Balding Blog

I’ve been reading more of the news items about yesterday’s publication of the two studies in Nature Genetics, and pulled some key quotes from various news sites that are worth highlighting.

From the BBC —

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

“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.”

We’ve long known that genes were responsible for hair loss, but now they’ve finally been identified.

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From the Scotsman —

“Until now, the only known genetic link with male baldness was on the female chromosome, meaning it could be passed down to men from their mother’s father.”

“Dr Richards said so far they had only identified a cause of hair loss.”

In other words, the cure isn’t here and this is still the very early stage, so don’t cancel your hair transplant just yet.

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From the Wall Street Journal —

But dermatologists say that looking at hair shafts under a microscope can spot shrinkage years before it’s apparent. “We can pick it up when kids are teenagers,” says Robert Bernstein, founder of Bernstein Medical Center for Hair Restoration, a treatment clinic in New York. He agrees that medication can slow hair loss only if it isn’t too advanced. Once an area is devoid of hair, only a transplant can restore it.

This is what I’ve been talking about all along — mapping your scalp for miniaturization.

Snippet from the article:

She describes motherhood as ‘amazing’, but Selma Blair has candidly revealed she is experiencing an unwanted side affect. The Cruel Intentions actress, 39, who gave birth to son Arthur Saint four months ago, has revealed she is suffering post-partum hair loss.

‘This is so not glamorous, but it’s true: I need to take longer showers so that I can collect the hair that falls out and throw it away so I don’t clog the drain,’ she tells People magazine.

‘Why do actresses never talk about that?’ She continued: ‘It just started falling out at the three-month mark. And I’m not a girl who likes extensions, so Selma’s going to be bald!’

Read the rest — Selma Blair reveals she’s suffering hair loss after birth of son

I’ve written about hair loss after pregnancy before, and it can be a normal occurrence caused by hormonal changes. Obviously, celebrities are not immune to this. There is little that can be done to prevent it, but more info can be found at the American Pregnancy Association.

A lot of press coverage recently about the latest protein (prostaglandin D2 or PGD2) identified that may hopefully bring a cure for male pattern baldness, based on a study published in Science Translational Medicine. We will have to wait out the FDA process and see where this is all going to take us.

The suggestion is that this may be a cure to prevent the balding process, but it does not imply that this can reverse the damage from hair loss in the past. The team of researchers was lead by dermatologist Luis Garza (then of the University of Pennsylvania, now at Johns Hopkins University) and by Penn dermatologist George Cotsarelis. Here are some quotes from articles around the web:

From Bloomberg News —

“Male-pattern baldness may be caused by a protein in the scalp, according to research that raises the possibility drugs being tested by Merck & Co. (MRK) and Actelion Ltd. (ATLN) for other uses might prevent hair loss. Bald spots had an excessive amount of a protein called prostaglandin D2 or PGD2, according to a study in Science Translational Medicine. Merck’s experimental treatment for facial flushing and Actelion’s allergy compound, both in late- stage studies, block the protein.“

From The Los Angeles Times —

“The discovery that prostaglandins might be the catalyst that sets baldness in motion, was a surprise to the researchers, who ‘hadn’t thought about prostaglandins in relation to hair loss,’ said Cotsarelis. From there, researchers were able to identify the receptor — the cellular landing dock — for D2, called GPR44. Find a way to block that receptor, or somehow thwart PGD2’s path to it, and, voila! —baldness doesn’t happen. That, say the researchers, will be their next effort — to try topical treatments that block the GPR44 receptor. They hope the same approach might help find treatments that prevent hair thinning in women.“

From MedPage Today —

“To explore the possible mechanisms, Cotsarelis and colleagues examined scalp tissue from 22 white men ages 40 to 65 who underwent hair transplantation for male pattern baldness. None of the men were taking either of the two approved medications for baldness — minoxidil and finasteride. Through genetic analysis of bald scalp tissue and hair-covered scalp tissue within the same individuals, the researchers discovered that levels of prostaglandin D2 were about three times higher in the bald scalp tissue.“

From HealthDay —

“Several companies have compounds in development that block the receptor for PGD2. Those compounds are being studied to treat asthma. We think using these compounds topically… could slow down and possibly reverse baldness.“