contact details of some people.....

Controversial & Unproven Methods Restricted: Genetic Therapy, X-Ray, Photodynamic
#1

Angela Christiano : amc65@columbia.edu
Columbia University NY

AntiCancer Inc Tel : 858-654-2555
E-mail : all@anticancer.com

Prof. Thomas Boehm : boehm@immunbio.mpg.de
Max Planck Institute,
Germany

Also check out some sites such as Hair loss Help
That deal with trying to cure Hairloss because it seems to me there are people making discoveries in this field who may have enough knowledge about how hair is lost to be able to create this effect on body hair. Ive seen pages on the web dated 1998 that say how any genetic cure could be commercially available within 2 to 5 years, well as it is know 5 years later there should be some progress.

Spread the word, let as many people know about this as you can and maybee we could see someting on the horizon.

#2

Remember, please, that some of these people DO NOT always have an option as far as continuing specific research goes. Few scientists are independently wealthy; when you’re dependent on grants or company funding, then you’re at the mercy of others as far as what you continue with. So if something isn’t making progress, they may have to abandon it in favor of something else, and there’s really nothing that can be done about it.

#3

Corvaith is right. You cannot pressure a scientist into studying something. There are a host of practical and ethical issues that are usually addressed before scientists are even brought onto the job.

The most effective lobbying effort would be to assist groups that support hair disorders, to make sure your concerns get heard. The most powerful ones at this time are the alopecia groups.

#4

just because hairiness is not a life threatening disease, that does NOT mean that it is placed way back for research. Just look at all the cosmetic surgery that has been researched for vanity… laser hair removal… all researched for superficial reasons. our entire world is made up of products that have been developed for superficial reasons. these are among the biggest money makers… it’s all about the money. things that are not researched are things that will not make back money… like rare diseases, as not enough people will buy the “cure.” trust me, if someone found a magical gene therapy solution for hair removal, it would have big revenues!

#5

misterhair, most cosmetic surgery grew out of reconstructive procedures devised for congenital anomaloes and injuries. Laser hair removal grew out of dermatologic applications for treatment of vascular lesions. Electrolysis grew out of treatment for ophthalmic conditions. It’s not a question of people not recognizing the potential revenue. The issue with gene therapy is long-term effects. For instance, gene therapy in France on children with immune disorders led to development of a leukemia-type condition, and the study was immedfiately halted. Gene therapy is potentially deadly, and since it’s so new, it is very unlikely it will be used for cosmetic purposes in the near future. The children in France had to live in those plastic bubbles, so the risk was determined to be acceptable. For someone with unwanted hair, there are already plenty of safe and effective options with proven results. No one is going to allow you to make alterations in your genetic code for a cosmetic procedure until it has been conclusively proven to be safe for far more serious conditions. Gene therapy could easily kill you quickly or slowly and painfully. It’s not even ethical to try it on humans for something non life-threatening like unwanted hair.

We’ll continue to keep tabs on it here, but don’t expect them to allow a systemic genetic mutation to remove hair any time soon. They haven’t even shown it to be safe and effective in animals yet.

#6

Andrea, I respect your opinion but I think a gene therapy treatment for something like hair removal is alot different from the other mentioned illnesses. A therapy for hair removal would most likely be done topically. I do however think a treatment is most likely years away. It’s a shame I had to see articles such as the potential treatment developed by Thomas Boehm at the Max Plank Institute. http://www.hairlosshelp.com/html/dnashampoo.cfm When i read this I really got my hopes up. It figures that there have been no follow up information on this as does most other research. (I even wrote and email to him and got one back that was a form letter that they send to everyone) Angela Christiano’s research was the same way. We heard her news in 1998 and haven’t heard a thing since. Is there anything that could be developed outside of gene therapy that might be effective? Maybe a vaniqa for men? Is there any research being done with better more effective lasers? I have had about 13 or 14 gentelase treatments and still have hair. I do admit it has gotten better but is far from what i want. I always pay close attention to the baldness websites because i believe that once they cure male pattern baldness they will have a cure to eliminate excess hair. Hopefully we’ll have news sometime soon!!