Hairlossfacts’s Weblog

Just another WordPress.com weblog

Avacor Acquired by Investor Group

leave a comment »

Just came across this recent press release.  Seems like Avacor is doing some rebuilding.

Avacor(R), Premier Provider of Hair Growth Solutions, Acquired By Investor Group.

Aggressive Effort Against Rogaine.


NEW YORK, July 13 /PRNewswire/ — Avacor Products LLC (http://www.avacor.com) has acquired the assets of Global Vision Products, Inc., including, the Avacor(R) brand name; Avacor’s FDA approved Physicians’ Topical Formulation(R); the All-Natural Nutricap and Boost! by Avacor(R); as well as an ANDA (Abbreviated New Drug Application) which allows the company to market and sell the FDA approved Avacor Physicians’ Formulation(R).

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090713/NY45535LOGO )

Brett Levine, CEO of Avacor Products LLC, states that customers will now be afforded significant price savings as well as improved product offerings as a result of new company specific initiatives.

Since the acquisition on January 1, 2009, Avacor Products LLC has been working diligently to build a solid infrastructure. An entirely new, customer centric management team is in place. That team is implementing stricter product quality controls and is developing more efficient order processing and fulfillment procedures. The company now employs a core group of dedicated, receptive, knowledgeable, experienced and better trained customer service agents. New product development is also a part of the strategy, and the company has already begun to deliver some of its new or improved offerings, such as the Nutricap product with the addition of Keratin, an all-natural protein that promotes a healthier scalp and hair follicle.

Avacor Products LLC is preparing to launch an aggressive advertising and marketing campaign which includes a new easy-to-use website, updated and more user friendly packaging as well as enhanced customer service.

For more information please visit http://www.avacor.com or call 866.946.1830

SOURCE Avacor Products LLC

Website: http://www.avacor.com

Written by hairlossfacts

July 16, 2009 at 4:25 pm

Posted in Uncategorized

Regarding ReGenica

with one comment

Here is an article I found about ReGenica – now allegedly in phase 1 trails – which allegedly uses  ‘a cocktail of proteins that … help direct stem cells to’ form into new hair.  Seems interesting, but, if i remember correctly, clinical trials are costly, so for this new company to survive, its going to need a lot of cash…

Here is the article in its entirety as well as a link to it:

Biotech excited about hair-growth results

Biotech excited about hair-growth results

Experimental therapy is in early-stage trial

Union-Tribune Staff Writer

2:00 a.m. February 17, 2009

If your forehead is more like a fivehead, or you’ve started to see a lot more scalp at the crown of your head, the tiny San Diego biotechnology company Histogen has some promising news.

The company today is unveiling preliminary results from an early-stage clinical trial that showed its experimental hair regrowth therapy, ReGenica, increased new hair growth and the thickness of existing hair in men after 12 weeks.

“These results appear to be phenomenal, although this trial is still in the very early stages,” said Los Angeles-based hair transplant specialist Dr. Craig Ziering.

“Wimpy hairs became thicker, which is pretty significant to the patient because even if you cannot increase the numbers of hairs, if you increase the diameter, you increase the volume. And preliminary hair counts show there was an increase in new hair of 15 to 20 percent in some patients,” said Ziering, a paid member of the company’s scientific advisory board.

ReGenica is made of a cocktail of proteins that are present in the early-stage embryo and help direct stem cells to become either hair, bone or blood, said Histogen Chief Executive Gail Naughton.

Although scientists have known about the role these proteins play, Histogen’s aha moment was figuring out how to create them in a lab, said Naughton, who is also dean of San Diego State University’s School of Business Administration.

Fibroblasts, early-stage stem cells that form connective tissue, are grown in the simulated low-oxygen and free-floating, low-gravity conditions of the embryo, Naughton said. The important Wnt proteins and growth factors then build up in that environment, she said.

The 18-person company, which opened in 2007, conducted research showing ReGenica stimulated hair growth in animals. It started its Phase 1 human trial to show the therapy was safe; no dangerous side effects were experienced, Ziering said.

Histogen was also hoping the trial would show ReGenica’s effectiveness, which might give the company the buzz it needs to raise funding, build a manufacturing facility and then begin Phase 2 trials, Naughton said.

