Help us cure male pattern baldness

The Hair Loss Theory

Recently a redditor (joaopassos4444) wrote a post in r/tressless (1), (2), where he discussed about his "readings" in hair loss, namely the role of an enzyme (3aHSD) that can potentially explain the pathology of hair loss. The redditor is not a scientist, doesn't have any biology or biochemistry background, and is just a lay man reading and trying to understand his fate.

The post went viral with lots of people supporting and providing more evidence about the potential role of this enzyme and showed some ways it could be adressed as a treatment. There were also lots of people trying to refute it, and in the end, there isn't a consensus about the role of 3aHSD or the metabolites. There isn't enough research in this subject and this is why we are launching this crowdfund.

The main focus of this crowdfund is to RESEARCH the role of 3aHSD and follow potential new treatments, that are backed by science in studies and clinical trials.

For this reason, we will use the crowdfund to first launch a topical product containing two natural ingredients that have shown very good results in studies, so the whole product development is simply replicate the dosages and concentrations used in the studies. This alone will provide a new alternative to all of us suffering from hair loss, and can be used in conjuction with other existing treatments on the market such as minoxidil or finasteride, or used as a stand alone treatment for people who can't or don't want to use other treatments. All the profit made with the sales of this product will also be used in research.

Long story short, we are not scientists, we have no biology or biochemistry education, and our pourpose is to hire people with knowledge to develop the topical product and lead research, and for this reason we cannot promise a cure or even an effective treatmnet, but we can promise that our community will work towards a better understanding of hair loss, and even if we fail, a few answers will come out of our cause.

Short Summary

Androgenetic Alopecia is a common form of hair loss in both men and women. In men, this condition is also known as Male-Pattern Baldness. Hair is lost in a well-defined pattern, beginning above both temples. Over time, the hairline recedes to form a predictable "M" shape. Hair also thins at the crown (near the top of the head), often progressing to partial or complete baldness.

The pattern of hair loss in women differs from that of Male-Pattern Baldness. In women, the hair becomes thinner all over the head and the hairline does not recede. Androgenetic Alopecia in women rarely leads to complete baldness.

The hair loss industry has not been able to address a fully effective treatment to anyone suffering from this condition. In fact, we have been relying on the same medication for over 30 years, and the active ingredients in these substances have limited efficacy and can involve adverse effects.

Having a full head of hair represents physical attractiveness and youthfulness to men and women, which is why hair loss can have a significantly negative impact on the self esteem and quality of life of those affected.

As a balding man, I have tried to find new ways of treating this condition. Recently, I have found that millions of people spend billions on hair loss treatments every year, and none are truly effective at stopping the progression of baldness, or even at initiating the regrowth of lost hair.

I have developed a theory regarding hair loss, and many people have asked me to lead the research. But that will only be possible with enough funding to research and develop the theory, and to ultimately test and develop new products.

My goal is to bring a new product to the market within the next two months, containing two active ingredients that had astonishing results in clinical trials. This will be the first formulated product with two natural ingredients that can actually regrow hair and increase the density and thickness of existing hair, based on studies and clinical trials. (3), (4), (5), (6)

What We Need & What You Get

Our immediate goal is to launch a new product on the market as a topical application of Melatonin (6) and Procyanidin B2 (3), (4), with enough concentration to promote hair growth. We expect this to take in between 2 and 3 months; from conception, formulation, production, and online selling.

This stage will cost roughly 75 000,00€ and includes; office rental, product formulation and development, quality control, website development, and the start of production.

All the profit from the product sales will be used in research, namely in the investigation of the role of a very particular enzyme (3α-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase - 3α-HSD) that we believe holds many answers to the mechanisms involved in hair loss. 3α-HSD is a natural enzyme that occurs abundantly in our bodies, and is responsible for the conversion of DHT into a weaker androgen. Although I have theorized that this enzyme is actually the most efficient and safest way of providing an effective side-effect free treatment, in almost 70 years of hair loss research no one has ever studied the role of this enzyme in this condition. Neither have the metabolites have been investigated. There appears to be a large amount of researchers that believe DHT is the cause of baldness, and the sole reason for this is because Finasteride (a drug that stops the conversion of Testosterone to DHT) actually halts hair loss. However, it also comes with the potential for adverse side effects and does not regrow enough hair in most users.

