Clinica CFS Update, Stem Cell Research: Weekly Thoughts 9/22/15

Hello everybody, and salutations.

Over the past week I’ve gathered up a few news items which are significant in their own right, both related to hair restoration surgeons. I hope this tides you all over until some major hair restoration news surfaces soon.

Before I get into the news I want to take a moment to acknowledge the passing of a man well known in the hair restoration world, Devon Grimme. Devon was the Director of Business Development for Prometheon Pharma, the company who developed Follicept. Like many of you, I shared a few words with Devon via email. Devon was even kind enough to do an interview for this blog about his new Follicept product. That interview was very popular on the Follicept message board and really helped this site out. Thanks Devon. He was a kind man and we will always remember him for his sincerity and good heart. Rest in Peace, Devon.

Christophe Guillemat Update

Christophe Guillemat of the CFS Barcelona Clinic has been trialing a new stem cell transplant procedure at his clinic since earlier this year. I’ve covered a lot of the background of the procedure in this previous post. In summary, he has shown pictures of one subject that received this stem cell transplant and the results were promising. Then in June 2015, Guillemat enlisted 20 participants to further test out the new procedure. He said the results would be available around September 2015. So, earlier this week I headed over to his blog to see what was new. It appears that the CFS Clinic isstill is performing tests on about 4 people and will have the complete results early next year with photos. The update is not fruitless though, he responded to my latest inquiry on his blog and shared this news which still sounds promising. English is not his first language.

“Hello FT.Thank you for your interest in the research we are doing. The test results are very promising. We have donor regenerated areas (less one patient) and also grew hair in the recipient area. Between December and January we will test the latest four patients. In this case, we will use all the follicles of the donor area. We will do tests to extract stem cells. For these tests will be necessary as all the photos that will be going to prove (or not) if the technique works. Also by the end of September, I’ll introduce the new technique with its name and technical terms (Also Perhaps discuss price) we use. The technique will not be offered until we are sure That it works. Maybe it is a bit early but the demand is such that we are forced to give a little more information; AT LEAST give a name to the technique and vocabulary to make it easier for everyone.
Regards and sorry for my Inglés … (thanks to Google translation and my secretary for Their help …)

Christophe.”

Overall, he is saying that he is seeing donor regeneration and recipient hair growth. By the end of the month he will reveal a name for the procedure. He wants to make sure that this procedure is, in fact, leaving the donor area unlimited. It is good that this work exists. I’m glad that the Clinica CFS is trying to advance its field. As always, I wait and watch for clear, reliable results and wish them the best in the meantime.

Dr. Cole Update

In a previous Weekly Thoughts, I mentioned that Dr. Cole is opening a new hair surgery facility in Mexico. He also mentioned that he would be looking to get into stem cell research at this facility in Mexico. A hair restoration surgeon getting involved in stem cell research sounded good to me and I had hoped that this research would start soon.

Last week, Dr. Cole replied to the same thread and mentioned that his goal was “to open in Mexico in the next few weeks and offer FUE transplants for $3.00 per graft.” I’ll keep an eye on this for further development.