The Phase 1 trial involves 25 men ages 18 to 45 who have varying stages of male-pattern baldness.

Each of the balding spots was mapped into quadrants. Each quadrant received an injection of either the drug or a placebo. Some of the quadrants were also treated with microdermabrasion or lasers as well as the drug, to test previous medical theory that a wound helps to stimulate stem cells in the skin to regenerate hair follicles.

At 12 weeks, penny-size pieces of scalp were biopsied to observe the changes. Histogen staff even counted the follicles and hairs sprouting out of them. Once the trial is completed, an independent data-monitoring board will review the results after five months and make an assessment.

More than 50 million men in the United States alone suffer from hair loss, and about 35 million women are dealing with the problem, said Ziering, who has been treating patients for hair loss for 18 years.

“There’s a tremendous need for something that can help people with their hair loss because there are many ramifications on people’s lives,” Ziering said.

Histogen’s product shows promise to do multiple things, including slowing the progressive nature of hair loss, increasing the thickness of the follicles and actually getting new follicles to grow, the physician said.

Histogen also sees ReGenica as a means toward lifesaving therapies that trigger stem cells to generate new tissue in damaged heart muscle and new neurons in damaged spinal cords, Naughton said.

“We wanted to go after a market where there is really an unmet need and a large patient population, which could help us generate the cash flow to fund longer-term projects that would be more of a regulatory and reimbursement hurdle,” she said.


Terri Somers: (619) 293-2028; terri.somers@uniontrib.com

Written by hairlossfacts

February 18, 2009 at 6:26 pm

Posted in Uncategorized

Article on the LaserComb

leave a comment »

Hey everyone! Its been a while i know. Normal new years craziness… I hope everyone had a good one!

I found this article today on the laser comb and its effectiveness in stopping hair loss. Basically it seems that the author is telling everyone to beware of this product and to buy it at your own risk. Does anyone have any first-hand knowledge of the laser comb that they would share? Do you think it works?

Here is the link and the article in its entirety: http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-nuskeptic12-2009jan12,0,3819636.story

THE HEALTHY SKEPTIC

Does LaserComb stop hair loss? The evidence is thin

Popular hand-held laser device LaserComb might revive follicles for some men. Maybe.
By Chris Woolston January 12, 2009
Americans spend billions on hair-care products each year, a remarkable investment for a part of the body with no real function. We clean it, nourish it and style it — and we definitely mourn its loss.
Lots of products and procedures promise to restore thinning or disappearing hair. One especially intriguing option is the HairMax LaserComb, a hand-held laser device that supposedly revives hair follicles. Hailed on TV news programs as a potential “cure for baldness,” the device received FDA clearance for men in 2007. Unlike drugs, most medical devices can be approved without rigorous testing. A company must merely persuade the Food and Drug Administration that the new device is “substantially equivalent” to other products already on the market. In this case, the makers of the LaserComb told the agency that their product was roughly as safe and effective as a wide range of other laser devices, including a gadget intended to kill lice. They also claimed to be in the same league as the Evans Vacuum Cap, an early 20th century hair-growth contraption that’s pretty much what it sounds like.
The LaserComb is sold online and through the SkyMall catalog for about $500.
Users are instructed to slowly move the comb back and forth through their remaining hair for 10 to 15 minutes at a time, three days a week.
The claims

According to the HairMax website, “90% of HairMax users notice positive benefits starting in as little as 8 weeks. These results include: increased hair growth, cessation of hair loss, faster growing hair, more manageability and more vibrant color.”

David Michaels, the managing director of Lexington International, the company behind the LaserComb, says it works by “transferring light energy to cellular energy” in the follicles. The device can’t restore hair to a bald spot, he says, but it can make any remaining hair grow “faster, thicker, heavier and stronger.”

The bottom line

Lasers can undoubtedly encourage hair growth, says Dr. Marc Avram, a clinical associate professor of dermatology at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City.

In fact, a small percentage of people who undergo laser hair removal end up with more hair than they had to start with. As Avram and colleagues noted in a 2007 issue of the Journal of Cosmetic and Laser Therapy, many hair-loss centers offer treatment with low-level laser devices, and some patients really do seem to benefit. Nobody knows why hair responds to lasers, he explains, although it’s possible that the beams somehow encourage blood flow to the follicles.

