Is stem cell treatment effective for hair loss? What is the theory?
2020-09-07
The new crown pneumonia epidemic has continued to this day, and the lives of people around the world have been affected. Some time ago, "New Crown Hair Loss" rushed into the hot search of Japanese Twitter, which also reflects a certain social status under the new crown epidemic. According to reports, affected by the epidemic, lack of exercise, imbalances in daily life, and imbalance in diet have caused health problems and hair loss. Donovan, president of the Canadian Hair Loss Foundation, also introduced that after the outbreak, the number of patients who came to his clinic to see hair loss problems began to skyrocket.
In fact, hair loss has become a worldwide topic that the world cannot avoid. According to research data, among consumers who buy hair transplant, hair care, and hair growth products, the post-90s generation has already surpassed the post-80s generation with 36.1%, and the post-90s and post-80s generations have become the main force of hair loss. With the development of modern society, the accelerated pace of life, changes in daily life, and the occurrence of alopecia are gradually common, and the population of alopecia is gradually becoming younger.
Theoretical construction of stem cell treatment of hair loss
Hair growth needs to go through a cyclical process, including the growth phase, the anagen phase, and the resting phase. It can promote hair growth by intervening in the operation of the cycle cycle, such as prolonging the growth phase and delaying the anagen phase.
Stem cells are a type of cells with multidirectional differentiation potential. They also have various abilities such as self-renewal, hematopoietic support, immune regulation, and homing chemotaxis, which can effectively prolong hair growth for a long time, improve local blood supply around the hair follicle, and promote hair regeneration. .
In 2011, Japanese researchers have successfully induced the differentiation of induced pluripotent stem cells into keratinocytes. In 2013, another group of Japanese researchers mixed induced pluripotent stem cells with immature fibroblasts from experimental mice and transplanted them under the skin of experimental mice. After 2 to 3 weeks, hair follicle-like structures were formed on the skin of experimental mice and body hair grew. In 2015, U.S. researchers induced the differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem cells into dermal papillary cells that can stimulate hair growth, and transplanted these cells into immunodeficient nude mice to successfully induce the formation of hair follicles.
In March this year, the domestic research team published a study that divided 8 nude mice into two groups randomly. The experimental group was injected with a mixture of epidermal stem cells and dermal papilla cells, and the control group was injected with keratinocyte serum-free medium. The results of the study showed that after the mice in the experimental group were injected with a mixture of epidermal stem cells and dermal papilla cells, hair follicle regeneration and epidermis formation were good. Previous experiments have shown that the implantation of dermal papilla cells into the dermis is not sufficient to induce head development [3], and this study has shown that injection of a mixture of stem cells and dermal papilla cells can induce higher hair density.
In May of this year, the results of a clinical trial published in the journal "Stem Cell Translational Medicine" showed that [4], adipose tissue stem cells can effectively increase hair density and thickness. In the study, 38 patients with androgenetic alopecia were treated with therapeutic intervention. Overall, the number and diameter of the hair of the patients in the treatment group were significantly improved compared with the control group. The editor-in-chief of "Stem Cell Translational Medicine" said: "For millions of patients with hair loss, this small clinical trial brings hope to hair regeneration. A topical solution made from proteins secreted by stem cells in adipose tissue to treat hair loss is It proved to be safe and effective, and we look forward to the further development of this work."
Japan's Shiseido Group has spent hundreds of millions of yuan to purchase the right to use RepliCel's RCH-01 hair regeneration technology. RepliCel is a Canadian biotechnology company focusing on autologous cell regeneration and treatment of cell defect-related diseases. The RCH-01 technology is to artificially cultivate and replicate the dermal sheath cells from the head of a patient with balding or thinning hair, and then reinject it into the bald area to repair the damaged hair follicle of the patient. In the previous 5 years of clinical trials, researchers recruited 19 hair loss patients and treated them with RCH-01. Among them, the average hair density of 7 patients increased by 8%. This technology is expected to become a commercial stem cell hair growth treatment technology.
Although hair loss is not a life-threatening disease, in this civilized society, modern people's pursuit of beauty and management of self-image are becoming stricter and stricter, so the current hair loss treatment methods are endless. As a star in the regenerative medicine industry, stem cells benefit from their own biological properties. In addition to the clinical treatment of many diseases, there are many research data that prove that stem cells have a good effect on the treatment of hair loss. It is hoped that in the near future, it can bring more benefits to patients with hair loss.
