BACKGROUND: The development of a safe and convenient agent that can promote hair growth in patients with androgenetic alopecia remains challenging. OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to investigate the efficacy of a newly developed hair tonic containing a human umbilical cord blood mesenchymal stem cell (hUCB-MSC)-derived conditioned medium in promoting hair growth. METHODS: This double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study investigated the efficacy of a hair tonic containing an hUCB-MSC-derived conditioned medium in 30 patients with patterned hair loss. Treatment efficacy was determined using phototrichograms to evaluate the density, diameter, and hair growth rate at baseline levels and after 4, 8, and 16 weeks of treatment. RESULTS: The hair density in the group treated with the hair tonic significantly increased from 125.2 to 134.6 hairs/cm2 (p<0.05). In this same group, the thickness of hair also increased from 0.083 to 0.110 mm (p<0.05). Additionally, the hair growth rate increased from 0.285 to 0.338 mm/day (p<0.05). No severe adverse reactions were reported. CONCLUSION: A hair tonic containing an hUCB-MSC-derived conditioned medium could be a new effective alternative to treat patients with androgenetic alopecia.
Alopecia ; Clinical Study ; Culture Media, Conditioned ; Fetal Blood ; Hair Preparations ; Hair ; Humans ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells ; Treatment Outcome ; Umbilical Cord

BACKGROUND: Cosmetics are one of the common causes of contact dermatitis and many new cosmetic products are being introduced rapidly into our market. OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to investigate the as is patch test result by several factors including age, cosmetic product and atopic diseases, and to compare as is patch result with those of standard and cosmetic patch tests. METHODS: The records of 240 patients were reviewed who had been patch tested with their own cosmetics and toiletries with a clinical impression of cosmetic contact dermatitis at the patch clinic of Kangnam St. Mary's Hospital in the period of 1991-1995. RESULTS: Of the 95 patients who were tested with European standard series 54 (56.8%) showed a positive reaction and nickel sulfate was the most common allergen. Eighteen (38.3%) of the 47 patients tested with a cosmetic series revealed a positive reaction and imidazolidinyl urea and dodecyl gallate were the most common allergens. In as is patch test, 99 (41.3%) of the 240 patients showed a positive reaction to 248 (7.3%) of the 3403 cosmetics. Common cosmetic products showing positive reactions were skin care products (26.2%), face make-ups (19.8%), and hair preparations (16.9%). There was no statistically significant difference in the positive reaction rate between atopy and non-atopy patients. The positive correlation rate of as is test with standard and cosmetic series was relatively low. CONCLUSION: Commercial standard patch test series including cosmetic series are not enough to detect causative allergen in cosmetic contact dermatitis. As is patch test should be encouraged to detect new allergens, because many cosmetic ingredients are developed and introduced in market.
Allergens ; Dermatitis, Contact* ; Hair Preparations ; Humans ; Nickel ; Patch Tests* ; Skin Care ; Urea

Poisoning due to potassium bromate, cold wave neutralizer for permanent waving solution in hair styling, is rarely encountered and only few cases are as a cause of acute renal failure reported in medical literature. Recently, we saw a 18 year-old-female patient, hair stylist, who was admitted to Severance Hospital due to acute renal failure after accidental ingestion of potassium bromate. This is the first known case of acute renal failure due to potassium bromate poisoning in Korea.
Adolescent ; Bromates/poisoning* ; Bromine/poisoning* ; Female ; Hair Preparations/poisoning* ; Human ; Kidney Failure, Acute/chemically induced* ; Kidney Failure, Acute/diagnosis ; Korea ; Potassium/poisoning

OBJECTIVES: Hairdressers in Korea perform various tasks and are exposed to health risk factors such as chemical substances or prolonged duration of wet work. The objective of this study is to provide descriptive statistics on the demographics and work characteristics of hairdressers in Korea and to identify work-related risk factors for dermatologic symptoms in hairdressers. METHODS: 1,054 hairdressers were selected and analyzed for this study. Independent variables were exposure to chemical substances, the training status of the hairdressers, and the main tasks required of them, and the dependent variable was the incidence of dermatologic symptoms. The relationships between work characteristics and dermatologic symptoms were evaluated by estimating odds ratios using multiple logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Among the 1,054 study subjects, 212 hairdressers (20.1%) complained of dermatologic symptoms, and the symptoms were more prevalent in younger, unmarried or highly educated hairdressers. The main tasks that comprise the majority of the wet work were strictly determined by training status, since 96.5% of staff hairdressers identified washing as their main task, while only 1.5% and 2.0% of master and designer hairdressers, respectively, identified this as their main task. Multiple logistic regressions was performed to estimate odds ratios. While exposure to hairdressing chemicals showed no significant effect on the odds ratio for the incidence of dermatologic symptoms, higher odds ratios of dermatologic symptoms were shown in staff hairdressers (2.70, 95% CI: 1.32 - 5.51) and in hairdressers who perform washing as their main task (2.03, 95% CI: 1.22 - 3.37), after adjusting for general and work characteristics. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that the training status and main tasks of hairdressers are closely related to each other and that the training status and main tasks of hairdressers are related to the incidence of dermatologic symptoms. This suggests that in the future, regulations on working conditions and health management guidelines for hairdressers should be established.
Demography ; Dermatitis, Occupational ; Eczema ; Hair Preparations ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Occupational Health ; Odds Ratio ; Risk Factors ; Single Person ; Social Control, Formal

Total of 7, 495 children including 3, 908 boys and 3, 587 girls from a kindergarten and 15 primary schools were examined for head lice infestation (HLI). The overall prevalence of HLI in this study was found to be 5.8%. Head lice were much more commonly detected in girls than in boys with prevalence of 11.2% and 0.9%, respectively. Sixty-nine children with HLI were treated with 1% lindane shampoo alone (group 1), and 45 children with HLI were treated with 1% lindane shampoo and oral trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (group 2), and follow-up visits were conducted 2 and 4 weeks later. The children who still had HLI 2 weeks after the primary treatment were treated again. At the 2-week follow-up visit, the treatment success rates of groups 1 and 2 were 76.8% and 86.7%, respectively, and at the 4-week follow-up visit, the rates were 91.3% and 97.8%, respectively. No statistically significant synergistic effect was observed for the combination of a 1% lindane shampoo and oral trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole.
Animals ; Anti-Infective Agents/therapeutic use ; Child ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Female ; *Hair Preparations ; Health Surveys ; Humans ; Korea/epidemiology ; Lice Infestations/*drug therapy/*epidemiology ; Lindane/*therapeutic use ; Male ; *Pediculus ; Prevalence ; Students ; Trimethoprim-Sulfamethoxazole Combination/*therapeutic use