I have periodically read about genetic therapies for regeneration of follicles, but I haven't seen much lately. Has anyone heard anything new?

The most interesting article comes from the Journal Gene Therapy Weekly, Oct. 18, 1999:

"The new strategy for hair growth uses a modified cold virus (adenovirus) to carry a gene called "Sonic hedgehog" into the skin. Sonic hedgehog is known to play an important role in embryonic development of many organs, including the brain, skeleton, and hair follicles. In this example of "regenerative gene therapy," Crystal and his colleagues theorized that by transiently expressing this embryonic gene in the adult skin, the result would be acceleration of growth of the normal hair follicle. The results, dramatically demonstrated in mice, show accelerated growth of hair in the area of treated skin.

Crystal said, "The newly produced hair shafts in treated mice had normal hair structures, both under microscopic examination and to the naked eye. The observations in this study may be relevant to a new approach to therapy for hair loss, in which a gene-transfer vector provides localized, transient acceleration of the maturation of hair follicles, resulting in hair growth. For example, such a strategy may be beneficial in accelerating hair growth following chemotherapy."

I have periodically read about genetic therapies for regeneration of follicles, but I haven't seen much lately. Has anyone heard anything new?

The most interesting article comes from the Journal Gene Therapy Weekly, Oct. 18, 1999:

"The new strategy for hair growth uses a modified cold virus (adenovirus) to carry a gene called "Sonic hedgehog" into the skin. Sonic hedgehog is known to play an important role in embryonic development of many organs, including the brain, skeleton, and hair follicles. In this example of "regenerative gene therapy," Crystal and his colleagues theorized that by transiently expressing this embryonic gene in the adult skin, the result would be acceleration of growth of the normal hair follicle. The results, dramatically demonstrated in mice, show accelerated growth of hair in the area of treated skin.

Crystal said, "The newly produced hair shafts in treated mice had normal hair structures, both under microscopic examination and to the naked eye. The observations in this study may be relevant to a new approach to therapy for hair loss, in which a gene-transfer vector provides localized, transient acceleration of the maturation of hair follicles, resulting in hair growth. For example, such a strategy may be beneficial in accelerating hair growth following chemotherapy."

I dont know of any futher developments with the gene therapy but I would like to know if there is a good site to check out on this and if possible how far away is this kind of treatment from being avaliable? It really sounds fantastic and even if it's not avaliable as yet it makes me feel better to know that these types of developments are evolving...

Thanks Fabio.