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EHRS
(European Hair Research Society)
9th Congress - Belgium 2002
Mr
Derek Dane (Leeds) Past
President of The Trichological Society writes:
At the inaugural meeting of the Oxford Hair Foundation last October
I well remember general practitioner Dr John Gray posing the question "What do most Medical Practitioners know about the multitude of
hair disorders – or for that matter about trichologists and their
work?" He confirmed what we already knew was so often the answer
– "Not a lot. I’m a doctor".
With that in mind, and assured that "hair dermatologists though
few in number are very much more welcoming than ‘skin dermatologists'
(!)" I heeded Dr Hugh Rushton’s advice to "Go to Belgium
next summer to get the latest low-down from the world’s best academic
and skin-medical brains – and talk hair". And so I found myself
at the EHRS 2002 Hair Workshop, otherwise billed as The European Hair
Research Society’s 9th Meeting, held in Brussels 27th, 28th and
29th June 2002.
Hair is Happiness! - that was the opening remark of our gentle and genial
dermatologist Dr Dominique van Neste, who with dedicated help from his
wife and family organised the whole 3-day Conference seamlessly without
a glitch, running it as smoothly as a Swiss watch. This vast hair workshop
consisted of symposia's of optional Breakfast Sessions, Plenary lectures,
and exhibitions of Special-work Posters.
This year a record number of 160 participants coming from all over the
world, representing medico-biologists geneticists other scientists cosmeticists
and the medical fields of dermatology and general practice were urged
by the organiser to "crosstalk with those who are first line facing
the complaints of affected patients" – which of course included
us as trichologists, – and some intelligent concerned hairdressers
as well as those industrially formulating hair/scalp care products.
The EHRS gathers dermatologists and scientists from all continents to
exchange their up-to-date knowledge on hair biology and hair growth
regulation as well as hair (scalp) follicle diseases; thus the Conference
promised fruitful exchange in our understanding of hair biology, hair
genetics and hair disease as well as being a sounding-board for the
development of new therapeutic approaches.
____________________________________________________________________
Thursday
(pm) 27th June 2002
Androgenetic alopecia in man:
i) The biological effects of androgens on the
hair follicle – experimental approaches.
ii) The safety and efficacy of finasteride 1mg (Propecia
®) in the treatment of alopecia.
iii) Management plans for the male patient with androgenetic
alopecia.
The topics of 6 Workshop ‘breakfast sessions’ were then outlined,
for which we were free to make a choice – 3 to be held concurrently
the next day, Friday 28th:
i) alopecia areata (in rodent models).
ii) global perspective on hair follicle development.
iii) selective hair follicle targeting.
The following three to be held concurrently on Saturday 29th June:
i) advances in molecular genetics of the hair
follicle.
ii) clinical relevance of hair follicle investigation.
iii) melanocytic activity: the aging hair follicle pigmentary
unit.
Friday 28th June 2002: having attended our chosen breakfast workshop – we came together for the hard-work plenary sessions of the day.
These were for the most part extremely technical; covering subjects
of perhaps-funded laboratory work in University genetic, dermatological,
anatomy and biomedical departments - on-going throughout the world:
i) Towards the identification of
a gene for the scalp-limited form of hypotrichosis simplex.
ii) Screening of dermal papilla-specific
genes.
iii) Minoxidil – how does it work?
iv) Treatment of female hair loss.
v) Hypertrichosis in females applying
topical Minoxidil.
vi) Ultrastructural study of human anagen hair
follicle.
vii) Brain-derived neurotrophic factor
expressed in human hair follicles.
viii) Regulation of human epidermal and hair follicle
melanocytes.
ix) Stress-induced catagen progression …reduced
by topical Minoxidil.
x) Follicular mycosis fungoides resembling
alopecia areata.
xi) Anterior scalp follicles more vulnerable
than posterior scalp in telogen effluvium.
xii) Oral finasteride –v- topical 2% Minoxidil:
comparative efficacy in male pattern baldness.
