Prevention/Treatment for Damaged Hair

Keratin Hair Products: In order to prevent hair from being damaged, efforts have been directed to degradation of the protein structure caused by chemical treatment by incorporating collagen, keratin proteins and similar substances into hair care compositions to form a protective film on teh surface of hair fibers.

Polymer emulsions: hair care products which contain polymer emulsions are described. Such emulsions ensure adsorption of fine particles of the polymer onto hair fibers. US6,123,934 describes using antibodies to hair as carries of a polymer emulsion.

Prevention/Treatment for Hair Loss Due to Anti-Cancer Drugs

Anti-histone H4 antibodies: Hsia (J. Proteomics, 2011 “proteomics demonstration that histone H4 is a colchicine-induced retro-modulator of growth and alkaline phosphatase activity in hair follice dermal papilla culture” disclose that DPCs exposed to sub-toxid dose of colchicine produce histone H4 and is responsible for down-regulating the growth and alakline phosphatase (ALP) activity of DPCs. Hsia also show that adding antibody to histone H4 abolished this growth inhibitory consequence. Colchicine has been investigated as an anti-cancer agent and in the clinical setting leads patients to diffuse hair loss. .

Hair Regrowth Strategies

Repression of Human Hairless protein: 

Thompson (US 6,348,348) describes human hairless gene and protein, and screening methods to identify agents that affect its expression.

Christiano (WO 99/38965) describe isolated nucleic acid encoding human hairless protein and methods for identifying a compound that is capable of enhancing or inhibiting epxression of a human hairless protein and states that “a therapeutic approach using antisense to human hairless can be used to directly interfer with the translation of human hairless protein messenger RNA into protein”.

Christiano (US 8,329,667) describes RNA interference (RNAi) to inhibit mRNA’s involved in hair growth, resulting in inhibition of hair growth.

Small Molecules

SM04554:  Samumed LLC has presented efficacy results form a Phase 2 scalp biopsy suggesting that a topical solution of the compound SM04554 causes follicular neogenesis. 

RGD motif-containing peptides: Um (US 10,463,720) disclsoes a peptide which includes an RGD motife (Arg-Gly-Asp motif) promites the collagen production and is effective in burn ttreamtent, glacoma treatment and hair grwoth promotion as well as skin wrinkle reduction. 

Spermidine: is an aliphatic polyamine. It has been tested and discovered to encourage hair shaft elongation and lnethens hair growth. ((Wikipedia)

Stem Cell Science: 

During emvryonic development, reiprocal interations between epithelial and mesenchymal germ layers stimulate hair follicle morphogenesis. Many researchers have attempted to recapitulate these interactions in vitro using a range of different strategies and approches. Successful hair-follicle regeneration via cotransplantation of epithelial and mesenchymal cell populations in a mixed cell suspension has been possible for the last few decades. While these cells spontaenously organiz themselves at translantation sites and replicate the anatomical features and positions observed to occur in vivo, the efficiency of hair generation has been limited probably due to insuficiency of epithelial mesenchmal interaction. (Kageyama (Biomaterials 154 (1080) 291-300). 

(Kageyama (Biomaterials 154 (1080) 291-300) showed that while epithelial and mesenchymal cell populations initially formed a mixed single aggregate, they subsequently sponteaneously spearated from each otehr inside the aggregate and adopted a compartmentalized, HFG-like morphology during the subsequent 3 days of culture. These self sorted hair folicle germs (ssHFGs) were shown to be capable of efficient hair folicle and shat generation upon intracutaneous translantation into the backs of nude mice. 

A new promising approach is to harvest dermal papilla cells and transplant these cells back onto skin to create new follic als. Promising results in mice have already been obtained in this respect by Dr. Angela M. Christiano, a professor of dermatology and genetics and development at Columbia University Medical Center, and fellow research leader Dr. Colin Jahoda, professor of stem cell sciences at Durham University, in the U.K.

Laser:   Theradome (FDA approved laser cap)