Study Regenerates Hair in Mice

OK, so that might not seem like big news. But it has the potential to be really big… and not just in the realm of hair growth. See it’s been thought that hair loss was permanent, meaning that if skin lost it’s hair follicle – and thus the ability to grow a hair – then there was no going back. You couldn’t reverse time and generate young skin with the restored ability to grow hair.

Not so fast!

Research conducted by a team from the University of Pennsylvania seems to disprove that theory. Led by George Cotsarelis, the team removed patches of skin from the backs of mice and then watched them heal. During the healing process, the researchers noticed activity in a gene called Wnt. This gene is important to the formation of hair follicles and is usually only active in embryos. Something about the healing process seems to have caused the skin to revisit this early stage of development.

Further research confirmed these findings: more Wnt activity, more hair; less Wnt; less hair. Beyond hair loss, however, is the possibility to heal wounds without scarring or even develop new treatments for other skin conditions. This insight may even lead to breakthroughs in other regenerative treatments.

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