Could a potential new cure for hair loss been discovered by accident? Well, it is early stages, but evidence suggests this may be the case.
In a recent episode of Causes or Cures, I had the pleasure of chatting with Dr. Sheila MacNeil and Dr. Muhammad Yar about their accidental discovery that a simple sugar compound may stimulate hair regrowth and help end male-pattern baldness, or androgenic alopecia—a condition affecting many people. They dive into how an unexpected finding in a study on wound healing sparked their current study on hair loss, which they break down on the podcast. The researchers walk us through how the study was conducted, results, how their findings compare to current prescription treatments for hair loss, and what’s next in their research.
A new cure for hair loss would help so many people out there struggling with hair loss. While the focus of this study is on male-pattern baldness, the researchers emphasize that they hope test it with other populations-for example in people with cancer who lose their hair to chemotherapy. Because hair is such an integral part of our appearance (right or wrong), hair loss can be an easy target for charlatans selling points, lasers, basically things that don’t work. What I really liked about this podcast with Dr. MacNeil and Dr. Yar is that they beautifully describe the research process- the necessary safety, preclinical and clinical work- to get this product to market. I think that process is so important for consumers to understand, especially next time they see something on Instagram or in a supplement store promising to restore hair loss.
Dr. MacNeil is an Emeritus Professor of Tissue Engineering at the University of Sheffield, UK, with over 550 peer-reviewed publications in soft tissue engineering. You can learn more about Dr. MacNeil here. Dr. Yar is an Associate Professor at the Interdisciplinary Research Center for Biomedical Materials at COMSATS University in Islamabad, Pakistan. Previously, he served as an Assistant Professor at King Fahd University in Saudi Arabia. You can learn more about his work here.
Please tune in for this podcast, a potential new cure for hair loss, HERE!
Other recent podcasts to check out: How Psilocybin impacts Learning. This is a first-of-its-kind study conducted by a doctor in Switzerland!
Also check out: How dogs can smell stress on the breath of trauma survivors.
If you are a paid subscriber to Causes or Cures, you now have access to the first of many bonus episodes to come! This one is on a topic near and dear to my heart…a topic that impacts all of us: The Misinformation Massacre.
I hope you consider subscribing and come with me to do a deep dive on misinformation and proposed policies around it. Click here for the Bonus episode!
D
A