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- This is probably the beginning of the most exciting era in hair loss
treatment. A rare hair loss gene is discovered by geneticist Angela Christiano in the U.S.
This is the first time ever that a specific gene is associated with hair loss in human.
The gene is appropriately named "HAIRLESS".
- Plagued by the devastating experience of hair loss herself, Ms.
Christiano started on a mission to find a cure for hair loss back in 1996. Ms.
Christiano's research led her to a family in Pakistan in which all of the family members
are suffering from alopecia universalis - a rare form of hair loss that cause complete
baldness in a person's scalp and eyebrows etc. Incidently, after a series of DNA testing
on the Pakistani family, Ms. Christiano hypothesized a link between the Pakistani
family and a batch of mice that were born hairless and eventually led to the biggest
discovery in the history of hair loss treatment.
- Ms. Christiano's discovery now make possible the study of how a
specific gene dictate the life cycle of hair and what governs hair follicle's life and
death. Hopefully, this will lead to the discovery of other hair loss related genes.
- Ms. Christiano cautioned that the discovery of the
"HAIRLESS" gene is only the first step. There are numerous genes out there for
different types of hair loss and it will take years of research and clinical testing
before something more concrete can be established. Also, the "HAIRLESS" gene is
specific to alopecia universalis only. We have yet discover a gene that is related to the
most common type of hair loss in humans - male pattern baldness. Nonetheless, the
discovery is major advance in understanding the genetic causes for hair loss.
- Ms. Christiano's discovery is also extremely inspiring for companies
such as Johnson & Johnson which has recently started gene research for hair loss
treatment. Currently, many hair loss treatments are hormonal based and carry undesirable
side effects. For example, the new anti-baldness pill Propecia causes loss in sex drive in
about 2% of the participants and can result in birth defects in women. According to Ms.
Christiano, gene therapy for hair loss will carry little or no side effects and can be
used by both men and women.
- The discovery has sparked so many interests that a company in
California claimed that if a gene that stimulates hair growth is found, it has the
technology to delivery that gene to empty hair follicles and grow hair. In fact, Both
AntiCancer Inc. in San Diego and Applied Genetics in New York are currently researching
some kind of gene therapy for grey hair or hair loss. AntiCaner Inc. already had
spectacular results in hair coloring using gene therapy. The treatment involves applying
some kind of cream onto the skin. The cream is made up of "liposomes", a
compound that functions as the delivery mechanism which transports the appropriate gene or
pigmentation to the roots of the hair. The treatment is relatively effective and there is
no known side effects at this point. However, the treatment needs to be reapplied every
two to three weeks. As of now, the product is not available for commercial use yet.
Scientists are still researching and designing the "optimal" liposomes for the
treatment to be fully effective. Presently, a large amount of genetic materials are
required for the procedure to be effective and as a result, each treatment is very
expensive. It is expected that the treatment will be available for commercial use in about
2 - 5 years.
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