A sugar gel triggers a robust regrowth: sciencealerlet

In 2024, scientists came across a new potential treatment against hereditary bald, the most common cause of hair loss in men and women in the world.

It all started with research on a natural sugar that contributes to the formation of DNA: the “deoxyribose” part of deoxyribonucleic acid.

By studying how these sugars facilitate the healing of wounds in mice when applied locally, scientists from the University of Sheffield and Comsats University in Pakistan have noticed that fur around the treated lesions postponed more quickly than in untreated mice.

Intrigued, the team decided to investigate more in depth.

Watch the video below for a summary of their research:

In a study published in June 2024, they took male mice suffering from hair loss due to testosterone and removed the fur from their back. Each day, the researchers applied a small dose of deoxyribose sugar gel on the exposed skin and, in a few weeks, the fur of this region showed a “robust” regrowth, germinating long and thick individual hairs.

Disoxyribose gel was so effective that the team found that it worked as well as minoxidil, a topical treatment against hair loss commonly known as the Rogaine brand.

“Our research suggests that the response to the treatment of hair loss could be as simple as using natural deoxyribose sugar to increase blood intake to hair follicles in order to promote hair growth,” said Sheila Macneil, tissue engineer at Sheffield University.

Hereditary baldness, or androgenic alopecia, is a natural disease caused by genetics, hormone levels and aging, and it is presented differently in men and women.

This disease affects up to 40 % of the population, and yet, so far, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has only approved two drugs to treat this disease.

Although the over -the -counter Minoxidil can slow down hair loss and promote a certain regrowth, it does not work for everyone suffering from hair loss.

If minoxidil is not effective, male patients can turn to finasteride (Propecia brand name) – a prescribed oral drug that inhibits the conversion of testosterone into dihydrotestosterone. It is not yet approved for female patients.

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The finasteride can slow hair loss in about 80 to 90 percent of male patients, but it must be caught once it has started. The drug can be associated with undesirable side effects, sometimes serious, such as erectile dysfunction, testicular or breast pain, a decrease in libido and depression.

“The treatment of androgenetic alopecia remains a challenge,” write Macneil and his colleagues, led by the biomaterial researcher Muhammad Anjum de Comsats, in their published article.

Together, the team designed a biodegradable and non -toxic gel based on deoxyribosis and applied the treatment to murin models of male bald.

Minoxidil has also been tested on models of bald mouses, and some animals have received a dose of sugar gel And Minoxidil to make a good measure.

Compared to the mice having received a frost without any medication, those who received a gel containing deoxyribose sugar began to germinate new hair follicles.

Minoxidil and sugar gel both favored the regrowth of hair from 80 to 90 % in mice with male baldness. However, the combination of treatments did not make much more difference.

Photographs have been taken at different stages throughout the 20 days of testing, and the effect is clear.

Researchers do not know exactly why deoxyribose gel stimulates the growth of longer and thicker hair in mice, but around the site treated, the team noticed an increase in blood vessels and skin cells.

“The more good the blood bulb blood supply is good, the greater its diameter and the more the hair grows,” write the researchers.

If deoxyribose gel is also effective in humans, it could be used to treat alopecia or stimulate the regrowth of hair, eyelashes and eyebrows following chemotherapy.

“This is a very little studied area and new approaches are therefore necessary,” write the authors.

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Current experiences have been carried out solely on male mice, but more in -depth research could reveal that the use of these natural sugars could also work for female mice suffering from alopecia due to testosterone.

“The research we have carried out in their early days,” said Macneil, “but the results are promising and deserve a more in -depth investigation.”

The study was published in Borders of pharmacology.

A previous version of this article was published for the first time in July 2024..