Paxman Scalp Coolers: Stopping Chemotherapy Hair Loss

Author: Paxman - Contact: www.paxman-coolers.com
Published: 2015/03/12 - Updated: 2017/06/26
Topic: Home Medical Devices - Publications List

Page Content: Synopsis - Introduction - Main

Synopsis: Paxman scalp coolers showed cooling markedly reduced or completely stopped hair follicles from dying during chemotherapy.

Introduction

Clinical research from Yorkshire has confirmed how scalp cooling works; data which will be formally presented at the 14th St.Gallen International Breast Cancer Conference being held in Vienna, Austria, on March 18-21, 2015.

Main Item

The studies, carried out on Huddersfield-based Paxman scalp coolers, showed that although chemotherapy drugs are highly toxic to cells, cooling markedly reduced or completely stopped hair follicles from dying.

The research also revealed that cooler scalp temperatures achieved by Paxman systems provided better clinical outcomes for patients, helping to change the lives of thousands of cancer patients worldwide. Hair loss is a well-documented side effect of many chemotherapy regimens, with many patients claiming it is the most traumatic aspect of their treatment.

The Paxman scalp cooler is the world leading hair loss prevention system for chemotherapy patients. It has been used by over 100,000 patients, in 32 countries and is responsible for helping patients keep their hair and retain normality during chemotherapy.

Scalp cooling provides the only real alternative to hair loss resulting in a high level of retention or complete hair preservation, improving patients' self-confidence and creating positive attitudes towards treatment. The Paxman scalp cooler works by lowering scalp temperature before, during and after the administration of chemotherapy.

Several scientific hypotheses have been raised to explain how scalp cooling works. Firstly, scalp cooling causes blood vessel vasoconstriction, which dramatically reduces blood flow to the scalp and it has been suggested that less chemotherapeutic drug is delivered to the hair follicles.

Another possibility is that the rate of drug diffusion across a plasma membrane maybe reduced and thus lower 'effective' drug doses may enter the cells. Finally it has shown that lowering the temperature in cells can reduce the metabolic rate of the drug. It is possible that cooling involves a combination of these three mechanisms to exert its protective effects.

Speaking about the research, Richard Paxman Managing Director of Paxman, said:

"We are delighted with the research and are extremely excited that it is being presented at this year's BCC conference. Every day we hear personal stories from patients and their families about the positive results of scalp cooling so it is great to see clinical evidence to back this up."

The research was carried out by Omar Hussain, Research Scientist at Paxman, Dr Nik Georgopoulos and Dr Andrew Collett of the University of Huddersfield.

The full abstracts "Effect of cooling on cytotoxicity by monotherapy versus combinatorial chemotherapy in keratinocytes" and the "Role of cooling on the uptake of chemotherapy induced alopecia-causing drugs in human keratinocytes" was presented at BCC 2015.