Glynis Ablon, MD, Reviews the Latest Innovative Treatment Pearls for Hair Loss

At the 2023 Music City SCALE meeting in Nashville, Tennesse, Glynis Ablon, MD, an associate clinical professor of dermatology at the University of California, Los Angeles, and owner of the Ablon Skin Institute and Research Center in Manhattan Beach, California, presented multiple sessions on the latest techniques for treating and preventing hair loss among patients.

Ablon’s first session focused on the importance of nutrition and the skin; what goes into the body affects the whole body. Her second session was the highly anticipated exosomes panel to discuss what’s next in exosome use for hair loss. Finally, Ablon’s last session was on treating the hair-challenged patient and what clinicians should be addressing in full body checks.

Transcript

Ablon: Hi. I'm Dr. Glynis Ablon, I'm a board-certified dermatologist and associate clinical professor at UCLA. And I run the Ablon Skin Institute and Research Center in Manhattan Beach, California.

Dermatology Times®: What are the important takeaway points from your session, "Hair Loss, Nutrition, and Supplementation?"

Ablon: So, number one, I say you are what you eat. And it is so important to understand that what we put in our bodies really does allow us to have the best skin, hair, and nails, or the worst. So, I really try to stress and go over what things we need to add to our diet. And number 2 basically is when diet isn't enough, supplements can be added. And that really does pick up the slack. It's best to go and get a nutrition panel, you can actually get your blood drawn and get a nutrition panel to see what deficiencies you might have and what you need to actually give a boost and fill those deficiencies that you might have. And the third thing is that we all go through the cycle of life. So it's important to look into our hormones, the nutrients, as I mentioned, and then lifestyle that all play a part in hair loss, but also affect our entire body. So, keep up the good fight. And again, add nutrition and supplements if needed for your body, for your health, and for your hair.

Dermatology Times: What are the key highlights from your session, "Exosome Therapy: The Newest Tool in the Regenerative Medicine Toolbox?"

Ablon: First, I just want to say I think this might be the first panel that has all 7 of the known exosome companies on the stage. So, I think that's very exciting. And the first thing I want to say is that you know, exosomes are these very tiny extracellular vesicles. But they are key to cell-to-cell communication, and they are generated by all our bodily fluids. The second is that we used to think that exosomes were just cellular debris, but we now know and especially with the new research, that over the last decade has demonstrated improvements in cell survival with exosomes, as well as proliferation, migration, differentiation, senescence, immunomodulation, angiogenesis, wound healing, including hair growth and skin rejuvenation, just to name a few. So, it just shows you how important exosomes really are. And the third thing to mention is that our real issue with exosomes, in addition to the source is the isolation technique. And that includes the ultrasound, ultra-infiltration, and immunoaffinity capture, as well as precipitation techniques. And the research is really exploring the alternative exosome sources. It's really in its infancy, but it is exploding.

Dermatology Times: What are the top highlights from your session, "Evaluating and Treating the Hair Challenged Patient?"

Ablon: So I think it's really important that there are many different issues when we're dealing with a hair-challenged patient. The first thing is to remember that it's important as a dermatologist, we have the conversation. I talk with every single patient that comes in about their hair. So, when I'm doing a body check, when I'm talking about anything else on the body, I really do try to address from the tip of the head to the bottom of the toes, and that does include hair. So, we know that there are many treatment options patients have. And if we address the hair issues early, we really can see some great results. The second thing to remember is that it's imperative to have a full explanation of the treatment options discussed with your patients. And that includes brochures, I'm a big paper [fan],I love to give information sheets, brochures, and summary sheets on each topic really to make it easier for the patient to review. And then we need to understand that the patient barriers to treatments do include money, time, frequency of treatments, the distance they come from the office, and as well, ethics and when we're helping our patients choose, we really need to look at the individual and all of those issues as far as how we create this plan for the patient. And finally, trichoscopy, biopsies, and macro photography all make diagnosis easier, and patients appreciate this more detailed evaluation to really go through what's going on, what are the causes of the hair loss, and what we can do about it.

Dermatology Times: With numerous conferences in the dermatology space, what makes SCALE unique?

Ablon: So really finding a great conference that does a great mix of medical and aesthetic dermatology, I think is really key. And how can you beat Nashville? It's such a beautiful travel destination, which is one of the reasons I just love going to SCALE.

[Transcript is edited for clarity]