"Recharging donor" area which is also known as "Donor sealing" even
called "Donor Farming" is not new by concept and some surgeons have even
practiced this in past. The typical indication would be
1. When
surgeon has by poor & aggressive planning over harvested a particular
area of donor scalp and that looks thin compared to other parts of donor
area. The best way to recharge is to take anagen BHT. When well
performed there is no reason why BHT would not grow.
2. When the shock loss has occurred in donor area where hair does not grow back
3.
when patient wants to keep the hair very short and want to avoid
visibility of dotted scars. The transplanted BHT will bring back the
pigments to the donor area and reduce the visibility
4. It may be
useful esp. if someone wants to intentionally over harvest good quality
scalp donor hair for better cosmetic result in the front and therefore
replace donor with BHT instead of using BHT at the front or top.
More over when donor recharging done in the fresh wound immediately after extraction would cause higher chances of BHT growth rather than recharging done in the previous FUE scar with reduced blood supply.
Toppik, Dermmatch or Nanogen are the Hair cosmetics or concealer which by static adhesion to the existing thin hair will thicken the hair and also by covering the skin reflect no light there by it can give the better cover and volume to the hair thinning area.
It may have some value in early thinning
and in post hair transplant early growth
phase.
They are very inert material and would not harm your skin and hairs even on long term use. You can get more info on www.toppik.com , www.dermmatch.com or www.nanogen.com. They can easily be removed on shampoo wash.
Because these products are directly available on their website located abroad when some people in India may want to buy this in India following is the contact details in India:
1. Toppik powder in
India: http://www.nutraskyncare.com/
Midas Chamber 301,
Opp. Laxmi Industrial Estate,
Off New Link Road, Andheri ,
Mumbai – 400053.
Tel: 0226740022/32428898E-mail:- sales@nutraskyncare.com
Iron deficiency is defined as having a ferritin level of under 40ng/ml or iron
saturation of Ferritin under 20%.
Iron deficiency is the most common cause of Chronic Telogen
Effluvium ( CTE) in premenopausal women ('During one period, a woman will
lose around 10-15 mg of iron, while throughout a pregnancy around 600-1000mg
will be lost) . 72% of women in the premenopausal group were found to have iron
deficiency as the cause of Chronic Telogen Effluvium (CTE).
In postmenopausal women; medications are the most common cause of
telogen effluvium.
The
loss of this ferritin from the follicle cells can affect the ability of the
hair to grow. This leads to the development of vellus (non pigmented fine
hairs), which can be an early indication of deficiency. The presence of vellus
hairs is easily mistaken for miniaturized hair seen in androgenic alopecia. We
should note here that Iron deficiency hair loss could therefore mimic the
pattern of androgenic alopecia hair loss.
When low ferritin
levels and female hair loss coexist, the patient is most likely diagnosed with
Chronic Telogen Effluvium, or CTE. This hair loss condition usually occurs in
women of childbearing age (18-50 years old), and results in evenly-distributed
hair loss. Women with low serum ferritin hair loss usually notice one of two
things:
Increased loss of hair during shampooing or brushing.
Less density of hair, as in a thinner feeling ponytail,
or less hair to clip back.
If iron levels
are insufficient to maintain blood health, the body "robs" iron from
other cells. Since hair is not as essential to the body as is blood, the body
often sacrifices the less important function of hair growth for the essential
function of blood maintenance.
It is
important to note that hemoglobin is the standard measure for iron in the
blood, and while hemoglobin levels can diagnose anemia, they do not always
correspond with low serum ferritin hair loss. A woman can have plenty of
hemoglobin, yet still suffer from low serum ferritin levels
Rushton suggests that serum
ferritin concentrations of 40 ng/mL or greater are required for maintaining
good hair while 70ng/ml is required for regrowth
Iron metabolism
Total body iron averages
approximately 3.8 g in men and 2.3 g in women.
Typically about 65% of the iron
is in hemoglobin (in red blood cells) and about 4% in myoglobin (in skeletal
muscle). About 30% of the iron in the body is stored (as ferritin or
hemosiderin) in liver, bone marrow, and the spleen other tissues cells. A small
percentage of the body's iron is in transport between various compartments of
the body (in association with transferrin) or is a component of enzymes in
cells throughout the body.
