What does the word "stem cells" mean? Is it a lab where scientists wear white coats and have test tubes and beakers? Is it about programming genes, diseases, and ways to treat them? Is it a hair loss treatment?
Even though there is a lot of science behind stem cells and how they can be used, and even though there is a big debate about the ethics of stem cell research regarding stem cell hair restoration, many are still confused.
But stem cell hair restoration is now a real option that can be used along with more well-known methods like hair transplants.
This article will tell you how stem cell hair transplant works, its benefits, how much it costs, etc.
So let's start.
See how you can harness stem cell technology at home
Stem cell-based hair transplantation is a unique approach and new technique. Therefore, it is possible that in the distant future, this approach will be accessible to individuals all over the world and will become widely used and useful. Although the thought of hair transplantation using stem cells seems intriguing, it is doubtful that this approach can be used with current technology.
Summary
What is stem cell hair transplant?
Stem cell hair transplants are a great way to get hair back because they combine the best parts of FUT and FUE into one process.
During the process, hair follicles are cut out to keep as many stem cells as possible so that hair can grow back in both the donor area and the area that gets the transplant. The donor region is then implanted with the recipient's hair follicles.
There are just a handful of clinics in the UK that provide stem cell hair transplantation. However, many researchers and institutions have already poured a lot of time and energy into studying the efficacy of this kind of hair transplantation.
You can undergo stem cell hair transplant for widow's peak, receding hairline, mature hairline, temple balding and more!
— HSI
The University of Pennsylvania has shown that stem cells may rebuild lost or dying hair follicles and reverse hair loss. According to another study published in Nature Communications, stem cells may be transformed into epithelial cells and utilized to treat hair loss, wound healing, and other degenerative skin conditions.
Stem cells may be used for many hair growth applications. For instance, this procedure can help grow hair back in places like the eyebrows and beard.
What is the procedure for stem cell hair transplant?
Stem cell treatment, unlike surgical techniques, does not include surgical intervention or pain. Instead, stem cells from a patient's fat are extracted and injected into specific areas of the scalp to stimulate hair growth. This procedure is painless, takes around an hour, and leaves little scars. The procedure is as follows:
- An initial punch biopsy is performed on the patient to get stem cells. During a punch biopsy, a cylindrical sample of tissue is removed from the skin by rotating a tool with a circular blade into the skin.
- The stem cells are subsequently extracted from the tissue using a centrifuge, a specialized machine. In the areas of hair loss, the remaining cell suspension is injected back into the scalp.
- A mini-liposuction is also performed during the treatment, in which a little quantity of fat tissue is taken from the patient's midsection.
- To purify the sample, the concentrated stem cells are spun through a centrifuge. The platelet-rich plasma in the blood is then mixed with purified stem cells.
The operation is normally painless, and the patient is given a small oral sedative before the procedure. Most patients experience a stem cell hair transplant as being quite simple and even mildly pleasant, with almost no reported pain.
However, patients should be aware of what this involves and what level of discomfort they may suffer before and during the surgery even if it may be a simple procedure.
How does stem cell hair transplant work?
A tissue's regeneration begins with tissue stem cells. The cell's cellular state during homeostasis is tightly regulated by intrinsic mechanisms such as chromatin structure, transcriptional control, and metabolism, as well as external mechanisms whose functions are determined by the molecular crosstalk between stem cells and their functional niche cells.
Hair follicle stem cells (HFSCs) undergo synchronized activation and quiescence during the homeostatic regeneration of hair follicles. This makes them a great model system for studying how SCs interact with their niches.
Although stem cells have been studied and used by doctors for quite some time, recent years have seen an increase in interest in their potential to enhance hair.
Stem cells may be able to strengthen and revive healthy hair follicles, repair damaged hair follicles and wake up dormant ones. Hair transplants are often used to cure baldness, but now a non-surgical option exists.
Scientists discovered that stem cells might help restore hair entirely by improving follicles. Using stem cells to regrow hair is straightforward: the cells are inserted into the hair follicle. It's a unique approach to regrowing hair that's also completely safe and beneficial.
How much does stem cell hair transplant cost?
Since stem cell hair transplants are still being researched, the cost has not been set. Some of the stem cell hair replacement therapies that are being tested in different clinics cost between $3,000 and $10,000. The final cost will depend on what kind of hair loss is being treated and how bad it is.
Stem cell transplant is, without a doubt, insanely expensive.
