Scientists Search for Cure to Male Pattern Baldness

It’s no secret that a tough part of aging is dealing with hair loss, especially for men. Male pattern baldness makes up about 95% of hair-loss cases in the United States today, and about two-thirds of men will experience hair loss or thinning before they reach the age of 35.

In spite of years of fruitless attempts to reverse male pattern baldness, science has not slowed its search for the cause and cure, and researchers may finally be getting close to an answer. These developments could mean the end to male pattern baldness.

Researchers at the University of Southern California have published an article in the journal Cell about their findings on something called quorum sensing, which is essentially a process by which scientists pluck the hairs in specific patches and note the responses of the surrounding follicles. Scientists have found that the plucking of many hairs in specific patches of skin stimulates surrounding follicles to regenerate thicker hairs. The idea is that the immune system’s response to the injured site (where hair was plucked) is essentially to overreact to the injury by causing thicker hairs to grow than were present before.

While there’s no cure for male pattern baldness and thinning hair yet, science may be getting close with these recent tests, although it seems like the process may be a bit counterintuitive – plucking hairs in order to generate fuller growth. But stay tuned! Hopefully these scientists will have more to report on in the coming months!