Scalp transplant eyed as a cure for baldness

Feb 2008

Researchers are getting closer to finding a cure for baldness, thanks to cutting edge tissue-engineering technology.

A team from the National Cardiovascular Center (NCVC) in Suita, Osaka Prefecture, Kobe University Hospital and the Osaka Institute of Technology aims to transplant sections of scalp taken from healthy donors.

The donated skin will be specially processed to prevent possible immunological rejection by a patient.

The NCVC's ethics committee approved the joint project on Thursday.

The processing technology involves applying high hydrostatic pressure on the donated scalp skin to destroy cells in the skin tissue and wash them away, while keeping the skin structure intact.

The processed skin, which is like an empty shell, will be transplanted to a patient.

After transplantation, the patient's own cells will fill the empty skin structure to regenerate the skin tissue.

As the skin tissue is reproduced with the patient's own cells, the possibility of immunological rejection will lessen considerably.

The method to remove the original skin cells to prevent rejection without using chemicals was developed by the NCVC.

The NCVC has succeeded in regenerating cardiac valves in experiments using pigs.

In the joint project, researchers will use surplus scalp left over from plastic surgery operations.

Researchers will remove cells in the tissue of the donated scalp skin by immersing it in water at 10,000 times normal atmospheric pressure for about 15 minutes.

Researchers will examine the properties of the processed skin structure, which is composed of collagen and other substances, for use as a base.

In clinical research trials, the researchers will attach hair follicles, which cover hair roots, to the base and transplant the base to the patient.

After the transplanted base regenerates into scalp skin, hair papilla cells taken from the patient will be injected into the regenerated scalp skin to stimulate hair growth.

Hair papilla cells are known to stimulate formation of hair roots in the hair follicles.