Amid discrimination concerns, China has revoked a controversial visa restriction placed on bald Taiwanese visitors. The Chinese city of Xiamen imposed a rule barring bald people from receiving one-year multiple-entry permits. However, according to Taiwan’s Travel Agent Association, this rule was repealed earlier this year.Amid discrimination concerns, China has revoked a controversial visa restriction placed on bald Taiwanese visitors. The Chinese city of Xiamen imposed a rule barring bald people from receiving one-year multiple-entry permits. However, according to Taiwan’s Travel Agent Association, this rule was repealed earlier this year.Roger Hsu, a spokesman for the association said “it would probably have raised the question of discrimination if Chinese customs officials were to ask visitors to remove their wigs”. Hsu said that the rule applied primarily to frequent business travelers, though he did not know how many people had been rejected for visas under this policy. Unnamed travel agents reportedly justified the former policy by explaining that Chinese authorities were concerned that “it was easier for bald people to disguise themselves”.The election of Ma Ying-jeou noticeably improved relations between Taiwan and China when he was elected president of Taiwan in 2008. Ying-jeou promised to do what he could to boost trade and tourism for the island. The Chinese city of Beijing considers the self-ruled Taiwan to be part of its territory, awaiting reunification.
Originally posted on Google news: China cancels visa restriction on bald Taiwanese
Follica Inc. is a biotechnology firm focused on developing therapies for disorders and conditions of the hair follicle. According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Follica recently raised an additional $7.5 million in equity financing, as part of the firm’s Series B round of funding. This funding came from the company’s previous financial backers, including PureTech, InterWest Partners and Polaris Venture Partners. The total series B capital raised is around $13 million.
Follica specializes in treating hair follicle disorders, including androgenetic alopecia, or male pattern baldness. It is yet unclear how much progress the company has made in developing a new therapy for combating hair loss, or whether this is even their primary objective at this time. Regardless, many individuals are hoping that this additional funding will prompt the release of some new, and highly anticipated, hair loss treatments.
A recent episode of online chat show, MyFaceMyBody, reveals men’s top concerns about their appearance, whether they would consider cosmetic surgery and who most influences their looks.
According to this survey, men are most afraid of losing their hair, with four out of five saying it’s a concern of theirs. Furthermore, over a quarter of respondents (27%) reported that they would consider having surgical treatment for hair loss, such as a hair transplant. A third of respondents said they would shave off all of their hair if they developed bald patches.
During the program, English television star, Warren ‘Ace’ Furman speaks about his recent hair restoration surgery. Of the experience, he says: “I had a hair transplant and am thrilled with the results, I look ten years younger. Initially I wasn’t that bothered about my hair, but I was only 35 when I looked in the mirror and saw Phil Collins staring back at me.”
Men are reportedly more concerned with their appearance than we tend to assume, with almost three quarters of men (72%) saying their appearance is important to them. As far as who influences their appearance, 46% of men sighted their wives and girlfriends as having the most influence, 19% admitted that they tried to copy celebrities (top style role models included Johnny Depp and President Obama), and 34% reported they want to look good for their own satisfaction.
The top five surgical procedures men say they would consider are: nose surgery, blepharoplasty (eyelid surgery), liposuction, breast reduction and hair transplantation.
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.
Research, by Leif Carlsson and his research team at Umea University in Sweden, indicates that activation of the gene Lhx2 leads to increased hair growth.
In their recent study, Leif Carlsson and his research team identified the transcription factor Lhx2 as an important regulator of hair formation. It was found that the Lhx2 gene is active during the anagen (growth) phase and dormant during the resting period. It has been shown that Lhx2 is involved in the formation of hair because hair follicles in which Lhx2 is inactive are not able to produce hair growth. In fact, activation of the Lhx2 gene in hair follicles appears to activate the growth phase and thus the formation of hair. Lhx2 is therefore considered to be a gene that is important for the regulation of hair growth.
Hair serves a number of commonly overlooked purposes: it is important for temperature regulation, physical protection, sensory activity, seasonal camouflage, and social interactions. Hair is formed in hair follicles, which are formed during fetal development. New hair is generated in a cycle whereby the hair follicle undergoes recession, rest and growth. Hair length is determined by the duration of the anagen phase.
