MedEsthetics magazines offers business education and in-depth coverage of the latest noninvasive cosmetic procedures for physicians and practice managers working in the medical aesthetics industry.
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scalp, thereby regenerating inactive hair follicles. According to an article in the New York Times (April 15, 2015), she would start by harvesting a patch of 50 to 100 hairs from a patient's scalp and then dissect and duplicate them under laboratory conditions to produce millions of stem cells, enough to inject all over the scalp. Christiano hopes to begin clinical trials of the technique in 2016 or 2017. Gene therapy is another avenue of research. Curis is working on a model using sonic hedge- hog, a protein that plays a role in organ develop- ment—but there are dozens of genes that control hair growth so this protein alone is unlikely to hold the key to hair restoration. The online journal PLOS (January 21, 2015) includes an article by researchers from Sanford-Burnham University that may be central to the development of hair restoration stem cell therapy. They created dermal papilla cells from embryonic stem cells and showed these cells could stimulate hair growth. The research was done with mice and will have to be duplicated in humans. With so much progress made and so many promising solutions in the pipeline, physicians have a wealth of information to share with patients who are struggling with thinning or lost hair. Linda W. Lewis is the contributing editor of MedEsthetics. CROWNING GLORY 54 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015 | Med Esthetics Robotic systems, like the ARTAS, currently assist in follicular extraction and hair line mapping, but may do far more in the future. PHOTO COURTESY OF RESTORATION ROBOTICS BEST OF MEDICAL AESTHETICS continued from page 30 BEST WEBSITE: CHESAPEAKE VEIN CENTER AND MEDSPA chesapeakeveinandmedspa.com It's not easy to provide the wealth of information patients are seeking without making your website look cluttered or diffi cult to navigate, but Chesapeake Vein Center and MedSpa has done just that. The eye-catching images on the opening page welcome prospective patients with the medspa's logo and a call to action, followed by "Find Your Heavenly Glow," which encourages patients to learn more about the range of services offered, then an invitation to peruse the current monthly specials. The last panel on the opening page is titled, "Our Thoughts on Beauty," with a link to the medspa's philosophy on cosmetic care and wellness. The easy-to-navigate, responsive website—which can be viewed on any device—prominently features contact information for the medspa and links to its social media on every page. Also included on every page is an invitation to view videos by director, Surya Challa, MD, and a link to request a consultation. Acara Partners consulting designed the site. "Creating a strong fi rst impression of Chesapeake Vein Center and MedSpa was vital to our design. The ultimate goal was to create a website that not only effectively worked for the company's business aspirations, but successfully fi lled the wants and desires of potential clients as well," says Janine Wilson of Acara. "We wanted to create a reliable experience through responsive design, optimal page speed and low page weight, as well as an eye-catching design through refi ned type treatments, color coordination and strong imagery with bold calls to action."