DRUG USED TO TREAT GLAUCOMA ACTUALLY GROWS HUMAN HAIR
If you're balding and
want your hair to grow back, then here is some good news. A new research report
appearing online in The FASEB Journalshows how the
FDA-approved glaucoma drug, bimatoprost, causes human hair to regrow. It's been
commercially available as a way to lengthen eyelashes, but these data are the
first to show that it can actually grow human hair from the scalp
"We hope this
study will lead to the development of a new therapy for balding which should
improve the quality of life for many people with hair loss," said Valerie
Randall, a researcher involved in the work from the University of Bradford,
Bradford, UK. "Further research should increase our understanding of how
hair follicles work and thereby allow new therapeutic approaches for many hair
growth disorders."
To make this
discovery, Randall and colleagues conducted three sets of experiments. Two
involved human cells and the other involved mice. The tests on human cells
involved using hair follicles growing in organ culture as well as those take
directly from the human scalp. In both of these experiments, the scientists
found that bimatoprost led to hair growth. The third set of experiments
involved applying bimatoprost to the skin of bald spots on mice. As was the
case with human cells, the drug caused hair to regrow.
"This discovery
could be the long-awaited follow up to Viagra that middle-aged men have been
waiting for," said Gerald Weissmann, MD, editor-in-chief of The FASEB
Journal. "Given that the drug is already approved for human use and
its safety profile is generally understood, this looks like a promising
discovery that has been right in front of our eyes the whole time. On to the
front of our scalp!"
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