Last year, I discussed new groundbreaking research from South Korea in relation to the development of a new peptide called PTD-DBM that could activate the Wnt/β-catenin pathway and accelerate hair regrowth and wound-induced hair follicle neogenesis.
2017 and Earlier Research on Valproic Acid
In the above work that was led by Dr. Kang-Yell Choi, the researchers also found that valproic acid (VPA) sped up hair growth in mice. Valproic acid (also known as valproate and sodium valproate) is a medication (brand name Depakote) that is used to treat epilepsy, seizures, bipolar disorder and migraines. However, this chemical can cause significant side effects and is not something to be take lightly.
In the past, there have also been other studies that have suggested hair growth benefits of valproic acid, including these 2014 findings from South Korea that suggest efficacy in humans when used in a topical version. Several other studies indicate that valproic acid could change hair color and also change hair texture. However, most of the past research on this subject matter seems to be on small sample sizes and dominated too much by work from one country (South Korea).
2018
Early this week, commentator “John Doe” posted a link to an interesting new study titled “Transcutaneous implantation of valproic acid-encapsulated dissolving microneedles induces hair regrowth“. Besides the discussion about valproic acid and hair growth, the study covers the fascinating phenomenon of this unique idea of valproic-acid-encapsulating dissolving microneedles (DMN-VPA). Apparently this method creates dermal micro-wounds than enhance the effects of the VPA upon hair growth. This also seems to support the wounding concept behind the technology of Follica.
One of the co-authors of this new paper is the same Dr. Kang-Yell Choi that I mentioned earlier in the post, and the research is yet again conducted in South Korea. Mr. Choi has his own wikipedia entry, and he deserves a photo in this post. He works at Yonsai University. According to the scientists behind this latest research:
“Micro-wounding-mediated implantation of DMN-VPA upregulates expression of Wnt/β-catenin pathway, alkaline phosphatase, proliferating cell nuclear antigen, loricrin and HF stem cell markers, including keratin 15, and CD34 more effectively than topical application.”
Over on HLT, people also seem excited about this development.
At first, I was considering adding the above findings at the top of my next “brief items of interest” post. However, earlier today, my alerts notified me of a new article in newscientist magazine titled “Male balding may be cured by injecting epilepsy drug into scalp.”
I can not access the whole article, but it is about injecting valproic acid into your scalp to regrow hair. If anyone manages to read the whole article, please post about it in the comments. It seems like this predominantly South Korean led area of research is now finding its way into the US.
Other Notes
- One unusual thing I noticed is that there are a lot of search results on Google that suggest valproic acid can also cause hair loss in people who are taking it orally for seizures and other such conditions.
- A while back I covered a self-experimenter by the name “Swisstemples” in detail. One of the ingredients in his protocol is valproic acid.