Looking to the future
As a new year dawns upon us and we find ourselves trucking towards the the end of the first decade of the new millennium it is time to reflect upon our past and look towards the future to see what it might bring us. These past several decades have brought us new technologies and treatments for hair loss that would have astounded our toupee wearing ancestors. We now have solutions, tonics, pills and even medical procedures that are aimed at either keeping the hair that we have, even growing or transplanting new hair. However, the coming decade promises to bring medical advances in the field of hair loss that are probably going to astound us even more. Brave new steps are being taken in the field of genetics and bigger discoveries are on the horizon in the world of pharmaceuticals that are sure to make the future a very bright one for balding people. Let us take a peek into the crystal ball to see what this brave new world holds for us.
Hair cloning
Ever since Dolly the sheep made it into the news, scientists have been busy cloning everything from pet cats to you guessed it, hair follicles. A couple of scientists recently published a study in which they isolated the dermal sheath cells which are found in the lower part of the human follicle and then injected into the scalp of another person and successfully grew some hair. Well this is not technically real cloning (Neither was dolly) scientists believe that these dermal sheath cells could easily be multiplied in large numbers in a petri dish and applied to an entire area. The new hair that grows also ends up taking on the characteristics of the host’s original hair. The researchers are not saying whether they plan to implant false memories in these hew hairs to make them think that they are actual hairs and not replicants (a little blade runner humor sorry).
Finding the baldness gene
Scientists are also busy looking at the map of the human genome, hoping to find and isolate the genes that cause baldness so that they night someday be able to correct it. While finding and labeling the baldness gene does not mean an instant cure, it is a first big step in that direction. By figuring out which genes are responsible, researchers will be better able to find ways to target baldness and treat it more effectively instead of merely stumbling upon solutions that work.
New Drugs
Move over Minoxidil and Finasteride and seems that there is a new enzyme inhibitor in town that is being used to successfully treat baldness. Dutasteride, a drug that is currently being used to treat prostate problems (avodart), has been shown to be a even better DHT blocker than Propecia. Scientists are also making breakthroughs in the field of natural cures for baldness with promising findings being found in resveratrol which is derived from grape skins and beta sitosterol which is derived seed oils as well as saw palmetto.
So do not be surprised if the future is full of people with full heads of hair and bald guys go the way of the dodo.
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