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I know it’s maybe pure vanity and I definitely wish to see cancer cured first but I think the psychological impact of hair loss, especially in young people (<25

I know it’s maybe pure vanity and I definitely wish to see cancer cured first but I think the psychological impact of hair loss, especially in young people (<25), is often underestimated.

thijsvandien 5y ago
I think you can easily make that <45 in case of men, and don't forget about women.
rocgf 5y ago
For better or worse, it's not the importance of a disease per se that drives innovation, it's money. So assuming that hair loss is the kind of problem that would get people to spend money, then we might see some progress here.
- lazide 5y ago
  There are many possible ways to quantify importance? And many many stakeholders with often conflicting ideas, demands, and influence. If someone is spending money on something, they are voting that it is important FOR THEM - and more important than whatever else they would have done with the money. If politicians/government aren’t spending money on something - despite saying it’s important - that is a very clear signal that their words and their actions do not align. We have words for that too. If they don’t even bother saying words about it, then that is a clear signal not enough pressure is being applied to make it even a pretend priority no?
fma 5y ago
I don't have experience in this field...but w/ hair, someone can get grafts which supposedly look better than plugs from decades ago?
- JohnWhigham 5y ago
  It's still very costly, and carries a long recovery period. Your head will look quite gnarly. Of course we never see that because all the celebrities that do can afford to stay out of the public eye for extended periods.
- xKingfisher 5y ago
  They still have a number of issues. * They're expensive (~4-8 dollars per follicle) with a single transplant being 1000-5000 follicles. Severely bald men may need multiple * There is a finite number of follicles that can be transplanted. * Permanent scarring in the donor zone. The ultimate treatment would be either hair cloning (still a ways out, very expensive) or a way to reactivate the dormant follicles. Presumably if you could solve the latter you would become very rich very quickly.
dehrmann 5y ago
Funny story: finasteride was used to treat enlarged prostates (and decrease risk of prostate cancer) before it was observed to reduce male-pattern balding as a side effect.

I know it’s maybe pure vanity and I definitely wish to see cancer cured first but I think the psychological impact of hair loss, especially in young people (<25), is often underestimated.

thijsvandien 5y ago

I think you can easily make that <45 in case of men, and don't forget about women.

rocgf 5y ago

For better or worse, it's not the importance of a disease per se that drives innovation, it's money. So assuming that hair loss is the kind of problem that would get people to spend money, then we might see some progress here.

lazide 5y ago
There are many possible ways to quantify importance? And many many stakeholders with often conflicting ideas, demands, and influence. If someone is spending money on something, they are voting that it is important FOR THEM - and more important than whatever else they would have done with the money. If politicians/government aren’t spending money on something - despite saying it’s important - that is a very clear signal that their words and their actions do not align. We have words for that too. If they don’t even bother saying words about it, then that is a clear signal not enough pressure is being applied to make it even a pretend priority no?

fma 5y ago

I don't have experience in this field...but w/ hair, someone can get grafts which supposedly look better than plugs from decades ago?

JohnWhigham 5y ago
It's still very costly, and carries a long recovery period. Your head will look quite gnarly. Of course we never see that because all the celebrities that do can afford to stay out of the public eye for extended periods.
xKingfisher 5y ago
They still have a number of issues. * They're expensive (~4-8 dollars per follicle) with a single transplant being 1000-5000 follicles. Severely bald men may need multiple * There is a finite number of follicles that can be transplanted. * Permanent scarring in the donor zone. The ultimate treatment would be either hair cloning (still a ways out, very expensive) or a way to reactivate the dormant follicles. Presumably if you could solve the latter you would become very rich very quickly.

dehrmann 5y ago

Funny story: finasteride was used to treat enlarged prostates (and decrease risk of prostate cancer) before it was observed to reduce male-pattern balding as a side effect.