Brittle bone drug could cure baldness

A CURE for baldness could be on the horizon after British scientists discovered that an osteoporosis treatment stimulates hair growth three times quicker than other drugs.

Around four in 10 men suffer pattern baldness by the age of 45 and two thirds by the age of 60. Only two drugs are now used to treat the condition but both have side effects and can often produce disappointing results. To find a new treatment, scientists at the University of Manchester studied a cancer drug called CSA that produces embarrassing unwanted hair growth. They discovered it worked by reducing the activity of a protein – SFRP1 – that prevents the growth of hair follicles.

CSA itself is not suitable as a baldness treatment because of its extreme sideeffects, however, scientists found that a drug designed to treat osteoporosis – WAY-316606 – was even better at targeting the protein. In tests, follicles from patients undergoing hair transplant surgery were treated and quickly went into the active phase of growth, sprouting 2mm within just six days.

Dr Nathan Hawkshaw, the lead scientist, said the results suggested that WAY-316606 “could be an effective therapeutic option for treating human hair growth disorders”. The research was published in PLOS Biology.