In a report in the journal “Science Translational Medicine” US scientists have claimed that they have discovered a protein that triggers hair fall.
This discovery has raised the prospect for the treatment to stop or reverse reduced hair.
Prof George Cotsarelis, of the department of dermatology, who led the research, said: “Essentially we showed that prostaglandin protein was elevated in the bald scalp of men and that it inhibited hair growth. So we identified a target for treating male-pattern baldness.”
“The next step would be to screen for compounds that affect this receptor and to also find out whether blocking that receptor would reverse balding or just prevent balding – a question that would take a while to figure out.”
“The inhibition of hair growth is triggered when the protein binds to a receptor on the cells of hair follicles,” said Prof Cotsarelis.
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