I think the reason it happens on the scalp rather than the body is that the blood flow on the scalp is more constrained and you have greater levels of patches of senescence.
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Temporary hair darkening has been reported after ingestion of large doses of p-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) though the mechanism of action is unknown. In a study comprising 460 gray-haired individuals, 100 mg three times daily of PABA caused darkening of hair in 82% patients within 2-4 months. However, relapse was evident at 2-4 weeks after drug cessation. [[18]] Zarafonetis reported repigmentation of hair with 12-20 g of PABA. [[66]] Pasricha et al. reported successful use of 200 mg of calcium pantothenate daily in two girls having premature graying of hair. On a follow-up of 29 and 13 months, respectively, 300 and 1069 gray hair were counted to have got converted into black hair. Hair with a proximal black portion and a distal gray part were termed as converted hair. [[67]] In another study, they combined calcium pantothenate with gray hair avulsion; at every 3-monthly follow-up, all gray hair were avulsed from the root while any converted hair was snipped at the gray-black junction. They found the combination of gray hair avulsion and calcium pantothenate to be more effective than calcium pantothenate used alone. [[68]] Brandaleone et al., however, used 200 mg of PABA with 100 mg of calcium pantothenate (vitamin B5) and 50 g of brewer′s yeast for 8 months to patients with gray hair without any success. [[69) Pavithran et al. reported PUVASOL to be effective in almost two-thirds of patients with premature graying. [[70]]
Repigmentation of previously gray scalp hair has been reported following prolonged (around 3 years) use of latanoprost, a PGF 2 alpha eye drops. The repigmentation started from the root and proximal portion of hair and then increased over the entire length of hair. [[71]]. Prostaglandins are one of the most potent stimulators of melanocyte growth and melanogenesis. [[72]] Darkening of hair has also been reported as an incidental finding with other drugs such as defibrotide, cyclosporine, corticosteroid, etretinate, L-thyroxine, verapamil, tamoxifen, levodopa, cisplatin, acitretin, tri-iodothyronine, and lenalidomide. [[71]] However, in most of these cases, drug-induced etiology of pigmentation could only be confirmed if hair had returned to its original color after drug withdrawal. The same could not be confirmed as most patients were continued on treatment with the suspected drug.
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It is possible that Cerebrolysin could be effective.
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I used to hear Carlton Fredericks talk about PABA and grey hair reversal on WOR radio in NY maybe 55 years ago. Carlton Fredericks - Wikipedia
Turns out he was on to something.
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I have a theory that we need to work on our mitochondria first before we will see reversing of the grey hair.
I used red light to grow my hair back.
Here some research that says that Nitric Oxide blocks respriation of our mitochondria so they no longer produce ATP. The red light knocks off the NO in the mitochondria so that oxygen can bind and restore respiration and ATP production. I won’t bore you with the Krebs cycle and ATP production.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237089612_The_role_of_nitric_oxide_in_low_level_light_therapy
*"Red and near-IR light is primarily absorbed by cytochrome c oxidase (unit four in the mitochondrial respiratory chain). Nitric oxide produced in the mitochondria can inhibit respiration by binding to cytochrome c oxidase and competitively displacing oxygen, especially in stressed or hypoxic cells. If light absorption displaced the nitric oxide and thus allowed the cytochrome c oxidase to recover and cellular respiration to resume, this would explain many of the observations made in LLLT. "
This is my theory no papers I can find. Perhaps the melanocyte stem cells responsible for pigmentation don’t produce ATP and stop functioning rather than dying off. Maybe with the introduction of red light to reactivate ATP production in these cell restores pigmentation if we allow Rayamycin to do it’s job?
Here is the red light that I use you just need to get a light fixture
I am very open to arguments and discussion for this theory, let me know what you think and if you try it I would like to hear the results.
My hair started to turn black after a decade of dying my hair, (still using red light). I was completely grey and 2 months of Rapamycin I started to get black hair again.
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I think you are right that mitochondrial efficiency is key. This drives the ability of the cells to produce proteins (creating both ATP and cytosolic/nuclear Acetyl-CoA).
