GettyOf the world’s total population, around 750 million people are bald, and it doesn’t take a scientist to figure out the majority of is made up of males.
If there’s one thing highly volatile easily triggered males are sensitive too, it’s the ever-expanding patch of human skin on their head getting unwanted exposure.
While some men like Jason Statham, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and Karl Pilkington are absolutely comfortable in their baldness, the average chrome dome-sporting male doesn’t have the luxury of fame and fortune to help with their loss. Thankfully for them, there’s a new drug which can cure this so-called obstacle.
PA ImagesMost men who suffer from hair loss will do anything to regain those luscious locks, sometimes resorting to methods so drastic it causes more harm than good. Which makes this latest antidote more peculiar, as it was discovered via pure coincidence.
According to CNBC, the drug WAY-316606 was originally designed to treat those with osteoporosis, a disease which makes the bones thinner. However, a new study of the drug has shown a ‘breakthrough’ in treating those going through hair loss too.
At the moment there are only two drugs on the market which can treat baldness – minoxidil and finasteride – however neither is available on the NHS, BBC News reports. But a project ran by the University of Manchester’s Centre for Dermatology Research discovered something in WAY-31660, an immunosuppressive drug which has been known to cause hair growth due to its side effects.
According to Daily Mail, the drug targets a protein which acts as a metaphorical handbrake on hair growth, it even plays a significant role in someone losing hair – including women who suffer from alopecia.
But after research, leader of the project Dr Nathan Hawkshaw found a separate compound designed to treat osteoporosis can help suppress balding. Furthermore, it’s believed the drug will have no negative side-effects once administered.
Dr Hawkshaw said:
The fact this new agent, which had never even been considered in a hair loss context, promotes human hair growth is exciting because of its translational potential.
It could one day make a real difference to people who suffer from hair loss.
Dave J Hogan/ GettyThe study was published last Tuesday in the PLOS Biology journal, and is now available for public viewing. For their study, Hawkshaw claims they carried out successful experiments using scalp hair follicles donated by over 40 patients, which he says made their study ‘clinically very relevant’, pointing out other other projects investigating hair loss will ‘only use cell culture’.
Within six days their studies showed the hair follicles growing up to 2mm.
While Dr Hawkshaw is confident in his team’s findings, he does say:
Clearly though, a clinical trial is required next to tell us whether this drug or similar compounds are both effective and safe in hair loss patients.
Last February new researched showed bald men are more confident and stronger.
Admittedly the study, Shorn Scalps and Perceptions of Male Dominance by Albert E. Mannes, comes at the compliment from a rather acute angle.
The study opens with a brutal attack on bald men:
Across time and cultures, a thick mane has been associated with strength, youth, and virility and its absence with weakness, age, and impotence.
However, the study found men with shaved heads were rated as more dominant than similar men with full heads of hair.
Basically men who choose to shave their heads are confident enough in their masculinity to overcome historical bias and any possible negativity from their baldness.
If you have a story which you would like to see in UNILAD send an email to [email protected]
