Now that scientists have uncovered new information about the role of hair follicle stem cells in hair loss, improved treatment for baldness may soon be available.
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have discovered that bald men possess the same number of hair follicle stem cells in their scalp as men with hair. The bald men, however, had fewer of the mature progenitor cells that normally develop from the stem cells and cause the growth of new hair.
The study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation suggests that androgenetic alopecia, better known as male baldness, is not caused by a lack of stem cells, but rather due to a genetic defect that somehow stops the stem cells from converting into progenitor cells.
"The fact that there are normal numbers of stem cells in bald scalp gives us hope for reactivating those stem cells," said the study’s lead author, Dr. George Cotsarelis.
Though the initial study was only done on men, common baldness is found in both genders.