Detection of genes that cause baldness in newborns

Researchers report that American scientists have discovered a gene that causes genetic baldness.

This finding has important implications for finding treatments for hereditary baldness.

Hereditary baldness is a rare skin disease. Usually the disease develops in the neonatal period, the symptoms are that the top hair follicle shrinks, loses part or all of the hair, most of the disease is hereditary.

The study results showed that the mutation of APCDD1 gene is an important factor causing genetic baldness in newborns. The APCDD1 gene is located at the chromosome 18.

Scientists have discovered this gene when studying many households with people with baldness in Pakistan and Italy.

In normal cases, the APCDD1 gene performs hair growth control under the help of protein.

Professor Angela Cristiano of the Center for Dermatological Health, Columbia University, New York, in charge of the research team said, from a basic research perspective, this is a very significant finding.