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Researchers discover gene linked to baldness

13.10.2008 in HAIR LOSS SCIENCE

Losing your hair? Blame your genes.

Researchers have discovered a gene mutation that, when combined with a previously discovered genetic abnormality, is linked to a seven-fold increase in the risk of developing male pattern baldness.

In a study of more than 1,100 men, researchers from McGill University in Montreal, along with scientists from King’s College London and GlaxoSmithKline Inc., found a genetic variation on chromosome 20 that increased the risk of male pattern baldness.

The findings do not yet represent a treatment or a cure for male pattern baldness, the researchers warned.

Further studies based on this new information will be needed to find a cure or a preventative treatment.

“We don’t know if we can stop (baldness),” Dr. Brent Richards of McGill University told CTV News. “First we have to figure out what (the variation) is doing and then design medications that can stop these pathways.”

The research team, which also included scientists from Iceland, Switzerland and the Netherlands, confirmed its findings in a second study of more than 1,600 men.

The study is published in the journal Nature Genetics.

Male pattern baldness is the most common form of baldness, where hair is lost above the temples and near the crown, leading to a distinctive m-shaped hairline.

About one-third of all men develop some form of male pattern baldness by age 45. Researchers estimate that about 80 per cent of cases are hereditary.

Hair loss has considerable economic and social ramifications. It is estimated that consumers in the U.S. spent US$115 million in 2007 on hair transplants, while worldwide medical therapy costs for baldness exceeded $405 million.

James Horton’s hair began thinning when he was in his teen years. Both his father and brother are “quite bald” and he was sure he would lose his hair, too.

He said he is prepared to investigate hair transplant options, particularly so he can look younger.

“I think personally I’d feel better about myself if I wasn’t so bald,” Horton told CTV News.

Scientists have long held a theory that baldness was inherited from the mother’s side of the family after researchers identified a link between a genetic variation on the X chromosome and male pattern baldness.

The researchers said that one in seven men has both the X chromosome and chromosome 20 mutations.

The study only included Caucasian men, which means researchers have yet to determine how their findings apply to the general population, including women.

About 40 per cent of women experience hair loss, mostly following menopause.

“Realistically I think we’re eight to 10 years away (from a cure). They still have to find a way to turn off the gene,” hair transplant physician, Dr. Robert Jones, told CTV News. “At this point I would say there is no cure for baldness.”

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20081012/baldness_gene_081012/20081012?hub=Health

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Gene scan to predict hair loss

13.10.2008 in HAIR LOSS SCIENCE

Male pattern baldness affects around 40% of men

Genes that may increase by seven-fold the risk of early baldness amongst men have been uncovered by a team of international researchers.

Analysis of DNA from 5,000 volunteers with and without male-pattern baldness found two stretches of the genome linked with the condition.

One in seven men have both genetic variants, Nature Genetics reported.

Being able to predict hair loss early could boost development of preventive treatments, the researchers said.

An initial study in more than 500 men with early onset hair loss and 500 men without the condition highlighted the two genetic regions which substantially increased the risk of baldness.

“Male pattern baldness had a strong inherited aspect and understanding that may well lead to better treatments and novel approaches”

Professor Val Randall, University of Bradford

One was the androgen receptor gene and has already been linked to male-pattern baldness.

The other region is on chromosome 20 and is nowhere near any known gene.

Male pattern baldness, or androgenic alopecia, was already k nown to be hereditary and partly caused by male sex hormones.

More work is needed to work out how this influences risk of baldness, the researchers said.

Their findings were confirmed by the researchers in other groups of people with androgenic alopecia – including women in which they found a weaker association – in the UK, Iceland and the Netherlands.

Inheritance

A second study also published in Nature Genetics found a similar link between hair loss and chromosome 20.

The German researchers said the androgen gene which until now had been the only gene identified with baldness was on the X chromosome which is inherited from the mother.

But chromosome 20 is inherited from both mother and father and may provide an explanation for similarities in hair loss between father and sons, they said.

Dr Tim Spector, from Kings College London, said they found around 14% of men carry both genetic variants.

“At the moment we have a fairly good diagnostic tool for people who might want to know whether they will lose their hair before they are 50.”

“There probably won’t be many people who want to use that at the moment because there aren’t any preventive treatments.”