Still, according to Avram, there’s no good evidence that the LaserComb works any better than more-established treatments such as the prescription medications Rogaine or Propecia. For his patients who are unwilling or unable to use the medications, he says that the device could be worth a try. The LaserComb is safe, he says, and it just might help. “But I set low expectations for it.”

Avram recently tested the HairMax LaserComb on a handful of patients in his office over six months. (Contrary to claims made for the LaserComb, Avram says, it takes at least six months to see real results from any hair-loss treatment.)

“In 20% of the subjects, it seemed to maybe have an effect” on the appearance of hair, Avram says. The study hasn’t been published yet, and it didn’t include a control group for the sake of comparison. Avram readily admits his study “isn’t definitive,” but he hopes it might encourage more research in the future.

By contrast, Rogaine and Propecia have already been tested in multiple high-quality studies and have been shown to stop hair loss in 80% to 90% of patients, Avram says.

Uncertainty aside, the LaserComb has clearly captured the public’s imagination. Patients ask about it “all the time,” says Dr. Paradi Mirmirani, a dermatologist with the Kaiser Permanente Vallejo Medical Center and a member of the North American Hair Research Society. Mirmirani says the device could potentially stimulate hair growth. “But I don’t have any evidence. If patients want to spend $500 on this device, it’s their choice. But I wouldn’t recommend it. They should save it for something that we know actually works.”

Last May, the FDA issued a warning letter against Lexington International for illegally marketing the device to women when it had been officially cleared only for men. The HairMax website now says that the device is intended for men only, but recorded messages for callers on hold to customer service still say that it “works equally well on both men and women” and that “anyone of any age, male or female, can benefit.”

Michaels says the company has asked the FDA for approval to market the device to women and expects a decision soon.

Written by hairlossfacts

January 14, 2009 at 9:18 pm

Anthony on the Opie and Anthony show talking about Medical Hair Restoration

leave a comment »

I am a big fan of talk radio. While listening to the Opie and Anthony show on Sirius XM satellite radio earlier this week, I was interested to hear Anthony talk about his recent experience with Medical Hair Restoration (surgery to replace lost hair). He speaks about cost, the procedure itself and his recovery. I must admit, after listening to this, I think surgery will be a last resort.

Here is the clip, all rights and junk belong to Sirius XM (WARNING: the Opie and Anthony show on Sirius XM is an uncensored show; therefore, some of the language may offend some people): Anthony on MHR

Written by hairlossfacts

December 4, 2008 at 6:45 pm

WSJ Article on Genetic Testing for Baldness

with 2 comments

Found this the other day.  Interesting because it mentions a company called HairDX that is now marketing a genetic test for baldness.  I will have to look at HairDX a bit more and see if I can find out more information.

here is the link to the article:  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122393553747430381.html?mod=rss_Health

and the full text:

Hair Apparent? New Science on the Genetics of Balding

The conventional wisdom on baldness has long held that men inherit their mother’s father’s hair, or lack of it.

But that doesn’t explain the legions of men whose pates look more like their own dads’.

Two studies in the journal Nature Genetics this week shed some light on that mystery — even while leaving more men unsettled about the fate of their scalps. Two sets of researchers, working independently, identified a new gene variation strongly associated with early hair loss that can be inherited from either the mother’s or the father’s side.

“Sorry to break the bad news, but we’d known that for years, we just hadn’t figured out why,” says Brent Richards, an assistant professor of human genetics at McGill University in Montreal and the lead author of one study.

Scalp with miniaturized hair due to male-pattern baldness

Most men and many women have some hair loss by their 70s or 80s. But the telltale loss of hair at the crown and temples, known as male-pattern baldness, starts as early as the 20s in about 20% of men. It’s apparent in about 40% of men in their 40s and 60% of men in their 60s.

What happens on the scalp is that testosterone combines with an enzyme called 5-alpha reductase to form dihydrotestosterone, or DHT, which causes hair follicles to shrink and become more sparse. (Women can have hereditary hair loss, too, but it’s generally more diffuse.)

