hair regrowth for men. science has your back...and your scalp!

As over 50 million men experience hair loss in the U.S. alone, it’s pertinent to know there are research studies in practice to resolve the issue! Here are three new discoveries that provide hope for hair regrowth in men! Quorum Sensingmens_hair_regrowth It may sound like something from a space expedition, but quorum sensing is actually quite simple. The University of Southern California recently discovered that plucking a few properly arranged hairs can trigger stem cell regeneration of hair follicles up to five times more than neighboring, un-plucked surrounding hairs. This causes a regeneration response, known as “quorum sensing” where the cells are signaled to take action and collectively regrow. If you’re a science nerd….you’ll benefit from reading the full article, medical jargan and all. Click Here! Stem Cells Stem cell research is influencing the hairs on your head! Researchers from Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute have developed a method using human *pluripotent stem cells to create new cells capable of initiating human hair growth. These specific cells adapt quickly and allow existing hair follicles to be transported from one part of the head to another. (*A pluripotent stem cell is a cell taken from any tissue (usually skin or blood) from a child or adult and is genetically modified to behave like an embryonic stem cell.) “The method is a marked improvement over current methods that rely on transplanting existing hair follicles from one part of the head to another,” said Alexey Terskikh, Ph.D., associate professor in the Development, Aging, and Regeneration Program at Sanford-Burnham. “Our stem cell method provides an unlimited source of cells from the patient for transplantation and isn’t limited by the availability of existing hair follicles.” There is still more research and implementation necessary, but the next step is to work on the transplantation of the cells back into human subjects. Read the full article! Gene Therapy A gene therapy study emerging from the University College in London has newly identified specific genes related to hair including density and balding. This is in addition to the already established, “sonic hedgehog” gene which is the key indicator of hair loss. Continued research is underway to further identify specific genes and target them at the DNA molecule level to correct the condition. Side note: The study also pointed to genes linked to gray hair, beard thickness, and monobrows — which is to say: It’s not you, it’s your DNA.