British and American scientists have developed a new method of treating hair loss. Now you can stop or reverse this process due to successful cultivation of hair in a test-tube, as BBC reports.
Experts have expressed the need for further study, but it is clear that the technology can transform hair loss treatment.
Now patients are prescribed drugs slowing down the hair loss process (new hair follicles are not formed). In addition, hair roots are transplanted from the neck and the back of the head.
The staff at Durham University, together with their colleagues from Columbia University Medical Center in the U.S., have tried to grow new hair. Hair root cells from seven volunteers were grouped into “3D- spheroids” to save their genetic identity and then were implanted into human skin, parts of which were transplanted to mice. Six weeks later, new hair follicles formed (five out of seven cases), and tiny hairs appeared.
Professor Colin Jahoda says it is too early to talk about the application of the new method, and men will still have to wear wigs. But he is sure that in the future the problem of baldness will be finally resolved. It is difficult to state the exact time, but the results of their research can speed up the process. Besides, they will help to improve the quality of skin transplantation in case of severe burns.
The study is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal.