The link to the mother’s family was first described in 1916, and in 2005 German researchers identified an androgen-receptor gene (labeled AR) on the X chromosome common to many bald men. Men inherit a single X chromosome from their mothers, and have a 50% chance of inheriting an AR gene for baldness if their maternal grandfather has it.

But scientists have long suspected that other factors are involved, since some men with the AR gene don’t lose their hair, and some who don’t have the AR gene still go bald. A study in 2004 found that men whose fathers had male-pattern baldness were 2.5 times as likely to have some level of hair loss than men whose fathers did not, regardless of their maternal grandfathers.

The two latest studies scanned DNA samples from large groups of men with male-pattern baldness and looked for genetic markers they had in common that weren’t present in control groups with abundant hair. Researchers at Bonn and Düsseldorf universities, and a second group from McGill, London’s King’s College and GlaxoSmithKline PLC, both identified variations on chromosome 20.

Humans get one copy of chromosome 20 from their mother and one from the father. The gene variation for balding is neither dominant nor recessive, but additive, says Markus M. Nöthen, a University of Bonn geneticist and the lead author of one of the studies who also helped discover the AR gene on the X chromosome. Men with one affected copy were 3.7 times as likely to show early hair loss, and those with two copies were 6.1 times as likely.

The McGill study calculated that about one in seven Caucasian men have both the chromosome 20 variation and the AR gene, which increases their risk of early baldness sevenfold.

Both groups said the findings could point the way toward future treatments for baldness.

Until then, does knowing the risk make much difference?

Only if you’re determined to hang on to every last hair. Experts agree that treatment for hair loss is more effective if started early. Only two drugs are approved for baldness in the U.S. — minoxidil (Rogaine) and finasteride (Propecia). When the cream and pill, respectively, are used together, dermatologists say, they can slow hair loss for several years.

A company called HairDX is already marketing a genetic test for baldness, based on the AR gene, for about $150. Men who test positive for one variation have a 60% chance of going bald by age 40, according to HairDX.

But dermatologists say that looking at hair shafts under a microscope can spot shrinkage years before it’s apparent. “We can pick it up when kids are teenagers,” says Robert Bernstein, founder of Bernstein Medical Center for Hair Restoration, a treatment clinic in New York. He agrees that medication can slow hair loss only if it isn’t too advanced. Once an area is devoid of hair, only a transplant can restore it.

The other option, of course, is not to fight oncoming baldness. “These days, quite a few men are shaving their heads because they like the look,” says Mike Ubl, mission director of the Brotherhood of Bald People, an online support group. “Hair’s a hassle,” he says.

Written by hairlossfacts

October 22, 2008 at 6:23 pm

NY Daily News Article on Hair Loss

with one comment

so one thing ive noticed looking for news about hair loss and hair regrowth – theres not a lot out there. i did find this one article on hair loss from the daily news which i will reproduce in its entirety. it basically says 99% of hair loss treatments dont work and even goes so far to say that hair loss treatments are “ethically questionable.” Personally, I agree with the commenter that says “there may be no ‘miracle cure’ [for hair loss] — but there are certainly effective treatments and procedures available.”

Here is the link and the story in its entirety.

http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/health/2008/09/21/2008-09-21_the_bald_truth_about_hair_loss_treatment.html

The bald truth about hair loss treatments: most don’t work

Sunday, September 21st 2008, 4:00 AM

Experts agree that about 75 percent of men and 10 percent of women will experience some degree of hair loss in their lifetime, and, according to a report published in the Washington Post, Americans spend more than $3.5 billion a year in an attempt to manipulate their manes into regrowing. Unfortunately, 99 percent of these ethically questionable products are completely ineffective, says the American Hair Loss Association (AHLA).

There are actually two different types of hair loss. The first is called shedding, and is a healthy part of our hair’s growth cycle – hairs with diameters of normal size fall out in a diffuse fashion around the head, and, after a rest period, a new normal hair grows in its place, says Bernard Cohen, MD, a certified dermatologist and hair restoration surgeon in. Coral Gables, Fla.

