Signals, not cells, could be the key to hair regrowth
A new Indian study says there might be a real fix for common hair loss (androgenetic alopecia).
Scientists found that hair follicles go "dormant" because certain cell signals get messed up, but restoring these signals could actually bring hair back.
Hair growth vs. hair loss
Researchers pinpointed five key pathways—Wnt/b-catenin, Sonic Hedgehog (Shh), Notch, and BMP—that control whether your hair grows or chills out.
When androgens mess with Wnt signaling, your follicles hit snooze mode.
Reactivating Wnt/b-catenin is the secret sauce for restarting growth.
Human trials are on the horizon
The team is looking at ways to boost these good signals—think meds like valproic acid or even gene editing tools like CRISPR.
There's also hope in stem cell tech to regrow entire follicles. Animal tests look promising so far, and human trials are on the horizon.
This could mean moving from just hiding bald spots to actually bringing natural hair back.