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Permalink Reply by Tony J. on June 5, 2009 at 1:05am

Hello Eileen, here is a "possible" treatment, but I don't know if this would fall under alternative treatments.

"A clinic in Florida is doing an experimental stem cell research study to treat baldness with Adult Stem Cells from the patient’s own blood. John Satino, the clinical director of the Hair & Scalp Laser Clinic in Florida is now testing a method of using stem cell therapy and treatment to stimulate hair growth in people who are suffering from premature baldness."

http://donmargolis.com/blog/2009/06/stem-cell-research-regrowing-ha...
http://www.tampabays10.com/news/columnist/story.aspx?storyid=106719...

One of the six people in the study is AA. The study will be published in August. It would be interesting to see the results.

Tony J.

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Permalink Reply by Eileen Simpson on June 5, 2009 at 8:07am

Thanks for the info. Yes I will be interesting to see the results.

Eileen

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Permalink Reply by JeffreySF on June 5, 2009 at 11:06am

I'll keep my eyes opened for this one.

Jeffrey

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Permalink Reply by Tony J. on June 9, 2009 at 2:09pm

Hi Eileen,

Here is another link that got me interested in researching LLLT for patchy AA.

http://www.medicallasersystems.com/Naeser%20Laser%20Alopecia%20Area...

There are only a few studies that I have been able to find on LLLT and all say
promising. I was hoping that NAAF would be able to shed more light on LLLT.
They sponsored research on the Excimer Xenon Chloride Laser in 2006
(http://www.naaf.org/pastresearch_06.html). I requested information on this
study but they emailed telling me that the study was stopped because of side
effects which is kind of puzzling because all the studies I have read indicate
that the LLLT (Excimer Xenon Chloride Laser) is pretty well tolerated, and
because it was stopped there was no paper written on the subject. If anybody
has further information on this study, please post, I would appreciate it.

tonyj

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Permalink Reply by Eileen Simpson on June 9, 2009 at 3:48pm

Hi Tony,
Seems odd that there isn't a paper trail on this? It reads well and something that could be tried at home? I have heard that light therapy is good from my doc. She says she can no longer do it because of her office, but she has seen results from UV rays. Makes sence to me that the sun has healing factors as long as it isn't to much. I've been trying it lately just laying in the sun for a period of 30 min at a time. Also I have ordered a shampoo from the UK called Alpecin it is designed for hair loss patients. I have read good reviews on this also. To each their own everyone is different and can respond to various ways or not? Have you checked on a gluten free diet I understand it works for some. As for as for me I have to stay on it becasue I am a Celiac. It really isn't a hard diet and can be fun have you had your daughter or son? Tested?

Thank you for sharing with us.

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Permalink Reply by Tony J. on June 11, 2009 at 12:12pm

My daughter was diagnosed with AA this year and and I have since been searching
and looking at a variety of studies regarding Celiac and AA. My feeling is that
there is a connection between AA and Celiac or gluten intolerance/sensitivity.
We started on the gluten-free diet several months ago and I have to say I would
not recommend it to anyone who is not celiac or gluten-sensitive. I gained
20lbs in the last 4 months on a gluten-free diet and I'm avoiding regular store
bought bread!

My youngest and oldest sons have had "Chronic D" (and I won't go into detail)
for as long as I can remember. My wife and I always attributed their problem to
lactose intolerance or sensitivity: every time they eat ice cream or drank milk
they would have that problem. But not even a week after starting the gluten-
free diet, both resolved their problems. They can eat or drink as much dairy
product as they want without any recurrence of the "Chronic Ds." It is possible
that that this could be just a coincidence, that they grew out of whatever
problem they had.

My daughter has been very resistant to the gluten-free diet. She wants her fast
food and bagels and donuts..etc So she always sneeks in some form of gluten in
her diet on a weekly basis.

But, what is alarming of this whole gluten/celiac thing is that there is a
growing body of studies suggesting that many more people may be Celiac or have
some type of gluten sensitivity, more than was previously thought. And the
evolving evidence is making it clear that the celiac population which is now
thought to be 1 out of a 100 is just the tip of the iceberg.
I've read about the connection between celiac and AA and this is the main reason
why we are on this diet, but that connection still remain controversial because
there are not enough studies on this connection, and those two studies that
researchers us to dispute the connection (and I wish they would read what they
are refering to) where done 1997 and 1999. The 1997 one is disturbing because it
wasn't really a study but more of a letter describing a case study of two
related indivuduals. The 1999 study only involved 5 people. I don't believe
that study was flawed, I just don't believe it was extensive to really make a
conclusion. Since then, there has only been few studies making the connection
between gluten and AA, "Coeliac disease and alopecia areata in childhood," done
in 2003 and "Alopecia areata and celiac disease," in 2008. Because the lack of
information out there, we are just keeping our fingers crossed.

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Permalink Reply by Eileen Simpson on June 11, 2009 at 7:09pm

I appreciate the fact that you’re a very good parent and you want the best for the children. I applaud you for that. Testing for celiac disease doesn’t seem important right now but in the future it will be for you and your children. Yes your correct it is estimated that 1 out of 100 people in the US are Celiac, but there is believe to be many more then that. They come from all walks of life and come in all colors, young and old. I as a Celiac have my blood tested at least two times a year to make sure that everything is going ok. 40% of the newly DX Celiac’s have bone density problems I am included in that number. Adhering to a GF life can avoid further complications such as liver transplant lists or cancer. When a person is Celiac it is so important to work with your doctor and read, listen, go to meetings etc to become more informed as you are doing.

There are many good web sites and support groups that can help with this process. Such as some of these:

www.delphiforum.com a online support group.
www.celiac.com
Pub med
Medscape
http://www.gluten.net Has a listing of support groups that can help.




If I can help I any way please let me know

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Permalink Reply by Tony J. on June 16, 2009 at 12:27am

Yes, I believe that there are probably more people who are celiac. The first study I read on the connection on gluten and AA was done in 1995 and at the time it was thought people number of people who had celiac was 1 out of 335, flash forward to 2007 and it is 1 out of 100. If this trend continues...

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