Cold Caps May Arrest Hair Loss During Chemotherapy Treatment

One of the most difficult side effects of chemotherapy is loss of hair, which is as traumatizing as the disease itself.

But a new research plans on offering some relief to those who are battling with cancer. According to the researchers, covering the patient's head with cold caps will prevent loss of hair during chemotherapy treatment.

The researchers state that the cold cap,  already in use in Canada and Europe, numbs the cancer patient's scalp during the painful chemo process and prevents the chemo drugs from reaching the scalp and damaging hair follicles by reducing blood flow.

This cold cap treatment still awaits approval from the Food and Drug Administration in the U.S. Certain researchers are concerned that the cold caps would keep the drugs from targeting the cancer cells that are located near the scalp.

"Do they work and are they safe? Those are the two big holes. We just don't know," American Cancer Society spokeswoman, Kimberly Stump-Sutliff, said. "We need to know."

Irrespective of the ongoing debate over the effectiveness of the cold caps, American cancer patients have been renting 'Penguin Cold Caps' from a British company for a price of $455 per month, reports HNGN.

The first person to have a successful story with cold caps was Miriam Lipton, 45, a breast cancer patient. After her first chemo therapy session, she lost her thick locks in two weeks. But the second time she went with a cold cap and it helped prevent further loss.

Apart from Lipton, 20 U.S. patients have used the 'DigniCap' and most of them managed to save half of their hair.

If the study conducted by several hospitals in New York and California achieves a positive result, Dignitana AB from Sweden will seek permission from the FDA to sell their cold caps to Americans.