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Stem cell hair transplant risks and benefits
Let’s discuss some main benefits of stem cells, related controversy, and side effects.
Stem cell benefits
- The area where a stem cell hair transplant is done works better, looks better, and is healthier. Traditional methods, on the other hand, help people grow their hair back, but they don't improve the health of the head as a whole.
- That's because the fat mixture used in stem-cell-enriched injections comes from the patient's body. Therefore, its chemical mixtures that could hurt the scalp tissue are unnecessary.
- It takes a lot less time to complete than other hair transplantation procedures.
- Since stem cells are used in hair transplant surgery, the patient's fat cells are advantageous to the surgeon. They don't utilize any additional chemicals.
- It's a technique that everyone can use, regardless of gender, age, or physical condition.
- Because there is no significant operation that will have an impact on the person's daily life, there is no disturbing aesthetic condition.
- The recovery period is short in contrast to other forms of therapy. It's easy to follow along with.
- Some conditions that may benefit from stem cell therapies are type 1 diabetes, spinal cord injuries, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, heart problems, burns, strokes, and cancer.
Stem cell controversy
The use of stem cells in medical research has been hard to agree on. when stem cell therapy was first shown to the public at the end of the 1990s, scientists could only get human stem cells from embryos.
The use of embryos in stem cell research is a point of contention. This includes beliefs, laws, and rules about birth control, abortion, and making babies in a lab.
People are afraid to use human embryonic cells for medical research because taking them out means killing the embryo. Some people think life starts when a baby is born, while others think it starts when an embryo grows into a fetus.
Most people still believe that life starts at conception. So, some people think that when an embryo is created, it has the same rights as a person.
Also, no matter how good the end goal is, some cultures and religions may not agree with sacrificing people to reach it. But some cultures agree that the embryo has moral rights as a person, but this is not the case everywhere.
Scientists don't take stem cells from embryos to make these stem cells. Because of this, this method doesn't raise the same moral questions. But this and other new developments in stem cell technology are slowly changing people's minds about stem cell research.
Some worries remain about the use of iPS cells. This means making sure that people who donate biological material give the right permission for iPS cells to be taken from them and that clinical studies are carefully planned.
Researchers are also worried that changing these cells as part of stem cell therapy could cause cancerous tumors to grow.
Stem cell hair transplant side effects
Before we can completely grasp the possible negative effects of stem cell hair transplant, we need further study into stem cell therapies for hair loss.
- Any procedure that involves cutting the skin risks bleeding, an infected hair transplant, and scarring.
- Complications with punch biopsies are uncommon, although they are possible because of the risk of injury to blood vessels and nerves beneath the biopsy site.
These complications and side effects are also possible with liposuction.
If you worry about these, you can check a list of the best stem cell hair transplant alternatives.
Stem cell hair restoration success rate
Stem cell hair restoration success rate observed a 29% success rate in their first treatment, according to research published by the National Library of Medicine. It was 23 weeks long. These figures are astounding given that the FDA has yet to approve the technique.
After the operation, the donor region typically recovers in around three to four days. It usually takes three months after surgery for hair to begin growing.
The full effects of the treatment usually become visible after 12 months; however, it may take as long as 18 months for certain individuals before they see the full effects of the treatment.
Compare it with hair transplant before and after photos.
An improvement in the health and performance of the head leads to an accompanying improvement in the nourishment provided to the hair roots. This increases the success rate of transplanted grafts, makes it possible for follicles to be thicker, and successfully helps to lower the likelihood of future hair loss.
Do stem cell hair transplant work?
According to some research and stories, a stem cell hair transplant can produce effective growth. And for a variety of hair loss conditions, hair growth has proven achievable. However, Stem cell hair transplantation is still undergoing research.
The centers that are now offering immature microorganism hair treatments that are not approved by the FDA make no guarantees about the outcomes of our achievement rates. Know that the FDA has a role in stem cell therapy. In August 2017, the FDA announced new policy steps and enforcement efforts to ensure proper oversight of stem cell therapies.
Does hair grow back after a stem cell transplant?
There is evidence that stem cells may aid by re-triggering the development and reproduction of cells in a part of the body that was previously too old or damaged to do so on its own.
For example, this body area may have been affected by an injury or disease that prevented it from doing so on its own. By restoring cells of this kind to the scalp, medical professionals and aestheticians may assist patients in rediscovering the fullness and radiance of their hair as it once was. [1]
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