Random discovery brings good news to bald people

An accidental discovery by a Spanish researcher may pave the way for the treatment of baldness in humans, by exploiting the power of white blood cells.

>>>Cure baldness with the patient's own blood

Dr. Mirna Perez-Moreno, a specialist at the National Cancer Research Institute of Spain, is testing anti-inflammatory drugs in mice, and was surprised to find that these animals grew more hairy. She began to understand what caused this phenomenon.

Ms. Perez-Moreno discovered that the phenomenon caused by macrophages originated from white blood cells called "monocytes" . The immune system usually produces macrophages to fight infections as well as remove dead tissue.

According to Dr. Perez-Moreno, macrophages activate nearby stem cells, which are responsible for hair / hair growth. This means that hair follicles can be stimulated to grow without a hair / hair implant - the procedure can cost more than $ 7,700.

"One of the current challenges in the field of stem cells is . promoting regeneration without the need for transplants. Through this research," said Dr. Perez-Moreno and colleagues in PLOS Biology . We now know that macrophages play a key role in the environment surrounding stem cells, and our findings highlight the importance of macrophages as modulators for these. skin regeneration process, beyond their main function as phagocytic immune cells ".

A previous study that identified signals from the skin helped promote hair / hair growth, but how exactly the types of cells do it continue to be controversial.

Although the study was conducted on mice, the team of Dr. Perez-Moreno believed that their discovery could spur the development of new treatments for people with baldness or hair loss. They also expect, discoveries can affect ways of tissue regeneration, anti-aging and cancer in humans.