• The plucked cells are only transient amplifiers (cells that grow quickly but for only a limited amount of time before they die out).
• The stem cells around the bulge region of the follicle the ones most important for hair growth aren’t harvested in any significant numbers and can’t be readily stimulated to produce a hair.