New Shampoo Could Ease Chemotherapy’s Toughest Side Effect

We’ve all unfortunately been close to somebody who has had to deal with cancer. At this point, it’s just an inevitability that everyone will know somebody who has been touched by this awful disease, but one Michigan State University researcher is hoping to help the self-esteem of those who are going through the side effects of chemotherapy.

As you know, one of the main side effects of chemotherapy is hair loss, and a Michigan State University researcher is hoping a new hydrogel shampoo could prevent hair loss for those people.

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A recent article from the Detroit Free Press highlights Bryan Smith, who is an associate professor of biomedical engineering and a member of Michigan State University’s Institute for Qualitative Health Science and Engineering.

He has put together a concoction, which is similar to a shampoo that is meant to be placed on the scalp before the patient goes through chemotherapy infusions.

The concept is that while it’s on the person‘s head, the medicine in the gel constricts the blood vessels in the scalp, which limits blood flow to reduce the volume of cancer, killing drugs that reach hair follicles.

According to the Detroit Free Press, this is something Prof. Smith says is a very common fear amongst those who go through the treatments:

In talking with patients, it became clear that patients will sometimes not even take a therapy because of the fear of losing their hair. Or in some cases, they would choose a different chemotherapy regimen that is less likely to cause hair loss. They would change their entire treatment regimen or choose not to undergo a treatment regimen because of that fear.