Inventors: Higgins, Joel C.; Palacios, Felipe; Vermeulen, Nicolaas;
Assignee: Biomet Manufacturing Corp
Publication date: 2007-11-08
Invention summary:
Promoting hair growth in a human or other animal subject by combining adipose-derived stromal and stem cells with autologous hair follicles, and implanting the combined adipose-derived cells and autologous hair follicles into skin.
Abstract:
Methods and compositions for use in the treatment of androgenetic alopecia and other forms of hair loss by inducing and expediting the growth of hair in the scalp of a patient. Methods comprise the steps of isolating adipose-derived cells and hair follicles from the patient and implanting the combined cells and follicles into the scalp in areas requiring new growth of hair. Use of differentiated and undifferentiated adipose-derived cells with processed and grafted hair follicles for the therapeutic and cosmetic treatment of hair loss in vivo is disclosed
First Claim:
A method for promoting hair growth in a human or other animal subject comprising: a) combining adipose-derived stromal and stem cells with autologous hair follicles; and b) implanting the combined adipose-derived cells and autologous hair follicles into skin of said subject.
Background:
The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for inducing and expediting hair growth. In particular, methods include those using adipose-derived stem cells.
Recent studies suggest that hair follicles are in a constant flux between an active growth stage, an involution stage and a resting stage. It has been demonstrated that this follicle “cycling” is heavily dependent on the activity of a subset of follicle stem cells. Follicle stem cells are located in the top one third of a mature hair follicle during anagen or the follicle's growth phase and have been characterized generally as epithelial stem cells. Follicle stem cells have the capacity to respond to signals originating from dermal cells to induce the growth of new hair follicle cells, thus promoting hair self-renewal. More importantly, hair follicle cycling and therefore, hair growth, is highly dependent on the activities of these hair follicle stem cells.
Hair loss including androgenetic alopecia, also known as male-pattern or female-pattern hair loss, represents approximately fifty percent of cases involving hair loss in the United States. Hair loss may also be caused by environmental and genetic factors unrelated to androgens including alopecia greata, permanent alopecia, anagen effluvium, lichen planopilaris and discoid lupus erythematosus.
Current methods for treating hair loss include pharmaceutical drugs to inhibit the effects of androgens. Individuals who are genetically susceptible to the effects of androgens experience shortened hair growth cycles, which manifest in thinning and bitemporal recession of hair. Importantly, humans are born with a finite number of approximately 100,000 terminal hair follicles on the scalp. Pharmaceutical treatments used in androgenetic alopecia stimulate existing hair follicles to produce thicker hair and prevent hair thinning.
There are two pharmaceuticals approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of androgenetic alopecia: topical minoxidil (Rogaine®, Pfizer) and oral Finasteride (Propecia®, Merck). Both drugs attack the effects of dihydrotestosterone. However, neither drug restores all the hair, no new follicles are produced, treatment requires prolonged usage of the drug, and if treatment is stopped any benefits gained will be lost and the hair thickness will regress to levels as if no treatment was undertaken. Reversible side effects associated with the use of these androgen inhibitors have been reported throughout the scientific literature including: decreased libido, erectile dysfunction and dermatologic discomfort. Other modalities for treating hair loss include in vivo hair transplantation whereby donor hair follicles from areas of the scalp that are insensitive to the effects of androgens are transplanted to areas experiencing irregular hair follicle cycling or areas with few hair follicles
Summary:
The present invention provides methods for inducing and expediting hair growth by implanting a combination of adipose-derived multipotent cells with hair follicles that have the potential to expedite the growth of implanted follicles and create new follicles where none previously existed. Methods include:
(a) isolating adipose-derived stem cells from adipose tissue;
(b) combining said stem cells with processed hair follicles; and
(c) implanting the combined stem cells and processed hair follicles into the skin. In various embodiments, the stem cells are implanted with an angiogenic factor such as platelet rich plasma.
In various embodiments, the adipose tissue is harvested by liposuction, and the lipoaspirate is further treated to yield adipose-derived stem cells. The stem cells may then be further combined with hair follicles and a biocompatible carrier. In various embodiments, the stem cells are implanted with hair and hair follicles in hair transplantation techniques including those known in the art. Methods are also provided for interoperative harvest and implantation of stem cells and autologous hair follicles to the site of acute and chronic hair loss caused by androgenetic alopecia, alopecia areata and hair loss due to chemotherapy and radiation therapy |
|
|
|
