Everyone has long been trying to cure a medical condition that affects millions of people around the world, mostly men: baldness.
Baldness can be triggered by specific drug therapies, such as cancer treatment, but in many other cases this condition occurs without a specific trigger.
By the age of 35, two-thirds of men experience some degree of hair loss. From age 50 onwards, up to 85% of men will experience significant thinning of their hair.
Baldness does not affect health, but it can affect the self-esteem of those affected. There are various therapies and treatments to combat baldness, but no definitive cure that can reverse the process. In other words, there is no cure for baldness. The one par excellence.
Baldness news, the turning point comes from Japan
Now, however, a team in Japan may have found a solution to restore hair growth. Not another of the many "effective" preparations or treatments that promise to solve problems such as androgenetic alopecia, or male pattern baldness, but something that will make it curable.
Researchers used stem cells to create hair follicles that can regrow hair after it falls out.
This is how hair growth should work. Hair loss is natural, but each strand of hair should be replaced with a new one that grows back in its place. Scientists of the RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research have published a paper on Nature Scientific Reports which details their progress with stem cells on mammals (then comes humans).
Research to eliminate baldness
The team took hair and whiskers cells from the mice and cultured them in the lab alongside other ingredients. After testing 220 different new combinations, the researchers found that one type of collagen associated with five factors leads to the highest rate of stem cell amplification in the shortest period of time.
A “permanent” treatment for baldness must produce hair capable of growing back after it naturally falls out. The chosen combination was able to go through at least three cycles of complete hair production and regeneration, and to combat baldness in all its phases.
The team discovered the validity of Itgβ5, a specific marker on stem cells grown for testing. These hair regrowth stem cells seem to work like the latest.
“Our culture system establishes a method for the cyclic regeneration of hair follicles from hair follicle stem cells,” say Makoto Takeo e Takashi Tsuji, co-authors of the study. “It will help make hair follicle regeneration therapy a reality in the near future.”
The Ultimate Cure for Androgenetic Alopecia?
Androgenetic alopecia, or male pattern baldness, is one of the most common forms of hair loss. This condition is caused by a mix of genetic and hormonal factors, and until now there was no definitive cure. However, the discovery by Japanese researchers could change everything. If stem cell therapy proves effective in clinical trials, it could become the ultimate cure for androgenetic alopecia.
Hope for Millions of People
This discovery could represent a turning point for millions of people around the world who suffer from androgenetic alopecia. Not only could it give them their hair back, it could also give them their self-confidence back. The possibility of a definitive cure for androgenetic alopecia is not only a question of aesthetics, but also of psychological well-being.
RIKEN research: when will it be available?
Before this hair loss cure becomes commercially available, it must pass clinical trials. So far, RIKEN researchers have demonstrated stem cell therapy in preclinical laboratory tests. Tsuji said the institute is looking for external solutions and collaborators to help develop clinical applications for the new hair growth technology.
