Male pattern baldness is a fact of life for many men, and most men accept it is a hereditary, genetic flaw that has been passed down to them. Now investigation has shown that scientists may be close to discovering a new cause of balding patches that could hold the answer to an effective cure for genetic hair loss.
Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, US have discovered what they believe to be the origin of male pattern baldness. The dermatology department has revealed that the balding spots on their participants were not due to a complete lack of hair but instead the quality of the hair that grows there. It was announced that hair in receding areas does in fact exist but grows so small it can only been seen under a microscope, invisible to the naked eye.
The doctors studied the scalps of men undergoing hair transplants, comparing the follicles in the thinning areas to parts of the head that grew fuller thicker hair. The results were eye opening in that there was the same amount of hair follicles but the main difference was the size and health of the hair, for this they blamed the stem cell activation.
The stem cells located in a healthy scalp turn into progenitor cells, which then produce healthy hair. Men with bald patches have the same number of stem cells but fewer of them convert into the mature progenitor cells. The study gives the head of research the hope of a possible cure by restoring the normal function of these cells and reversing the condition.
In terms of solutions, they anticipate to develop a cream that would be applied externally to the scalp of the head, helping to stimulate the stem cells to reactivate and naturally re-grow the normal hair.
Although this advance in hair loss research is great news for those suffering, the study is still in its the early stages with only a small experimental group. Due to this at the moment it is difficult to generalise the findings to all types of individual cases of hair loss, but there is prospect for the future.
If you don’t want to wait around for a cure then call us and see what we can do.
