New Hair Loss Drug on Its Way to Fight PGD2- Induced Androgenic Alopecia
A new research by scientists at the University of Pennsylvania has confirmed that Prostaglandin D2, or PGD2 naturally inhibits hair growth, according to NYPost.
Scientists have also identified a receptor that triggers the molecule’s destructive habits. This discovery could lead to the creation of a new hair loss drug that will allow men in the early stages of baldness arrest it.
Like other cells on human body, hair follicles follow natural growth cycle. They grow, mature, die and are replaced by newer cells. However, in people suffering from male pattern baldness, the hair follicles stop re-growing at a certain point of time.
The new research has found that during the natural cycle of hair growth the level of PGD2 rises around a hair follicle, just before it dies. This has resulted in the assumption that PGD2 inhibits hair growth. Men suffering from male pattern baldness had higher levels of PGD2 than their hirsute brethren.
To test the history of patients, the scientists isolated hair follicles from face- and brow-lift tissue obtained from plastic surgeons and hit them with PGD2. In this trial, they found that the more PGD2 the follicles received, the balder the skin.
A handful of treatments that focus on the PGD2receptor are already in clinical trials, like the drug ramatroban, which is used to fight asthma. PGD2 is also known to cause bronchial contractions in asthmatics. To combat hair loss, PGD2 inhibitors have to be applied topically, so scientists are trying to figure out a way to turn oral and inhalable drugs into topical ones.
However, scientists rule out any direct relationship between asthma and hair loss. Asthmatic patients may not suffer hair loss or vice versa. People who suffer from asthma go into PGD2 production overdrive when they come into contact with an allergen. The PGD2 leads to inflammation, and the person has trouble breathing.
The new drug, however, cannot be used preventively. It won’t work on men who have already lost hair.
Earlier Researchers at Science Translational Medicine also revealed that PGD2 is responsible for male pattern baldness. According to them PGD2 was three times higher in the bald spots than where hair was growing. The scientists then validated the results through tests on mice and concluded that excessive PGD2 decreased follicle density.
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