A new treatment may have been found for hair loss, which is a problem for millions of people. While a new study reveals why people lose their hair and stay bald, it focuses on treatment methods that can be developed against it.
Baldness, which can affect both men and women, is usually inherited but can also be caused by the body starting to attack its own hair follicles. This results in people losing their hair within weeks.
The numbers show that about 40 million people are bald in the United States alone. And there’s currently no cure for the condition, but there are several treatments that studies show can slow hair loss and even reverse it in some cases. In addition, many people are trying to cope with this problem with the hair transplant method.
CAN HAIR LOSS BE PREVENTED?
But a new study may have found the main cause of hair loss and how it can be treated accordingly.
A study conducted at the University of California, Riverside (UCR) found that the chemicals killed hair follicles when in high concentrations. According to the study, new hair can grow if the proportions are at the right levels.
The protein in the research team’s focus is TGF-beta, which can not only control the growth of a follicle but also lead to its death. The UCR research team believes that these levels can be controlled to stop hair loss.
TGF-beta is a growth-stimulating chemical normally secreted by many cells in the body, including white blood cells. In the research, the scientists used datasets based on tests performed on the skin’s surface that reveal the concentration of different chemicals.
CAN BE UNDER CONTROL
Biologist Dr Qixuan Wang on the research team says it brings scientists one step closer to controlling the mechanisms that cause baldness.
Cells in hair follicles die periodically, which causes hair loss; this is a process that happens about 100 times a day. However, there are also stem cells that can produce new hair-forming cells to regrow the lost hair.
The researchers explain the result they found as follows: “Even if a hair follicle kills itself, it never kills the stem cell store. When surviving cells receive a regeneration signal, they divide, form a new cell, and become a new follicle. Our new research brings us closer to understanding stem cell behavior so we can control it and promote wound healing.”
