Hair loss from chemotherapy, a distressing side effect of cancer treatment, could be a thing of the past if a gel under development shows promise in adults. The clear ointment has been tested only on lab rats, but developers said its effects are dramatic. ``We noticed a marked protection of the hair,'' said Stephen T. Davis. ``It was just stunning.'' Davis, a scientist at Glaxo Wellcome, said the company hopes to test the ointment on people, though he could not predict when that will happen. Cancer cells grow faster than normal tissue. Chemotherapy works by killing cells that are rapidly dividing. An unintended side effect is damage to the hair follicles, which also divide more quickly than other parts of the body. The Glaxo drug works by temporarily stopping the follicles from dividing, shielding them from the effects of chemotherapy. The effect wears off within a day and does not seem to make any difference in long-term hair growth. Ann's NOTE: An icebag on top of the head is said to have the effect of preventing hair loss. Dr. Larry Norton, Memorial Sloan Kettering told me he "thought it might interfere with chemotherapy". This was not based on evidence. Too bad the ice pack has NOT BEEN STUDIED. 10/02 My friends, see the study below on scalp-cooling. Tested in Europe and demonstrated to reduce hair loss with no 'mets' to the head! JNCI, 12/01 Psycho-Oncology, 5/02 J Supportive Care in Cancer, 10/02 Effectiveness of Scalp Cooling w/Epirubicin/Docetaxel Efficacy & Acceptability of Paxman Scalp Cooler REVIEW: Prevention of Chemo-hair loss w/scalp cooling From mapi.com, 7/03 Cancer Research, 9/04 Ther Drug Monit, 6/05 Eur J Cancer, 7/05 Remember we are NOT Doctors and have NO medical training. This site is like an Encylopedia - there are many pages, many links on many topics. Support our work with any size DONATION - see left side of any page - for how to donate. You can help raise awareness of CAM.