Researchers discover gene linked to baldness

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

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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