baldness

Loss of hair from the scalp, common in older men. Its onset and extent are influenced by genetic make-up and the level of male sex hormones. There is no cure, and expedients such as hair implants may have no lasting effect. Hair loss in both sexes may also occur as a result of ill health or radiation treatment, such as for cancer. Alopecia, a condition in which the hair falls out in patches, is different from the ‘male-pattern baldness’ described above.

US researchers successfully induced the growth of new hair follicles in adult mice in 1998. This is the first time that new hair follicles have been grown in adult skin (normally hair follicles develop embryonically and remain the same in number through out life). Current treatments for hair loss centre on stimulating existing follicles that have ceased to produce hair to begin production once more but this new research could lead to improved treatment by the generation of new hair follicles.