Hair Loss Prevention News
AQ Skin Solutions Launches Growth Factor Technology to Deliver Advanced Anti-Aging Skin Care and Hair Loss Prevention
MISSION VIEJO, Calif., April 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — AQ Skin Solutions, a leading research and development lab in the skin care industry, today announced the worldwide launch of its Growth Factor (GF) technology, a cutting edge technology producing human growth factors to be used in topical skin care products. AQ Active Serum®, AQ Eye Serum®, and AQ Advanced Hair Complex+® make up the new line of advanced skin care products focused on resolving multiple skin conditions, including hyper-pigmentation, discoloration, acne and lines, wrinkles, and hair loss.
The new line of AQ Skin Solutions products is based on Growth Factor technology, a patent pending procedure of human growth factors production. Growth factors are a group of specialized proteins with many functions—the most important being the activation of cellular renewal. GF can be found in many different cell types in the human body, turning essential cellular activities “on” and “off”, and playing a variety of roles that help to maintain the skin’s youthful appearance, particularly increasing cell renewal, cell defense, blood circulation, and collagen and elastin production.
“GF technology is the future of skin care,” said Dr. Ahmed Al-Qahtani, professor of medicine, and founder of AQ Skin Solutions. “In recent decades, scientific research into GF biological functions has shown that GF technology is related to resolving many cell developmental diseases. And when applied to skin care, GF technology can help people achieve a more youthful and vibrant look without expensive plastic surgery or other cosmetic treatments.”
Weaves lead to scarring, hair loss, scalp problems
Seems like everyone these days suddenly has the long, luscious locks of Rapunzel.
Weaves have allowed many of us to have the hair that nature didn’t give us.
But these weaves are now causing health issues for many African American women.
A recent study found that braids, weaves and other types of hair extensions may be contributing to scarring of the scalp and hair loss in African American women.
Researchers at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio issued questionaires to 326 African American women about hair loss. Hair loss in the center of the scamp and clinical signs of scarring were seen in 59 percent of the women who responded.
Type 2 diabeties was also higher in the women with hair loss, suggesting that metabolic irregularities may contribute. Bacterial scalp infections and braids and weaves also seemed to contribute.
So, ladies, although you may want hair down your back, think of the consequences that may come with getting it. Maybe lay off the weaves and be glad about what you have naturally.
Cap device could reduce chemotherapy hair loss
For many women facing the emotional and physical whirlwind of breast-cancer treatment, the possibility of losing their hair is one more trauma to go through.
“It’s typically two of the first questions I get – will I lose it, and when will I lose it,” said Dr. Susan Melin, who specializes in treating breast cancer as an associate professor of internal medicine – hematology and oncology – at Wake Forest Baptist University Medical Center, in Winston-Salem, N.C.
“They feel like it is a declaration to the world of their condition and the chemotherapy that they’re about to go through.”
Melin hopes that a feasibility study of a scalp-cooling device – just under way at Wake Forest Baptist – will enable her to eventually answer “no” more often to those questions.
“Preventing chemotherapy-induced hair loss by using the scalp-cooling cap may relieve severe psychological and emotional stress and improve the patient’s quality of life,” Melin said.
The Food and Drug Administration has approved Wake Forest Baptist and the University of California at San Francisco for an investigational device exemption for DigniCap, which is made by Dignitana of Lund, Sweden. The study is the first step required to gain FDA approval. Melin is the principal investigator for the Wake Forest Baptist study.
The device, aimed at patients with Stage 1 breast cancer, is already in clinical use in Canada, Europe and Japan. According to the Dignitana website, more than 80 percent of the patients have kept their hair during chemotherapy.
Both U.S. medical centers will enroll 10 patients. The first patient at Wake Forest Baptist is set to undergo chemo treatment while wearing the cap on Wednesday. UCSF has at least five patients enrolled.
The device is a tight-fitting silicone cap placed directly on the head, and an outer neoprene cap that insulates and secures the inner one. The cap is connected to a cooling and control unit with touch–screen controls. The design leaves the ears uncovered.
A coolant circulates throughout the inner silicone layer. The cap is designed to deliver consistent cooling to all areas of the scalp. The device features safety sensors that monitor and optimize the treatment temperature, typically around 42 degrees. A lower temperature is recommended for patients with thick hair.
When a cap is applied to the head, the temperature of the scalp is lowered over a 20- to 30-minute period. Blood vessels surrounding the hair roots contract, resulting in a significant reduction of cytotoxins to the follicle.
Reduced blood flow leaves a smaller amount of chemotherapy available for uptake in the cells. The decreased temperature results in less absorption of – and reduced effects from – the chemotherapy.
The treatment cycle, depending on the patient, would range from four times over a two–month period to eight times over a four-month period, Melin said.
Melin said there have been few side effects with the cap, primarily headaches. “One of the goals with the study is determining it is safe with no side effects,” she said.
Patients will have follow-up visits of three, six, nine and 12 months to determine whether hair has grown back.
Melin said that a larger efficacy study would include patients with Stage 1 and Stage 2 breast cancer.
“Basically, the DigniCap would be used for certain patients who have a moderate chance of their cancer recurring,” she said.