Huffington Post Slideshow - When Do Men Go Bald?

I was recently asked by Huffington Post to answer the age-old question, 'When Do Men Go Bald?' This question of course doesn't have a simple answer, but if you're interested in learning more, check out the slideshow here, where we discuss everything from symptoms and statistics to triggers and treatments. 

If you’re worried about hair loss, it is important to consult with a both your primary doctor and an experienced hair restoration physician—a doctor who specializes exclusively in the medical diagnosis, treatments and tracking of hair loss and regrowth. Only a qualified and experienced hair restoration physician can prescribe the most effective multi-therapy treatment options, including the latest available medical treatments and minimally-invasive transplants.

Yale Researchers Uncover New Clues to Baldness

A new study from Yale University has uncovered clues that will hopefully lead us to a better understanding of the causes of hair loss and possibly one day reverse it.

Researchers discovered a chemical trigger they believe can restore hair growth in dormant stem cells that have stopped growing. The breakthrough came after they identified that signals from fatty skin cells under the scalp were necessary to stimulate the stem cells at the base of hair follicles. While it is widely known that those suffering from androgenetic alopecia have the stem cells necessary for hair growth, until now there has been much debate as to what causes them to go dormant. 

During the study, researchers learned that when the hairs die, a layer of fat in the scalp shrinks, and when a new hair begins to grow, that layer of fat expands, in a process called adipogenesis. Precursor cells, which are responsible for controlling the process, were tested on mice who were unable to grow hair, two weeks after the injections, hair follicles had begun to grow. 

"If we can get these fat cells in the skin to talk to the dormant stem cells at the base of hair follicles, we might be able to get hair to grow again,” said Valerie Horsley, the lead author of the study. “We don’t know for sure if it’s a cure for baldness,” she said. “But I’m hopeful that we can get human cells to do the same as the mice cells.”

The study, published in the journal Cell, has doctors and researchers hopeful that we are getting closer to one day finding a cure for baldness.  

But thankfully for the millions of men and women facing hair loss today, they don't have to wait to get help. From FDA-approved medications like Rogaine or Propecia to Low Level Laser Therapy and FUE hair transplants, hair loss today is a treatable condition. 

Researchers Find Drug to Regrow Hair in Mice

As with many medical discoveries, U.S. researchers may have accidentally stumbled upon a cure for baldness. 

Researchers made the breakthrough while testing the effects of a stress-reducing chemical compound on a group of hairless mice. Three months after the treatments, the mice had grown back all of their hair. Researchers duplicated the results in several repeated experiments. The compound also prevented hair loss in young mice.

While researchers are hopeful that this could lead to a breakthrough therapy for human baldness, they stress there is no way to know if the compound will translate to humans. 

UCLA professor of medicine and co-author of the study, Yvette Tache, said it could take up to five years to start clinical trials in humans. 

Additional information on the study can be found on the online journal PLoS One.