The scientific community has been trying for decades to find an effective solution to the problem of male pattern baldness, a condition that affects up to 50% of men worldwide. Several elements and mechanisms have been identified in the human body and several studies have shown that they can help prevent hair loss, while laboratory products promise similar results. However, no method, no substance, no treatment has offered an effective and safe solution for people’s health.
A research team claims that the key to curing male infertility may lie in a sugar that occurs naturally in the human body. The researchers discovered that a sugar called 2dDR (2-deoxy-D-ribose) plays a key role in several biological processes, both in animals as in humans, it can stimulate hair regeneration.
For the past eight years, scientists from the University of Sheffield in Britain and COMSATS University in Pakistan have been studying how this particular sugar can help heal wounds by promoting the formation of new blood vessels. During their research, the team noticed that hair around healing wounds seemed to grow faster compared to those that had not been treated.
Discovery
To investigate this further, the scientists created a mouse model of testosterone-induced hair loss – similar to the cause of male pattern baldness. The team found that using a small dose of sugar helped to form new blood vessels, which led to hair regrowth.
The discoveries of to study show that 2dDR is as effective at regenerating hair as Minoxidil, an existing medication used to treat hair loss.
“Male pattern baldness is a very common condition, affecting men all over the world, but there are currently only two drugs licensed by the US Food and Drug Administration to treat it. Our research shows that the answer to treating hair loss could be as simple as using a natural sugar to increase blood supply to hair follicles and stimulate hair growth. The research we have done is at a very early stage, but the results are promising and warrant further research. This could provide another approach to treating this condition that can affect men’s self-image and self-confidence,” said Professor Sheila McNeill, Emeritus Professor of Tissue Engineering at the University of Sheffield.
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