New Treatment and Prophylaxis of Baldness by Gene Therapy

Baldness is lacking of hair from where it normally grows. There are around 100000 hair follicles on head. Hair loss about 50 to 100 per day is measured as normal. Approximately 50% of people experience hair loss by the age of 50. There are many causes of hair loss like after pregnancy, medications, infections, malnutrition or diseases of thyroid, cardiovascular diseases, stress and fever or because of hormones.
Nowadays, it has been found that baldness can be genetically transmitted. Around 80% of population suffering from hair loss have genetic link. Many researches are being done for the treatment of baldness. One of them is treatment of baldness by gene therapy. As now it has been found one location of baldness is on X chromosome. By this genetic testing can be done as a screening to detect men who are at risk of baldness. Till now the location of baldness is found on chromosome but not the gene responsible for it. This X chromosome is inherited in male from his mother but another location that is chromosome 20 that has two copies in both male and female inherited from both mothers and fathers. These two locations are important as in future the exact location of genes on these chromosomes can lead to beginning of new way of treatment of baldness. However, by screening these locations early prediction can be done before starting of hair loss and can modify the treatment for it.
Some researches are being done on stem cells for the treatment of baldness. Stem cells are the precursor cells and they have tendency to grow in any cells according to demand of body. During studies of stem cells, protein called as Lgr5 was found on the surface of active stem cells in hair cells. Cells with Lgr5 are capable of maintaining hair follicle approximately 14 months and some have ability to rebuild the entire hair follicle.
When the researches are completed, people suffering from baldness can be benefited from genes that are risk for hair loss and stem cells that can rebuild hair follicle.


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