Research will begin as soon as the topical formulation is developed and launched. We will then begin the testing phase with volunteers, measure the levels of 3α-HSD in balding patients and non-balding patients, and directly understand the role of 3α-HSD in ex vivo and in vitro studies. We will also measure blood flow and determine the existence of a relationship between Type II Dental Malocclusion and hair loss. Finally, we will also measure blood flow to the scalp from the STA artery and determine the presence of inflammation markers. Hopefully this will put an end to the discussion of the potential role of chronic inflammation in balding scalps.

If we do not reach the necessary funds to begin researching the role of 3α-HSD and other required parameters, we will wait until we have garnered enough profit from the sales of our topical product and begin research as soon as we have the required amount to do so.

We will launch the first clinical trials using sulforaphane for hair grow, firstly as an oral supplement and later as a topical product. (7) (8)

An extra strenght product will be launched containing CBD oil, as formulated in the studies that demonstrated an astonishing 120% regrow. (9)

The Impact

We all know someone who is balding and often times we must suffer in silence. So even a small contribution may dictate the pursuit of a possible cure or at least a new effective treatment. The ingredients within the topical product we will develop are already backed by very strong evidence of their effectiveness. And most importantly, there are no side effects! This will be the first topical product using these specific ingredients, that actually follows the concentration used in the studies and human trials which produced amazing results with zero side effects.

Risks & Challenges

Research is time and money consuming. This is especially true in hair loss where there are many parameters involved and where research takes an incredible amount of funding. Thus, it takes all of our efforts combined for us to be able to properly research it.

We may run out of funds before we have completed enough research. However, my compromise is to spend every profit derived from the topical formulation directly on research (which is of most importance) and on writing a few papers so that we can begin to draw the attention of the scientific community to this need of following a different approach for hair loss research.

It is important to note that this is the first time in history in which the role of 3α-HSD will be studied, and although we cannot guarantee that a cure will be found with this research, the prospects of potentially finding one are certainly feasible. At the very least, we will most definitely better understand the mechanisms behind DHT and why it increases in balding scalps, whether it is due to the depletion of 3α-HSD or any of the other parameters we will be studying that might actually be related such as inflammation markers and blood flow through the STA artery and the scalp.

Ultimately, with your help we will be able to find answers to many questions regarding hair loss.

With enough funding, we expect to begin the research in August 2021. We will develop a website and a YouTube channel where we will provide weekly summaries of the progress and present monthly reports. All the testing shall be completed by October 2021 and the data released by November 2021.

Lastly, I want everyone to be aware that this is a community driven crowdfund, and lots of people are praying this goes well, but I also would like to say that none of us leading the crowdfund are scientists, we don't have profund biochemistry or biology education, and we're all balding people just looking for answers. So before you donate, remeber that this is a leap of faith and not a promise of an efective cure.

If we get more funding than we need for the above research, we will also initiate research into verteporfin and RU58841. The first one is a promising candidate to make hair transplants a better option (10) allowing scarless healing and also may promote hair regrow in scar tissue. RU58841 is a topical anti-androgen that is being used by many people, but there isn't any studies about the safety profile, and it's a matter of concern about using unregulated substances and chemicals, and although they show great efficacy, nobody knows about long term use safety.

REFERENCES

(1) https://www.reddit.com/r/tressless/comments/mx6ncc...

(2) https://www.reddit.com/r/tressless/comments/myybke...

(3) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11194183/

(4) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11841365/

(5) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC57751...

(6) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC36811...

(7) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26923074/

(8) https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jo...

(9) CBD https://publications.sciences.ucf.edu/cannabis/ind...

(10) https://science.sciencemag.org/content/372/6540/ea...