Gene Therapy for Hair Loss

Gene therapy is an advanced technique under scientific development to address hair loss problems. It is a procedure that works to change the genes of current body cells. Gene therapy changes the way cells function in the body. Gene therapy is a medical procedure that is still in its early stages and only a few successful attempts have been recorded. This procedure is considered as the future for the treatment of baldness.

Features

• Gene therapy is a difficult process, hence it involves many steps to achieve hair growth on the bald area. The key step is making the target cells incorporate the new proteins from the newly-improved cells in order to express the desired quality. Altering matured cells will only bring temporary benefits of gene therapy. The cells will eventually wear out and will be replaced by cells with the original DNA. To make the benefits of gene therapy last longer, stem cells are being used as targets. After the successful alteration of stem cells, the creation of specialized cells is possible in order to achieve the desired result.

Procedure

• Before proceeding with gene therapy, health professionals will need to determine the genetic medical condition of a person's DNA before altering it. The application of gene therapy will turn the DHT-sensitive hair follicles into DHT-resistant follicles to prevent hair loss. The newly-changed hair follicles will continue to enhance the lifetime growth of new hair. The New England Journal of Medicine cites this study regarding gene therapy, "Gene therapy requires complicated steps before achieving the desired results. The first step will require the identification of genes found in DNA strands that needs to be altered. The next step is to determine how much of the genes should be changed so that measures can be taken to make the proteins slightly different to get the end result. The third step is to make the cells accept the newly improved genes as replacements for the old and unfavorable genes."

The Facts

• Determining which genes should be altered is not an easy thing to do. Despite the recent developments in gene mapping, the true potential of genes remains unknown to man. There is no concrete understanding of all the genes involved in hair growth especially the genes responsible for inherited baldness. A Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association (JAMIA) published review about gene therapy reported that, "it is highly possible that many genes make proteins that can make hair follicles sensitive to DHT." Further research on gene therapy will more likely engage in the comparison of genes producing proteins and their effects to different hair follicles. It has been found that people with pattern hair loss will make some hair follicles DHT-resistant. The same person's other hair follicles may be sensitive to DHT which explains baldness on the hairline.