He added he hoped it would stimulate pharmaceutical companies to develop creams, gels or pills to prevent hair loss before it starts.

“The other thing is understanding how these genes actually work – it’s likely to provide use with new targets for gene therapy which is actually quite easy to deliver to the hair follicle.”

Professor Val Randall, from the Centre for Skin Sciences at the University of Bradford said the work was very exciting, although it was debatable whether men would benefit from finding out about their hair loss risk.

However she added: “It is always easier to prevent than replace hair growth.”

“Male pattern baldness has a strong inherited aspect and understanding that may well lead to better treatments and novel approaches.”  

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7663333.stm

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Technique Cloning Remaining Hair – Baldness Cure For Men And Women

28.07.2008 in HAIR LOSS SCIENCE

Millions of men and women who suffer from premature baldness or hair loss could soon be able to regain their original lustrous locks — by cloning their remaining hair in the laboratory, research suggests.

The new technique, known as “follicular cell implantation,” has already shown positive results in continuing clinical trials on human beings. The work, being carried out by a British team, is being hailed as a major advance in hair restoration and is backed by a $3.7 million government grant.

The cell therapy has the potential to provide a limitless supply of an individual’s hair to replace that lost because of burns, cancer treatment or simply the onset of age, and could be available to patients within five years.

The latest results of the Phase II trial, presented at a conference of leading hair replacement surgeons in Rome, suggest that the technique can increase hair count in at least two-thirds of patients after six months, and four out of five if the scalp is stimulated beforehand through gentle abrasions that encourage hair growth.

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New Genetic Test Offers Insight On Hair Loss

13.07.2008 in HAIR LOSS SCIENCE

Written by CBS4 special projects producer Libby Smith
Reporting
Dr. Dave Hnida
BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4) ― Genetic testing is an easy way to peek into the future; a simple cheek swab can tell you a lot about what’s in store for your health.

There is a broad spectrum of genetic tests on the market, and a new one is offering to make baldness less of a guessing game.

“I’ll be slightly depressed if I find out that I’m going to lose all my hair, but I’ll get over it,” said Mike Heath, a senior at University of Colorado at Boulder.

Heath and his friend, Myles Raymond, agreed to take the HairDx test for baldness. As engineering students, both young men have their minds on mechanics rather than genetics. But even in their early twenties, Heath and Raymond are good candidates for the test.

Both have full heads of hair now, but they both also have a family history of hair loss.

“Both my uncles on my father’s side are bald or going bald, but my dad’s not at all,” Heath explained.

“My dad and grandpa,” Raymond added.

With DNA from a simple cheek swab, Heath and Raymond will find out if they have a genetic variant that causes hair loss.

The HairDx test is fairly simple. It tests just one gene. Mmale patterned baldness is more complicated.

“There are very likely others and we just don’t know which ones they are yet,” said Dr. Theresa Pacheco, a dermatologist at the University of Colorado Denver, School of Medicine.

She sees the test as a tool that can lead to early treatment.

“Some of the treatments are to prevent existing hair from falling out, so it would make sense that you would want to know early and treat early,” Pacheco added.

The tests done on Heath and Raymond both came back with the same results — high risk. That means that both men have a 60 percent chance of going bald. But the test results also say that this is not a guarantee that they’ll go bald, but it does give them a place to start.

Additional Resources

    * For more information on the HairDx test log on to hairdx.com.

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Hair cloning may help cure premature baldness

05.06.2008 in HAIR LOSS SCIENCE

For people worried about their premature hair loss, scientists have pioneered a technique that would help provide a cure – hair cloning.

The new technique, known as follicular cell implantation works by replicating remaining hair strands and would eventually help millions of people to regain a full head of their own hair. It can potentially re-grow a limitless supply hair for individuals who have become bald during cancer treatment, from suffering severe burns, or simply the onset of age, reports the Telegraph

The cell therapy, during clinical trials, increased hair count in at least two thirds of patients after six months, and four out of five if the scalp is stimulated beforehand through gentle abrasions, which encourage hair growth.

The new technique is a breakthrough in hair restoration and has been granted 1.9 million pounds by the government. The procedure is being developed by Intercytex, a British company based in Manchester.

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