In contrast, the problematic type of hair loss is called, plainly, balding. One form of balding, called telogen effluvium, is basically just excessive shedding brought on by unusual circumstance or trauma, such as chemotherapy, high fever, pregnancy, drugs, anemia or even stress. These instances are generally temporary, and each hair lost will eventually be replaced with a full-sized hair. But the other, more common type of balding which we all know and don’t exactly love, is actually properly referred to as androgenetic alopecia, or thinning.

“With thinning, the number of hairs stays the same, but each time they re-grow, they have a smaller diameter and length until eventually they vanish – this process is called miniaturization,” Cohen says. “The underlying skin becomes more and more visible as the hairs become smaller and smaller, however, a person will already have lost 50 percent of their hair before it is even noticeable.”

According to Marsha Scott, vice president of the American Hair Loss Council and creator of Marsha Scott’s Hair Loss Clinic for Women, Bethel, Conn., the biggest contributing risk factor for thinning is genetics, and, contrary to popular belief, baldness is not determined by any particular relative or side of the family – this applies to both men and women.

Products like Rogaine (minoxidil), Propecia, Dutasteride and other DHT inhibitors, work in different ways but all promote hair growth and retention. However, the regrowth that occurs is fine hair, not your original full, lush mane of hair.

“These products can make a small hair’s diameter 20 to 30 percent bigger so that the hair is once again visible,” Cohen says. “But once it’s gone, nothing will regrow it.”

According to the AHLA, future hair loss treatments will most likely include hair follicle cloning and gene therapy, both of which are methods that have the potential to actually “cure” inherited pattern baldness.

“But let me put it this way,” Scott says. “If there was a product out there that truly caused hair to regrow once it was gone, everybody in the would know what it was and would be using it. Scientists are certainly working on it, but as of right now, there is no such thing.”

Copyright © CTW Features

Written by hairlossfacts

September 24, 2008 at 6:21 pm

Provillus at it Again

leave a comment »

Ok, ive been doing research into Avacor and their alleged false or misleading advertising the web talks talks about and honestly, nowhere on their website nor on their radio commercial ive heard do they do anything near the stuff the web talks about. maybe they did in the past, but clearly, they are not doing it now. which brings me to my real point. you want to go after scumbags, go after provillus. now they have a 4th – count them 4th – fake blog up. this one wants you to trust a made up guy named Daniel. here is the link:

http://trustdaniel.com/Provillus/

DO NOT FALL FOR THIS CRAP. the fact that they have the cash to spend on yet another blog and adwords to pump up the blog’s traffic, etc shows that far too many people are believing their deceptive advertising techniques.

I did notice that since ive started to call them out, they have added a disclaimer to all these fake peoples’ fake blogs: “regard everything i write as satire and stories. you could be crazy if you believe me.” yes mr. fake blog person, we would be out of our minds crazy to believe the crap you have on your fake blog.

How Effective is Minoxidil?

with one comment

I found an interesting article on the effectiveness of topical minoxidil. here is the link and a good quote from the article that sums it up nicely.

http://www.ishrs.org/articles/minoxidil-study.htm

While many persons are benefited by 2% or 5% minoxidil in treatment of pattern hair loss, results vary from person to person for a variety of reasons including individual responses to the agent and relentlessness of hair loss progression. Results that are satisfactory to some patients are unsatisfactory to others, perhaps because results do not meet pre-treatment expectations.

And here is the article reproduced in its entirety from the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery website:

Two New Studies Confirm Effectiveness of 5% Minoxidil in Treating Male-Pattern Hair Loss

Two new studies of the effects of 5% minoxidil in treating male-pattern hair loss report that a majority of patients found:

  • rapid onset of action in promoting new hair growth;
  • very effective to effective results in promoting new hair growth over the period of treatment,
  • decreased hair loss; and,
  • minimal side effects.

Minoxidil is a topical hair restoration agent that is marketed in the U.S. under the brand name Rogaine®. It is available in 2% and 5% solutions; the 5% solution is approved for use only by men in the U.S.

Results of the studies were evaluated by both patients and physicians; in one of the studies, physicians with male-pattern hair loss were included in the study population.

Both studies were conducted by physician investigators in Germany under post-marketing conditions. The studies were funded by Pfizer Group, the maker of Rogaine®.