Ferritin is a protein complex
that contains about 23% iron. It's formed in the intestine when iron unites
with a special protein called apoferritin. It is then stored in the body's
tissues, especially the liver, spleen, and bone marrow.
Iron
Deficiency and Ferritin:
Iron is stored mainly in the
liver, within the iron storage proteins ferritin and hemosiderin. Iron
stimulates the liver to make ferritin, and serum ferritin provides a reliable
estimate of body iron stores. Ferritin is a
protein found inside cells that stores iron so your body can use it later. Some
Ferritin is released in the blood when the cell uses the iron. The amount of
ferritin in your blood (serum ferritin level) is directly related to the amount
of iron stored in your body.
The fall of iron stores normally
passes through several stages: lowered iron stores, iron depletion and iron
deficiency anemia.
1) Lowered iron stores: This is indicated when the iron stores are
reduced but not exhausted. No clinical effects are detected.
2) Iron depletion: Shows up in laboratory
tests. Hemoglobin concentration may be well below ‘normal’ for that
individual’s reference range. This can be detected by Ferittin Test.
3) Iron deficiency anemia: No iron
is left remaining in the bone marrow. Hemoglobin production falls to the point
where concentration is well below the reference range.
It
is important to note, therefore, that iron deficiency (low iron stores, i.e.
low ferritin) can occur even if the patient is not clinically anemic and has
normal haemoglobin levels
The deleterious effects of iron deficiency
are partly due to impaired delivery of oxygen to the tissues and to a
deficiency of iron-containing compounds. Clinical features include restlessness
and irritability lower IQ scores in adolescent girls fatigue in nonanaemic women,
and abnormalities in response to infection and impaired T-cell proliferation.
It is believed that as people
have reduced or do not have red meatintake
There may be a number of reasons why the
amount of iron absorbed is not sufficient. Firstly, only about 10% of ingested
iron is absorbed into the blood each day, and this is dependent on the type of
food in the diet. Certain foods may
inhibit the absorption of iron, such as tanins
found in tea and coffee, also bran
and egg albumin.
One can lose iron by: intestinal
bleeding, excessive menstrual bleeding, poor digestion, long-term illness,
ulcers, and heavy use of anti-acids. [Irritable bowel syndrome too]
Controlling
iron deficiency
You can maximize your iron absorption by
eating a combination of iron-rich foods such as red meat, green, leafy
vegetables, shellfish, egg yolk, nuts and cereals with food or drinks that are
high in vitamin C for example, a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. Avoid tea until at least an hour after
eating as it contains tannin, which interferes with iron absorption.
One method of controlling iron deficiency in the body is to stimulate the liver
to synthesize ferritin, the protein that stores iron in order to maintain the
correct balance. Hair follicles are known to contain ferritin, and when the
circulating stores of ferritin decline then these stores are called upon to
ensure support for more essential cells, such as bone marrow.
Treatment:
1.Eat a balanced diet that includes plenty of iron. Sources include red meat,
spinach, broccoli, prune juice, kidney beans and chickpeas.
2.Add Vitamin
C-rich foods
to your diet to help boost absorption of iron: Vitamin C sources are citrus
fruits and juices, berries, green peppers, tomatoes, broccoli and spinach.
3.Iron supplementation. The use of an
iron supplement may help low ferritin hair loss by adding more iron to your
system. The rationale for iron supplementation is that once the serum level is
raised to the necessary threshold point, hair growth will resume. However, one of
the biggest drawbacks to this type of treatment is that it takes a long time,
because ferritin levels must be increased gradually. Allow 2-3 months for hair
to stop shedding, and 6 - 12 months for new hairs to become long
enough to make a visible impact.Woman
usually needs between 18 and 30 mg daily Excess iron can accumulate in the body. This increases the risk of
heart disease, cancer, and some other conditions that are worse than hair loss.
Many people find that eating red meat is a better option than pills when serum
ferritin levels are low. The iron in red meat is absorbed well.
"If you need to take iron
supplements, do not take them at the same time as vitamin E, Antacids, tea or coffee. And choose
an organic form of iron such as ferrous gluconate or ferrous fulmerate.
Inorganic forms of iron, such as ferrous sulfate, can oxidize vitamin E. Only about 10% of ingested
iron is absorbed into the blood each day, and this is dependent on the type of
food in the diet. Take after food to reduce GI side effects. Continue treatment for 3 months after the hemoglobin reruns to normal so as to ensure replenish the storage.