____________________________________________________________________
Saturday 29th June 2002: again we came together following our
chosen breakfast lecture, this time for the conference ‘highlight’ –
The John Ebling Lecture – presented this year in entertaining fashion
by Dr R Dawber, entitled "Hair between the lines". This was
a day I could comprehend!
In the afternoon an Open Discussion was held on Hair Controversies – diffuse hair loss in women, in which the thoughts and words of the distinguished
trichologist Hugh Rushton loomed large! Mrs Marilyn Sherlock of The
Institute of Trichologists managed to make a valid point from the floor of the house, if only allowed
a few final seconds! (- it was a shame that the roving microphones always
seemed to fall into the same few well-known EHRS hands sitting in the
front rows… perhaps back-of-house lighting had something to do
with it).
More plenary sessions followed, perhaps as an academic encore for our
brains before leaving for home:
i) Enzyme activity in human hair follicles.
ii) Steroid hormones exhibit trophic effects
on hair melanocytes.
iii) Non-balding scalp dermal papilla cells express
oestrogen receptor protein.
There was a Poster Discussion (and some awards) and after some closing
remarks the Conference was declared closed.
____________________________________________________________________
Posters:
A total of 64 posters, covering a variety of technical subjects and
lab-work – much of which had already been discussed – were
displayed. We had been able to view these at various sites within the
Conference facility over the 3 days and were given opportunity to meet
the authors, in explanatory attendance at their own poster.
Of that total one in particular was of interest to the practising trichologist.
It was produced by The Ayrshire Hospice, Ayr, Scotland on the ‘Suitability
of shampoo used on treatment-induced alopecia’. The author informed
us that the hairdressing staff at her hospice had found very scant help
from the available literature, Internet or even oncology units and GP’s
in Ayrshire. She had therefore sent a questionnaire to trichologists
and also to some hairdressers on the suitable care and cleansing of
human scalps following chemo or radiotherapy. ‘Baby Shampoo’ seemed to be an all-too-ready answer. However, a conclusion was reached
that perhaps the best products to offer to cancer patients with such
iatrogenic hair loss would be pH-balanced perfume colour and additive
free.
Comment:
Dr Gray GP - had mentioned trichologists and asked Conference to give
the matter of chronic telogen effluvium (‘a very difficult problem’)
much more thought for the future.
Dr Hugh Rushton, trichologist - urged that at all times we consciously
define a difference between diffuse hair loss and increased hair shedding.
A gentle criticism :
All in all I found so many of the younger presenters speaking far too
fast and flipping through their Powerpoint presentations at lightening
speed. My poor aged and withering brain could hardly keep up, let alone
decipher and comprehend! Mystifying acronyms were springing-up from
nowhere, often seeming specific only to the author of the paper concerned!
OK we all know IgG is immunoglobulin, but steady on….
I wondered at the preponderance of dermatologists, biomedical scientists,
geneticists, and the apparent lack of say endocrinologists, immunologists,
or neurologists who, had they been there, might have given useful balance
to a few arguments.
I felt a strong presence of thought that emanates only from tightly-closed
ivory towers, so many individuals being, from their point of view quite
rightly I suppose, focussed strongly on and within their own narrow
specialisms. Here are moulds that must one day be broken, though I suspect
we are creating them at an ever faster pace!
I know that science means the gaining of knowledge and that advanced
research must be done if ‘serious progress’ is to be made,
full advantage being taken of course of all the wonderful tools and
systems that are part of our 21st Century life. But I can’t help
wondering about ‘jobs for the boys and girls’ in some of this.
I came away from conference hoping that the boffins will keep in mind
the simpler science that we trichologists know and practice so effectively
each day that we offer a patient our time and care. Forget for a moment,
I thought, the glib acronyms of those glorious molecules tossed around
so airily in Academia – and give heed to some plainer simpler more
common-sense thoughts like, say:
"How about prescribing the drinking of several litres of H2O a
day" to keep the connective and fatty tissues in our scalps flushed
from the possibly negatively-acting by-products of the wondrous activity
all these 120,000 chemically-busy little scalp-follicle factories, we
are so worried about.
Don’t we believe any more that simplicity can indeed work wonders
where hair growth is concerned?
© 2002 - D. Dane (Leeds)
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