It is an interesting point if you have found that Red/Infra Red light achieves this. One mode of operation is to increase the levels of seratonin which is converted into melatonin which acts to reduce oxidative stress.
My experience which relates directly to gene expression is that hair follicles go through phases. With maximal gene expression where the longest genes are expressed you get strong pigmented hairs, those at a weaker state turn into strong white hairs, then at a lower stage they become frail.
In reversing this I am finding a starting position of fine translucent hairs. With a bit more gene expression (ie expressing the longer genes) they turn pigmented. I am now getting some really quite strong pigmented hairs, but not that many.
On the other hand I started in a much balder position.
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Ditto, I just turned 81 and my wife noticed dark hair coming in on the back of my head. I have been on rapamycin for about 3 months now and am considering bumping my dose by 1mg to 6mg /wk. Besides the darker hair, I have not noticed any changes. My wife is on it and she said that her breast are tender. Scooter who just turned 10 is a Goldendoodle is in the TRIAD research program which is part of the Dog Aging Project and he is on the med or placebo. My wife thinks he has the med.
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Yes, I remember listening to him in NYC as well. “This is Carlton Fredericks, wishing good health to you all!”
I remember him being the lone wolf about topics like being against fluoride in the water as well. Definitely seemed ahead of his time.
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Those photos are someone else right?
Because it is not the same hair as in the photo you posted a few days ago with some new black hair showing and the rest gray.
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Or those are old photos, and you are saying the red light used to work but then you went gray?
Yes all the pictures are me. I started using Red light to grow my hair back with minoxidil about a year ago. The red light penetrates about 1 inch deep even though the cranial bone structure.
The cranium shows minimal absorption and scattering of light, with a wavelength- but not thickness-dependent attenuation of 15%–20% in the red to near-infrared spectrum.78 Photons at wavelengths between 630 nm and 800 nm have been shown to travel up to 28 mm even in layers of tissues with relatively low transparencies such as skin, connective tissue, muscle, bone, and spinal cord,
Mitochondrial function plays a key role in the aging-related cognitive impairment, and photoneuromodulation of mitochondria by transcranial low-level laser therapy (LLLT) may contribute to its improvement.
So after my hair came back in (although still grey) I kept on using the red light 20 minutes in the morning and 20 minutes in the evening for brain health since your brain is less than 1 inch below your hair.
So my theory is that the mitochondria in my hair folicle cells are healthy and producing ATP (energy) and growing back however there is no action to regenerate the melanocyte stem cells responsible for pigment. That is till I started Rapamycin 2 months ago. We do know that Rapamycin does activate stem cells.
The color of my hair in the photos is over years with different dyes, the last one that shows black hair coming back is about a week old. I will keep posting results, I am curious if it will continue and all my hair will turn black again?
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Steven, thank you for the lead.
I ordered one with the optional tripod stand.
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More impressive than the color change is the increase in hair density!
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i think i noticed and is also written other places that if do rapamycin topically ofcourse with the other agents to make a topicaly solution say at 1/2 or 1 percent rapa where u want it will help keep ones natural pigment such as when they were younger.
I bought this brand to make an 8-light source from a bathroom light fixture also bought on Amazon. I have since mounted it horizontally because I got tired of standing in one place for twenty minutes. The power density of the lamps is 140 mW/cm² @ 6inch, which is in the range of many studies.
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FWIW…
This is a “no brainer”!
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It appears that there are two mechanisms that promote hair growth and pigmentation.
Firstly, autophagy is stimulated by Rapamycin through the inhibition of mTOR. Autophagy initiates the activation of hair follicles and promotes hair regeneration.
Secondly, Rapamycin targets senescent follicles, which are associated with a type of hair loss known as senescent alopecia. Senescent cells are cells that have ceased dividing and entered a state of permanent growth arrest. They naturally accumulate in various tissues, including the scalp. When senescent cells accumulate in the scalp, they can contribute to hair loss through multiple pathways.
In the coming months, I plan to incorporate topical rapamycin into my skin/scalp care routine.
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What type of red light do you recommend? What about these red light hats?
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For hair regrowth, did you still use 20 minutes in the morning and at night? Or did you use a longer amount of time under the red light?
What’s the optimal distance between the light and scalp?
Thanks!