Retraction Watch blog reports on the eyebrow-raising adventures of Dr. Kenji Okajma, and alludes to Dr. Okajima’s activity in (possibly) raising hair:
We have updates on the two mysterious Journal of Neuroscience retractions we reported on yesterday…. there appears to be a university investigation into the work of one of the co-authors, Kenji Okajima, according to a report in Sankei Shimbun. The newspaper does not mention Okajima by name, but gives details about his age, area of research, and positions that make it clear it is him and a colleague whose work is being examined…. Okajima — who has also apparently studied the effects of wasabi and pepper on growing hair — has not responded to our requests for comment.
Medical News Today reports on that hair-growth story:
Eating a combination of chili peppers and soybeans is likely to promote hair growth, according to a researcher at Kumamoto University. Kenji Okajima, an assistant professor at the university’s Graduate School of Medical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, found that a combination of capsaicin, the chemical that makes chili peppers spicy, and isoflavone, which is found in soy beans, helped restore head and eyebrow hair that had fallen out due to stress.