Baldness is a condition wherein hair follicles under the scalp shrink to the point where they are no longer able to make new follicles to replace the older ones that die and fall off. This is largely due to hormonal changes that occur throughout a person's life. Because each follicle usually takes two to six years to regenerate, baldness develops slowly but steadily. Fortunately, there are many promising treatments that could greatly improve patient choices for treating baldness.
Follicle Cloning
One potential future treatment for baldness is follicle cloning. This involves making clones of multiple hair follicles from a donor site, and then grafting or injecting these into the affected bald area, according to the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery.
Cloning is a highly complicated and technical process, involving genetics, biology and cell replication. Each hair follicle involves an assembly of different cells working together to produce a single strand of hair. Successfully cloning and transplanting this will require many more years of research in this field.
The main issue with using lab-grown cells is ensuring that they do not cause tumors when placed back into the skin. Cell therapy for other applications has so far not been associated with tumor formation. Before getting the approval of the Food and Drug Administration, companies will have to prove that implanted hair follicle cells do not give rise to any tumors.
Gene Therapy
Gene therapy is another advanced technique currently in development, as noted by the American Hair Loss Association. Male pattern baldness, one of the most common forms of hair loss, is an inherited genetic trait that is passed on through a family. Gene therapy involves altering the patient's existing genes, changing the cell's function and thus preventing baldness from occurring.
This form of treatment is still in its early stages. There are many inherent challenges in gene therapy, such as figuring which gene to alter among thousands of possible choices, tweaking it in the right way to get the desired result, and then getting the body's cells to accept the replacement genes. Only a few examples of gene therapy have been shown to work. But the gene therapy is showing a lot of promise as a method for treating baldness.
Dihydrotestosterone Reduction
High levels of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) in the bloodstream over several years can cause enlarged prostates in men and shorten the growth phase of hair follicles, according to DermNet NZ. This causes the follicles to shrink, leading to thinning hair and balding.
Drugs such as Dutasteride, developed to treat enlarged prostate glands, have an inhibitor that reduces the amount of DHT in the blood. This in turn weakens the hair growth reduction signal to hair follicles, and new, thick hairs will continue to grow. So far, DHT reduction is one of the most promising future medical treatments for hair loss and baldness.
References
- International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery: Tissue Engineering (Hair Follicle Cloning)
- American Hair Loss Association: Hair Loss Research / Gene Therapy
- American Hair Loss Association: Hair Loss Research / Future of Medical Treatments
- DermNet NZ: What Is Male Pattern Hair Loss (Androgenetic Alopecia, Balding)
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