Stem Cell ‘Factories’ Could Help With Hair Loss

Stem cell research has been gathering momentum for more than a decade and over the past few years possible applications with regards to hair loss have hit the headlines.

Now, a new technique which could combine the scientists’ findings with the ability to produce stem cells on a colossal scale could add serious momentum to proceedings.

Stem cell treatment for hair loss not widely available

Though stem cell therapies are already available for a number of ailments, only a handful of clinics are offering the use of stem cells to try and help combat hair loss conditions. The industry is very much in its infancy.

Up until now, researchers investigating the possibilities of stem cells in combating Male Pattern Baldness, Alopecia Areata or any of the other recognised hair loss conditions, have mostly been growing stem cells in a lab and have been somewhat limited by the quantities they can produce. Commercial applications of any new treatment typically depend on the ability to use the technology on a bigger scale which is where scientists at the University Of Nottingham come in.

They think the solution could be a man-made fabric that they have developed which could pave the way for creating stem cells on a massive scale.

Volume is everything

According to futurity.org, when it comes to stem cell therapies volume is everything: treatment for the damage caused by a major heart attack, for example, could necessitate around five billion heart cells proof that growing a small number in a lab has little practical value in the read world. But by developing “a fully synthetic substrate”, the Nottingham team thinks they will be able to let doctors grow and store whatever cells they need in ‘Stem Cell Factories’, and make withdrawals as needed.

In the not-too-distant future, the likelihood of using stem cells to regrow hair seems a distinct possibility, especially if they can be grown on a much larger scale than has previously been seen.

Recently, scientists in California were able to grow human hair on mice using stem cells, though they did so in such minuscule quantities that they offered little hope to anyone hoping that stem cells would be a quick fix for baldness any time soon. This landscape, however, changes dramatically if cells can be grown in the billions or even trillions.

Solving the problem of hair loss

In a recent interview about hair loss with the Daily Mail, Belgravia MD Jonny Harris gave stem cells a ‘future rating’ of 8/10, stating that “by 2020 it’s very likely that stem cell technology will be able to solve the problem of hair loss, both in men and women.”

Since then, announcements about a number of stem cell hair loss treatments have been made, once of which - a joint venture between Japanese cosmetics and skincare company Shiseido and RepliCel - claims its product should be ready to launch in 2018.

The Belgravia blog maintains a close watch on stem cell research as it pertains to hair loss, and is regularly updated with stories on the subject from around the world. For anyone concerned by thinning hair now, we would advise seeking treatment advice from a hair loss specialist as soon as possible given it is a progressive condition and is likely to have noticeably deteriorated before even the first of the stem cell products are made publicly available.