DISCOVERY OF A GENE INVOLVED IN HAIR LOSS

Discovery Of A Gene Involved In Hair Loss
Tokyo, Japan - Scientists have identified a gene linked to hair loss. This study could enable the development of new treatments against baldness and anticipation of hair loss among young men.

The gene Sox21 had already been linked to the formation of nerve cells, but this new study seems to reveal that he also maintains the hair. This discovery could help scientists for developing new treatments.

Researchers have uncovered its properties in experiments conducted on mice which also carry this gene. They blocked the activity of the gene in mice and found that the rodents began to lose their hair from his head about 15 days after birth, before ending up completely naked in a few weeks. "It is quite possible that the gene is also due to partial baldness in humans," said Dr. Yumiko Saga, National Institute of Genetics, Tokyo.

Hair has a growth phase very long, 2 years or more, followed by a short resting phase two or three months. But when some men get older, this pattern is reversed to the point that sometimes the resting phase is so long that new hair does not grow and therefore can not replace 100 to 150 hairs lost daily. Japanese researchers believe the gene Sox21 governs this cycle.

Dr. Bessam Farjo, medical director of the Institute of Trichology, thinks this study could help find a treatment against hair loss. The study says "It will also target men may lose their hair so that we can treat them before it happens". At the moment there is no cure but instead of pills or lotions preventive facilitate regrowth. At the age of 60 years, over two thirds of men are affected by hair loss.