What Is a Post-Marketing Study?

Post-marketing studies-also called post-marketing surveillance or Phase IV studies-are studies that pharmaceutical firms are required to conduct after a drug has been approved and has been in use by patients. Post-marketing studies are called Phase IV to indicate that they follow Phase I, II, and III clinical trials that precede drug approval-in the U.S., approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Phase I, II and III clinical trials evaluate the safety and efficacy of drugs for their intended use in an intended patient population. Phase I and II clinical trials include laboratory and animal studies; Phase III clinical trials are conducted in patients. Phase III clinical trials are randomized, placebo-controlled studies involving up to several thousand patients over a designated period of time. If the drug is approved and goes into distribution with advertising and marketing, it will eventually be used by hundreds, thousands, tens of thousand or even hundreds of thousands of patients, depending on the type and purpose of the drug.

As usage of the drug occurs in growing numbers of patients, post-marketing surveillance studies are carried out to monitor safety and efficacy in this growing number of patients. The FDA points out that Phase IV post-marketing surveillance has particular value because:

  • Phase III clinical trials are one-time events conducted with a limited number of patients; as the number of patients using the drug increases, so does the possibility of safety and efficacy issues not detected in the Phase III trials.
  • Over time, the drug in question may be used in types of patients not included in the Phase III trials.
  • Post-marketing surveillance may detect rare safety or efficacy events that are unlikely to be detected in the limited Phase III patient population, but may be detected in an expanded number of patients.

Pharmaceutical firms also may use positive data from post-marketing studies to strengthen advertising and marketing claims.

The topical hair restoration agent minoxidil has been approved for use in treating male-pattern hair loss for more than 15 years. Available first as a 2% solution, it has more recently been approved for use in 5% solution. In the U.S., the 5% solution is approved for use only in men; the 2% solution is also approved for use in treating hair loss in women. The 5% solution has been generally found to be more effective than the 2% solution in treatment of pattern hair loss. (For more information on minoxidil, see Nonsurgical Options For Hair Restoration.

The two post-marketing studies of 5% minoxidil were reported at the 62nd Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology, February 6-11, 2004, Washington, DC.

One-Year Observational Study

Dermatologists conducted a 1-year observational study in 984 men with male-pattern hair loss. The study evaluated the effectiveness of a 5% minoxidil topical solution in halting hair loss and stimulating new hair growth, as well as the patients’ perceptions of efficacy and side effects. Over the 1-year period of the study, patients applied 1 milliliter (ml) of 5% minoxidil solution twice day to hair-loss areas of the scalp. Every 3 months during the study, patients collected hair lost in a hair washing and sent the collected hair to a laboratory for counting.

At the end of 1 year:

  • The dermatologist investigators reported that hair loss areas of the scalp had become smaller in 62% of the patients, unchanged in 35.1% and larger in 2.9%.
  • In evaluating minoxidil effectiveness in stimulating hair regrowth, the investigators found the 5% solution very effective in 15.9% of patients, effective in 47.8%, moderately effective in 20.6% and ineffective in 15.7%.
  • Hairs lost during washing numbered a mean 69.7 at the beginning of the study, and a mean 33.8 at the end of the study-a measure of the effectiveness of 5% minoxidil in halting hair loss in the patients studied.
  • The mean score of patient satisfaction on a scale of 0 (extremely dissatisfied) to 10 (very satisfied) increased from 2.9 at study beginning to 4.4 at study end. Patient satisfaction scores were lower than the estimates of the physician investigators: the investigators rated efficacy of treatment as good or very good 25% more often than did the patients.
  • Side effects, mostly dermatologic, were reported by 3.9% of patients in the study. None of the side effects was classified as serious.

Four-Month Surveillance Study

A 4-month surveillance study involving 743 men with male-pattern hair loss was designed to evaluate (1) how quickly men using 1 ml of 5% minoxidil solution twice a day began to notice reduced hair loss and/or new hair growth, (2) efficacy of 5% minoxidil solution in improving hair density in areas affected by male-pattern hair loss, and (3) side effects associated with use of 5% minoxidil solution.

