The Daily Mail, a popular British periodical, recently did a feature on the use of extracellular matrix (ECM) products on soldiers injured in Afghanistan.   ECM is derived from the porcine membrane of bladder and can be used as a regenerative medicine.  The Daily Mail article claims that it has even been used to save soldiers who were so badly injured at war that they risked amputation.  In one example, the ECM product was used to repair a massive leg wound; it was able to grow nerves, muscles and ordinary tissue where there had been none.

ACell is just one variety of ECM recently FDA-approved for use in humans.  When applied to injured tissue, ACell can stimulate the regeneration of normal tissue.  Several pioneering hair transplant surgeons took an early interest in ACell and have been studying possible uses for the product as it relates to hair restoration.  Doctors Jerry Cooley and Gary Hitzig released some of the first reports about their findings on whether ACell might be beneficial for strip surgery patients.  Unfortunately, at this time, their reports are inconclusive.

Dr. Cole has been following news of ACell since 2007.  Now that it is indicated for safe use in humans, he is researching ACell as it relates to his Cole Isolation Technique (CIT) patients.  He is currently exploring whether the use of ACell may reduce the appearance of hypopigmentation, the tiny white spotting that some FUE and CIT patients develop when grafts are removed from the donor region.  Dr. Cole is hopeful that ACell may help to improve melanocyte stimulation, and to improve the overall appearance of the donor area.

A secondary interest Dr. Cole has in ACell is whether it will stimulate cells left behind when grafts are extracted, and possibly induce the development of new hair growth.  The hope is that, through the delivery of ACell to our extraction sites, he will be able to attract and induce hair follicle stem cells to reproduce a re-growth of the extracted follicles.  At this time, Dr. Cole has not yet seen any evidence that ACell promotes any new hair growth.  The objective going forward is to unlock the specific methods necessary to regenerate hair.  Given that ACell has already successfully regenerated muscle, skin, nerves, specific organ tissue, etc., it is reasonable to suspect that it should be able to regenerate hair.  The challenge lies in engineering a specific means of delivering the product to the appropriate stem cells.

To read the complete Daily Mail article, click here: Magic ‘Pixie Dust’ made from pig bladders helps ‘regrow’ limbs of wounded soldiers If you have any questions about ACell or treatments available through the Cole Hair Restoration Group, feel free to call us at 1-800-368-4247.

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