Hope for us all - Source of baldness discovered: Prostaglandin D2 Linked to Hair Loss

[England]

Scientists pinpoint protein linked to baldness

 

Hair Loss Cure? Recent Discovery of PGD2 (Prostaglandin D2) Brings Hope For Ending Hair Loss

 

Scientists have discovered a protein linked to male baldness, which could pave the way for new treatments for hair loss in men.

Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania found that men with male pattern baldness have three times more of a protein called prostaglandin D2 (PDG2) in the bald patches of their scalps compared with other parts still with hair.

The protein is thought to work by stopping the growth of hair follicle stem cells in the scalp, responsible for hair growth. This means that treatments to suppress the production of PDG2 could potentially be used to prevent hair loss in men.

Male pattern baldness affects eight out of 10 men under the age of 70, and causes hair follicles to shrink and produce microscopic hairs.

A previous study found that bald areas of the scalp contain the same number of stem cells as normal hair-growing parts of the scalp in the same person, but contain fewer mature cells.

This suggested that the scalp was lacking an activator or something was inhibiting hair follicle stem cells from growing.

In this study, researchers looked at samples of scalp tissue from balding and non-bald spots of more than 20 men with male pattern baldness. Levels of PGD2 were found to be three times higher in the bald patches compared with areas where hair was still growing.

This was also confirmed at the genetic level; PGD2 genes were shown to be more active in bald tissue samples.

When PGD2 was added to hair follicles cultured in the lab, it was "significantly shorter," the study found.

They authors wrote: "Our findings should lead directly to new treatments for the most common cause of hair loss in men.

"The potential for developing these compounds into topical formulations for treating AGA (androgenic alopecia) should elicit great interest moving forward."

The study is published in Science Translational Medicine.

[Veritas84]

Thank you for sharing. When was the date of the journal published?

[chrisdav]

I saw that yesterday on the news.

 

Nice to see it brought up in the news and hopefully one day

[England]

Thank you for sharing. When was the date of the journal published?

 

It was published on 21st March (2 days ago):

 

Here is a link to the study:

 

Prostaglandin D2 Inhibits Hair Growth and Is Elevated in Bald Scalp of Men with Androgenetic Alopecia

[Pale_Rider]

Video at the bottom. Youtube material. I hope it would not be removed now.

 

 

[Blake Bloxham]

Update from our Hair Loss Q & A blog:

 

Scientists Identify Hair Loss Molecule? "Prostaglandin D2" Linked to Androgenic Alopecia.

 

It's always nice to see progress!

[Sean]

I think this find is "significant" . They now "know" the protein responsible. If they can target that protein somehow then that drug could become the superdrug to combat hairloss.

[Aldebaran]

To add more clarity (or confusion), this research seems to confirm the role of activators and inhibitors prostaglandins exhibit in relation to hair growth in mice and humans. Prostaglandin F2α's analogous is already included in the FDA-approved topical drug Latisse(Bimatoprost) as a cosmetic eyelash-strengthener and testing is in progress of the effectiveness of higher doses of such drug in human hair loss cases. Just like prostaglandin F2α has exhibited the role of activator in the growth and multiplication of hair follicles, the newly studied prostaglandin D2 has undoubtedly shown its role as hair growth inhibitor.

 

The true good news is that prostaglandins exhibit a multitude of different roles unrelated to hair loss and prostaglandin D2 in particular has already been correlated with ashtma. This means drugs which target prostaglandin D2's receptor are already being tested.

Edited April 11, 2012 by Aldebaran

[splitting hairs]

This is really interesting. Hopefully it won't be too long since the drug Diclofenac (Voltarol) is an anti inflammatory that inhibits PGD2 already exists so they can test it. In addition it comes as a topical gel for the treatment of muscular and joint pain. Maybe they will trial it??

[Aldebaran]

I presume the final drug based on this research would be composed by a combination of prostaglandins... a mix of growth agents and inhibitors of inhibiting agents. Allergan has been testing bimatoprost since 2010 (Safety and Efficacy Study of Bimatoprost in the Treatment of Men With Androgenic Alopecia - Full Text View - ClinicalTrials.gov), but i can't seem to find any recent news, other than a mention on Dr.Bauman's blog that testing is indeed in progress.

[MyNameIsRich]

hmm, interesting.

[rws]

Just a thought, but the mechanism behind aspirin's function is the inhibition of Prostaglandin. Perhaps the low dosage 75mg a day (often prescribed for preventitive cardiovascular health) could be of benefit in fighting MPB alongside other treatments. A quick Google suggests that Aspirin inhibits Prostaglandin D2 as well as other forms.

 

Any thoughts on this?

[Bill - Seemiller]

View our recent article on Hub Pages:

 

Hair Loss Cure? Recent Discovery of PGD2 (Prostaglandin D2) Brings Hope For Ending Hair Loss