What Lies Ahead As The Future Of Hair Loss Cures?

Baldness On The Rise

To stop going bald, what would you give up? Most men said they would even trade beer and anything else for fuller-looking locks according to a 2014 survey by the NPD Group. About the thinness of their hair, a whopping 69 percent of them said that they do worry. For many, it will start far earlier than that as these concerns are not without foundation since recent NHS figures show that half of the men will experience a degree of the condition called male pattern baldness by the time they reach 50. 

For others, hair loss affects their confidence and can be a contributory factor to depression while some accept it as part of their genetic density.

Around 40 percent will also go through some degree of hair thinning as they age as hair loss is even less socially acceptable for women. 

What are the causes of hair loss then? Male pattern baldness or androgenic alopecia (AGA), is the most common type of hair loss among men. Followed by thinning of the hair at the crown and the temples, this usually begins with a receding hairline. When blood levels of the androgen Dihydrotestosterone or DHT a derivative of the male sex hormone testosterone are too high, this type of hair loss occurs. Until they eventually stop producing hair altogether, when this happens the follicles produce thinner and thinner hairs. In which bald patches occur when the immune system is mistakenly compelled to attack the follicle, spot baldness or alopecia areata- AA is an autoimmune disease. 

Once one is taken out of action, it is gone forever as we are born with all the hair follicles we will ever have. Restoring full functionality to the follicles or producing new follicles, the major challenge facing any permanent hair loss cure is, therefore. None of them overcomes this hurdle as there are several products and treatments on the market which claim to fight hair loss. In finding a permanent cure, are we far? 

In case some of the following solutions are to be believed, getting closer perhaps: 

In The Scalp, Making Tiny Wounds:

A chance finding provides one potential solution worthy of further investigation has established that the challenge is to produce new follicles. A team at the University of Pennsylvania noticed that the animals developed new hair follicles after their skin was scraped while studying the healing of wounds in mice. With all the follicles you will ever have, this discovery was surprising given our understanding that you are born. 

It is now being investigated as a potential means of regenerating hair growth as for many years this discovery was not considered to be useful to the area of hair loss. Given that current treatments do not create new follicles to replace ones that have died, scientists are hopeful. Triggering a wound-healing response are some existing treatments such as micro-needling of the scalp with a device called the derma roller causing micro-injury to the skin. Rather than producing new follicles, this is aimed at opening the pores for maximum absorption of minoxidil, a medication aimed at inhibiting the production of Dihydrotestosterone DHT. 

Propolis as a superfood for the scalp:

Used as a coating for beehives, a couple of years ago, scientists from Hokkaido University in Japan carried out a study into a substance made by bees called propolis. Here we find scientists getting to discover as propolis helps with the hair growth in mice it is by encouraging the growth of the keratinocytes that come as cells that help create hair shaft as also follicle production already known to be possessing anti-inflammatory properties. Helping with hair loss that arises as a result of inflammation, propolis would not be a cure for male pattern baldness. Before researchers can prove whether propolis can help regrow hair in balding humans, more testing is necessary. 

Vitamin D linked to hair loss:

91% of alopecia areata sufferers were also deficient in vitamin D as a recent study showed. It was found that the hair loss then kept getting worse as these levels were dropped and researchers at Cairo University then found that women who were experiencing hair loss also had lower levels of iron and vitamin D2. To harness the power of vitamin D in combatting hair loss, perhaps an area of future research could investigate what can be done. 

The power of the beetroot:

Over many years, the impact of diet on health has been an area of extensive research. Beetroot is one vegetable that has caused excitement in the field of hair loss. Both of which have anti-inflammatory and detoxifying properties which may help to combat alopecia, it is one of the few vegetables to contain both betalain and carotenoid. 

DNA-testing:

Being very successful at arresting hair loss and even re-growing hair, is an early intervention before hair follicles are lost. DNA testing could give people an advantage as the challenge is to catch it early. It is something that could be tested for as hair loss is genetic. In both men and women, it's very likely that by 2020 stem cell technology will be able to solve the issue of hair loss as pointed out by Jonny Harris, who is the Managing Director of a leading hair loss clinic called The Belgravia Centre.  

Finally, On Stem Cells:

Finally, it is observed that in using stem cells-undifferentiated cells are those which can become any type of cell in the body as also may be applied to solving the issue of hair loss in the future when it comes to a controversial topic of scientific investigation. Why not hair restoration as stem cells can be used to regenerate other organs? 

Documenting success in growing human hair on mice was Sanford's research. Dr. Alexey Terskikh, the study author explains, it isn’t limited by the availability of existing hair follicles as their stem cell method provides an unlimited source of cells from the patient for transplantation.

Here those of the human trials which come to establish precisely how successful this can be in producing the dermal papilla cells are deemed to be the next step as he adds it will be. 

Going down the regeneration route, they are not the only ones. The latest announcement coming just a few weeks ago from Japan’s largest research organisation, RIKEN, which has teamed up with two Japanese companies to develop a cure based on regenerative medicine is the major headway being made in medical laboratories around the world.

For the commercialisation of follicular regenerative medicine, the companies are targeting 2020. 

With so many potential patients who would stand to benefit, a cure for hair loss would be one of the most exciting and lucrative scientific breakthroughs in the field of cosmetic research. For those who can afford it, maybe a permanent cure is closer than we thought.