From Dr. Coen Gho:
“Most people know me as the developer of Follicular Multiplication and Hair Multiplication. However, this is only a part of my activities. As you can see, we also have a Pharma division. GHO Pharma which develops new medications for different indications in the field of burns, cardiology and neurology; and GHO clinic which develops new treatments in the field of hair-restoration.
GHO Holding, established in 1994 in Maastricht, the Netherlands, has 5 divisions:
GHO Clinic: The division dedicated to further developing the GHO Method of Follicular Multiplication as well as maintaining our specialised international training program. GHO Clinic Maastricht is the headquarter of the International GHO Clinics Partnership, a network of about 20 GHO Clinics to be established in the future all over Europe in cities such as: Madrid, Rotterdam, Prague, Antwerp, Barcelona, etc. Within GHO Clinic, ongoing programs are developing the revolutionary GHO Method even further, improving efficiencies and techniques using specially developed medical tools. Furthermore, the marketing and Public Relations department are focused on gaining international attention, while working towards establishing the GHO Clinic brand as the premier global brand for hair transplantation.
GHO Pharma: The division specialised in Research and Development of new drugs which reduce injury in patients of the Burn, Cardiology and Neurology departments. GHO Pharma collaborates with the academic staff of renowned European universities and burn wound centres in various projects. Ongoing research into burn wounds in relation to the skin helped Dr Gho and his medical team develop Follicular Multiplication.
GHO Clinic Aruba: The GHO subsidiary on the sunny island of Aruba in the Caribbean where we offer the same excellent service levels provided by our own medical personnel under supervision of a renown dermatologist. This GHO Clinic was set up to service our numerous American patients in order for them to avoid the long trips to Europe.
GHO International: The division where the International GHO Clinic Partnership franchises are organised. The basis is the unique GHO Method of Follicular Multiplication. Each GHO Clinic offers the same top quality services using specially developed medical instruments and specialised medical personnel, each having gone through an extensive training program given by Dr Coen Gho and his team of medical specialists.
GHO Training & Education: This is the division where our international training and education are organised. There is a full program created principally for international medical doctors and nurses who need to complete these courses in order to earn the license needed to qualify for performing treatments of the GHO Method of Follicular Multiplication. The standard program takes several months of intensive training in a well balanced mix of theory and practice.
Staining the Cells
In our studies we used several markers. Markers are compounds used to show different characteristics of cells. The goal here was to try and find where stem cells are located in the follicle. If we could locate the stem cells we could see what options we had as far as regenerating new hairs from one existing hair. This is the new technology. So we used markers to do this. Kind of like staining something.
Besides the ones shown on this slide, we used many others:
- Bcl-2: Stem cells in general have to be protected against apoptosis. Apoptosis is programmed cell death. Therefore, stem cells have to be positive for BCL 2, a well known anti-apoptose marker.
- CK 19: CK 19 stains specific the follicular stem cells.
Therefore, follicular stem cells have to be BCL-2 as well as CK19 positive. Other markers on the slides are:
- CK 14 which stains all skin cells
- CK 16 which stains developing cells, so these cells can not be stem cells
- Ki 67 is a proliferation markers which stains dividing cells
- DAPI which stains all cells
Dermal Papilla Cross-Section (a)
When we took a look at the follicle via a longitudinal cross-section of the dermal papilla, we did not find CK19 and BCL-2 positive cells. These cells would have indicated that “Stem Cells” were present in this area of the hair follicle. Our research has shown therefore that there are no follicular stem cells present in the dermal papilla. Some have hypothethized that stem cells are found in the dermal papilla. Our research indicated otherwise, and this was a significant finding. You’ll see why in the following slides…
Dermal Papilla Cross-Section (b)
Bcl-2 is the other stain we used to detect Stem Cells. With this stain we also found *no* stem cells present in this area of the hair follicle. This further established that the all important stem cells needed for cloning are not present in the dermal papilla. This gave us our foundation for what portions of the follicle were and were not important.
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