For many people, going bald can be an embarrassing thing to go through. Whether it's from stress, male pattern baldness, or simply because a person's hair may be thinning, it's tough losing hair, but there could be a solution.
A new drug may be able to help men and women who suffer from hair loss. According to researchers from University of Manchester's Centre for Dermatology Research, a new study was conducted that used a drug originally created to treat bones and showed positive effects on human hair follicles.
Bone Drug The Cure For Baldness?
The study was published in the Public Library Of Science (PLOS) journal and took place in the laboratory Professor Ralf Paus. The drug used in the study was designed for osteoporosis, which is a disease that increases weakness in the bones.
As of now, the only two drugs are approved to be used to treat hair loss, which is minoxidil, which is found Rogaine, and finasteride, found in the products, Propecia and Proscar. While both of these treatments are well-known, they also have side effects and disappointing results when dealing with hair growth. The only other alternative for people suffering from hair loss was a hair transplant surgery.
The experiment, led by Dr. Nathan Hawkshaw and his team, tested the drug, WAY-316606, and saw that it reduced the expression of the protein, SFRP1, which inhibits the growth of hair follicles. The researchers treated the follicles with the drug and saw that the hair growth as enhanced.
In the tests that were conducted, more than 40 patients who were undergoing a hair transplant were treated the drug for six days. The hair from the participants began to grow and after two days, the measured rate of the hair shaft production significantly increased among the treated hair follicles.
Is This The Solution?
Hackshaw commented that more tests and trials need to be done before it can be assumed that this drug or anything similar to it is safe to use for a person. Hackshaw was able to conduct the experiment thanks to a collaboration with Dr. Asim Shahmalak, who is a local hair transplant surgeon.
"The fact this new agent, which had never even been considered in a hair loss context, promotes human hair growth is exciting because of its translational potential: it could one day make a real difference to people who suffer from hair loss," Hackshaw stated.
