‘Scaffold’ for embedding stem cells leads to cell growing in more regular pattern and brings clinical use a step closer.

Might might just be a step closer to developing a cure for baldness, as researchers have claimed to found the key to acquiring human follicles from stem cells. Researchers have previously managed to grow hair from the cells, but there was little control over the process.

A team of California based scientists have developed a system that guides the cells to implant and develop in a way that replicates natural hair production, by using a biodegradable “scaffold”, made of the same materials as the dissolvable stitches used to close wounds, to help the human cells integrate with a mouse subject.

This new protocol overcomes key technological challenges, leading to a robust, highly controlled method for generating natural-looking hair that grows through the skin. Male pattern baldness affects about 60 per cent of men over the age of 55, but that stat could even be higher.

Current medically approved treatments include the drugs minoxidil or finasteride, which can have very negative side-effects, and have to be used continuously, for life.  Hair transplants, where follicle cells are extracted from other parts of the body and implanted in the head, gives hair loss sufferers another option, but they can cost anywhere between £5,000 and £30,000, depending on the individual case.


The work was awarded a merit award by the ISSCR – but has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal and hurdles remain in scaling it up. In the study, the mice subjects were immunosuppressed to stop their immune system attacking the foreign stem cells. - Source: Independent.

The cells used in these experiments were obtained from a blood sample and then reprogrammed to revert into stem cells – a process known as induced pluripotency. Scientists are convinced that this is a major step forward to finding a viable solution for hair loss.  However, while there is a potentially an unlimited supply of these cells in the blood, this reprogramming process is still an expensive process.

It is unclear how, when, or even if, such a process will be brought to market, and it is also unclear how effective this will be on humans, but like all the other potential cures out there. we'll wait in anticipation, and of course, bring you any developments and updates as and when they happen.