Is Hair Growth Possible with Stem Cells and Alopecia?

That stem cells are trendy is something everyone knows. Every day, new revolutionary treatments in various fields of medicine cause a sensation among thousands of people affected by different diseases. Regenerating and growing hair with stem cells for those with alopecia is something welcomed as wonderful by the millions of men and women suffering from this condition worldwide.

Lately, at most medical conferences, professionals discuss the near and possible futures to alleviate diseases that have been incurable until now. In the case of male baldness and the different types of female alopecia that most affect patients, this is received with much joy.

Women suffer more trauma from hair loss as this condition is still not fully accepted, and many prefer to conceal female alopecia. Being a woman and having baldness brings greater despair when trying to grow hair without satisfactory results. Men, on the other hand, can fight hair loss and different scalp diseases while feeling socially accepted.

Despite not being contagious, the percentage of people suffering from baldness is increasing. Recent studies indicate that 50% of men experience alopecia starting at age 25. As age increases, the numbers among men skyrocket. It’s surprising to see that more women over 40 are beginning to notice symptoms of baldness. This is why the treatment of alopecia with stem cells is met with enthusiasm.

The higher incidence in the population of both sexes indicates a lifestyle change, a modification in eating habits, and, of course, environmental pollution that affects scalp health.

Study with Stem Cells and Alopecia

The discovery was based on the repair of capillary tissues that make up hair follicles and human skin. Initially, researchers used dermal fibroblasts that were genetically manipulated to become pluripotent stem cells (IPSCS). The aim of this technique was to cause pluripotent cells to change to epithelial cells, whose functionality provides the ability to create new tissues, including a healthy scalp and follicular heads.

The publication of the study «stem cells and alopecia» was presented after verifying that hair could be generated in mice with modified cells.

Results of Alopecia Treatment with Stem Cells

Since 2012, when the study on stem cells with mice was published in Nature Communications, we haven’t had further news on the matter. Let’s remember that the publication mentioned a possible therapy for hair regeneration and duplication of hair follicles through natural and spontaneous cloning. This would cause areas where hair follicles were damaged, dead, and therefore unable to grow hair to be flooded again by the exuberance of epithelial stem cells (EPSC) capable of generating hair where there is baldness.

Unfortunately, we remain on the verge of what promises to be a fantastic treatment against hair loss and alopecia in men and women.