Cure for men's hair loss could be found in sugar stored in the body, study suggests
A man with a half bald head. Photo: Silas Stein/dpa (Photo by Silas Stein/picture alliance via Getty Images)
The cure for male pattern baldness could already be in the human body.
The condition, which causes gradual hair loss, affects up to 50% of men worldwide.
Researchers at the University of Sheffield in the U.K. claim the fix might be found in a sugar that’s naturally present in the human body.
The study, published in the journal Frontiers in Pharmacology, revealed that this sugar, known as 2-deoxy-D-ribose (2dDR), is involved in various biological processes in animals and humans and can stimulate hair regrowth in mice.
Scientists from U.K.’s Sheffield and COMSATS University Pakistan have studied the sugar for the past eight years, focusing on its ability to help heal wounds by forming new blood vessels.
The researchers noticed that hair around the wounds also appeared to grow more quickly compared to untreated wounds.
The scientists then tested this on testosterone-driven hair loss in mice, which is similar to the cause of male pattern baldness, according to a university press release.
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When they applied just a small dose of the sugar, new blood vessels were formed, leading to hair regrowth.
The findings suggest that the deoxy ribose sugar could be as effective as hair regrowth drugs, according to the university.
Sheila MacNeil, PhD, emeritus professor of tissue engineering at the University of Sheffield, noted that male pattern baldness could benefit from more research.
"There are only two FDA-approved drugs for this condition at present," she wrote in a statement sent to Fox News Digital.
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"Our U.K./Pakistan collaboration unexpectedly turned up a small, naturally occurring sugar that stimulates new blood vessel formation, and we were delighted to discover that it not only stimulates wound healing, but [also] stimulates hair growth in an animal model."
The sugar is "natural, inexpensive and stable," MacNeill noted, and can be delivered in an "easy to apply gel," which the researchers plan to explore in further research.
Dr. John Whyte, WebMD's chief medical officer in Washington, D.C., called the study findings "intriguing" in a conversation with Fox News Digital.
"This naturally occurring sugar's effectiveness indicates significant potential in developing new hair loss treatments," said Whyte, who was not involved in the research.
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Current therapies "have been around for a while, have limited effectiveness and can have side effects," the doctor noted.
Given that this research is still in the early stages, further investigation and clinical trials will be necessary to determine whether the sugar can be "safely and effectively developed into a viable cure for male pattern baldness," Whyte added.
"The public should view these results with cautious optimism," he went on.
"The study provides hope for new natural treatments for hair loss, but more research is required before it can be considered a cure."
Dermatologist Brendan Camp, M.D., in New York, also reacted to the findings, reiterating to Fox News Digital that there are limited treatments available for hair loss.
"A number of potential treatments have been studied, but none have been found to be curative," said Camp, who was not involved in the research.
"The current goal of treatment of alopecia is to help patients retain the hair they have."
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This study could ultimately lead to a new, effective therapy if future research is successful, he said.
"The treatment in question, 2-deoxy-D-ribose (2dDR), is thought to improve hair growth by causing an increase in the number of blood vessels," he said.
"While potentially effective at encouraging existing hair follicles to grow, it seems unlikely that it will make follicles that have already disappeared grow back."
He added, "While promising, this treatment requires additional studies to confirm the reproducibility, efficacy and real-world application of 2-deoxy-D-ribose (2dDR) as a treatment for alopecia."
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