All results were evaluated and reported by the men involved in the study; 150 physicians with male-pattern hair loss were among the 743 patients studied.

At the end of 4 months:

  • The scalp area affected by male-pattern hair loss (the “balding” area) was judged smaller by 67.3% of the men, unchanged by 31.9% and larger by 0.8%.
  • The 5% minoxidil solution was judged very effective in stimulating new hair growth by 7.5% of the men, effective by 55%, moderately effective by 31.3% and ineffective by 6.2%.
  • Hair density (the “fullness” of scalp hair) was judged improved by 74.2% of the men, unchanged by 24.3% and worsened by 1.5%.
  • Of the 669 men who reported when results of minoxidil treatment were first noticeable, 13.9% reported results in the first month, 52.3% during the second month, and 33.8% during the third month.
  • Skin-related side effects were reported by 13 patients.

Results reported by the 150 physicians in the study did not differ substantially from results reported by the other men in the study.

Results of these two post-marketing studies generally confirm results of previous studies of the efficacy and safety of minoxidil. While many persons are benefited by 2% or 5% minoxidil in treatment of pattern hair loss, results vary from person to person for a variety of reasons including individual responses to the agent and relentlessness of hair loss progression. Results that are satisfactory to some patients are unsatisfactory to others, perhaps because results do not meet pre-treatment expectations.

Best treatment results are likely to be realized when the person with hair loss consults a physician hair restoration specialist. Rational expectations for treatment outcome are most reliably based on (1) diagnosis of the cause of hair loss, (2) assessment of the characteristics of hair loss in the individual patient, and (3) a treatment plan based upon diagnosis and assessment, and agreed upon by the patient and physician hair restoration specialist. A physician hair restoration specialist is able to monitor the effectiveness of medical therapy clinically and through use of comparison photos, as well as provide other medical and surgical options to augment the benefits of minoxidil. Minoxidil solution is even more effective when combined with the oral medication finasteride (Propecia®), and is also compatible with hair restoration surgery. For example, a patient may have follicular unit transplantation to create a natural looking hairline near the front of the scalp, and use minoxidil and finasteride to preserve the hair on top of the scalp.

Written by hairlossfacts

August 11, 2008 at 6:29 pm

A Bit About Avacor

with one comment

From doing a little research on the internet on hair loss products, I found out about Avacor. From avacor.com, one can see that they offer a variety of products, ranging from an FDA approved topical to shampoos and conditioners. They also sell an herbal supplement and a hair thickener.

From the ingredients lists they provide on their website, their topical contains minoxidil, one of the two drugs the FDA approved to regrow hair. Their herbal suppliment contains saw palmetto and some other herbs that, from my research on the internet, do seem to help people regrow hair.

Avacor is fairly expensive, coming in at around 34 dollars per month. Also, they seem to have been involved in some advertising shenanigans around 5 or so years ago. However, with an FDA approved product, Id imagine there are some strict advertising guidelines they must follow. And Avacor is still advertising (I heard one of their ads on the radio the other day). Therefore, I would think that their very existence today tells me that they cant be using the same shenanigans anymore. Someone please correct me if im wrong on that point and Ill also do some further research on the subject.

Written by hairlossfacts

August 6, 2008 at 6:03 pm

Trust Michael? Trust Sean? Trust Justin? How About Trust None of the Above!

with 2 comments

ok if this isnt enough to prove my earlier point about provillus and their parent company, that they are deceivers, I dont know what will be.

Remember Trust Michael? Well, Michael is now Justin, as well as Sean. Check out these links.

http://trustmichael.com/

http://trustsean.com/

http://trustjustin.com/

This company isnt even trying anymore. They are just blatantly trying to deceive consumers. The pictures? All the same. The beginning sentence of the fake blogs? All the same. Even the first three commenters on each of the sites is exactly the same and says the same crap, substituting “Provillus” with “Smoke Detector” and substituting “Michael” with “Sean” or “Justin”. The funny thing is, on trustmichael.com, the commenters still call him Justin!

Dont fall for these scams. And more importantly, if a company is willing to go to these lengths to deceive, do you think they sell a product worth anything?

Written by hairlossfacts

August 1, 2008 at 4:55 pm