Can Gene Therapy Help Treat Hair Loss?
The last few years have seen advances in hair loss treatments with even more ideas and innovations being worked on by researchers. One of the treatment options currently being explored is the connection between hair growth, wound repair and gene therapy as well as stem cell therapy.
Gene therapy was first developed for the treatment of congenital defects in patients. In recent years, it has become one of the newer options in the treatment of many genetic diseases. We have focused on inducing the gene of growth factors to help heal wounds at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore. When it comes to speeding up the healing of wounds, the genes that are encoded for growth factors have been showing great promise. That study led doctors at the University of Pennsylvania to look into the relationship between wound healing and hair growth and discover a new pathway called Wnt signaling that can show the relationship of wound healing with the hair growth.
What is the future of gene therapy as it relates to hair loss treatments? Are we going to have a method that can turn off the gene of patterned baldness? The answer to these questions is “Yes”. At least in theory the answer is “yes” but it is hard to predict how long it may take to discover and implement that treatment.