250 million people are plagued, and only 2 drugs have been approved worldwide! Where is the hope of the 'Alopecia Starman'?

I don't know if you have such a painful experience, the hair is on the comb, on the pillow, on the ground, just not on your head.

It is said that the years are a pig-killing knife, but after "a certain age", it is discovered that the years are obviously a can of off! Hair! Paste!

Not only that, but like Xiaobian is plagued by hair loss, there are also 250 million huge people in China, which is equivalent to 1 in every 6 people losing hair! (Contains normal hair loss and symptoms caused by physiological mechanisms)

Countless sleepless nights asking themselves: Is hair loss still saved?

Of course! And what saves you is not necessarily medicine, but also pluripotent stem cells.

Can pluripotent stem cells cure hair loss?

Yes, you heard it right.

The research team from Boston Children's Hospital in the United States found that with the advancement of bioengineering technology and the use of optimized 3D in vitro culture conditions, human pluripotent stem cells can be differentiated into skin organoids with complex structures, which have mature hair follicle structures and can grow hair after transplantation, which is a major breakthrough in the field of hair regeneration.

It is reported that the study adopts the idea of in vitro differentiation organoids of pluripotent stem cells, first placing pluripotent stem cells in a 3D culture environment, and inducing them into skin organoids by adding inhibitors of TGFβ signaling pathways, bone tissue forming proteins, extracellular matrix proteins and other components, which contain follicles-like structures inside.

Subsequently, the researchers transplanted skin organoids into the subcutaneous of immunodeficient mice, and after a period of time, they found that human hair grew at the transplant site, a breakthrough that foreshadowed the feasibility of in vitro regenerative transplantation of hair follicles.

You may have questions: it seems that the effect is indeed obvious, but what is the difference between this and traditional hair transplantation? What are the pluripotent stem cells used by the research team? Let's answer them one by one.

First of all, traditional hair transplantation is the use of surgical methods to remove part of the healthy hair follicle tissue of hair loss patients and transplant it to the hair loss site, which belongs to a method similar to "tearing down the east wall to make up the west wall", while the hair follicles induced by pluripotent stem cells are completely regenerated new hair follicles, which can theoretically produce countless hair follicles for transplantation, regardless of the source of hair follicles.

Secondly, pluripotent stem cells are a class of "universal cells" that can theoretically differentiate into any type of cell in the human body.

In 2006, Japanese scientist Shinya Yamanaka discovered that the transfer of four transcription factors into somatic cells can turn them into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), which has promoted the rapid development of the field of regenerative medicine in the past 10 years.

The source of somatic cells can be skin cells or blood cells, which means that you can obtain pluripotent stem cells and further obtain an unlimited number of hair follicle cells by taking a drop of your own blood.

At present, neurons, cartilage, immune cells, etc. differentiated from pluripotent stem cells have entered clinical trials.

In April this year, China's first iPSCs-derived cell drug allothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) injection obtained the implied license of clinical trials by the State Food and Drug Administration, and is intended to be used for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke with atherosclerotic type.

In the future, more pluripotent stem cell products will go to the clinic, which will mark the arrival of the era of rapid development of regenerative medicine.

At present, the difficulty of new drug research and development is rising, the amount of investment is increasing, and the competition between enterprises is becoming increasingly fierce, if the track of competition can be expanded in time, jump out of the traditional idea of simple drug treatment of hair loss, and increase the application of stem cell therapy in the field of androgenetic hair loss, it will be very attractive to the domestic market with a huge hair loss population.

"First" and other big things

Globally, only 2 drugs have been approved

In recent years, the problem of hair loss has become more and more a "priority" that plagues young people, and finding a cure for hair loss has become a hot topic.

Among the many types of hair loss, Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is a common symptom of hair loss, characterized by scarless shrinkage of hair follicles, widely distributed in susceptible men and women, and is one of the most common types of hair loss.

The mechanism of androgenetic alopecia is currently mainly believed to be closely related to genetic predisposition and hormonal status, and the hormone testosterone in the body will be metabolized to dihydrotestosterone under the action of 5α-reductase, and dihydrotestosterone will induce hair follicle shrinkage, so that the peripheral hairs are transformed into villi, and if they are not intervened in time, it will eventually lead to hair loss.

Alopecia usually begins at the frontal hairline, where the bitemporal hairline gradually shrinks, followed by diffuse thinning at the apex of the hairline, and eventually the hair in the center of the hairline falls out completely.

According to literature statistics, in the elderly over 80 years old, about 73% of men and 57% of women will have androgenetic alopecia, and 58% of men over 50 years old will be troubled by androgenetic alopecia.

The incidence of androgenetic alopecia varies ethnically, with 80% of white men and 40-50% of white women affected by androgenetic alopecia; The prevalence of androgenetic alopecia in China is slightly lower, with a prevalence of 21.3% in men and 6.0% in women, but due to the large population base, there are many people affected by androgenetic alopecia.

The treatment methods of androgenetic alopecia are very limited, currently mainly drug treatment, surgical hair transplantation, laser treatment, etc., often using a variety of methods to delay the process of androgenetic alopecia symptoms, but overall can not achieve the treatment goal of simple program and satisfactory efficacy.

At present, the US FDA approved for the treatment of androgenetic alopecia only two drugs, minoxidil (Minoxidil) and finasteride (Finasteride), the use of these two drugs has become a common means of androgenetic alopecia treatment.

Minoxidil is a peripheral vasodilator with two concentrations, commonly used in 2% and 5% concentrations, when applied topically, can increase blood flow to blood vessels near hair follicles, increase the expression level of vascular endothelial cell growth factor (VEGF), and stimulate hair growth in patients.

According to data from the State Medical Products Administration, 8 domestic companies currently have approval numbers for minoxidil-related dosage forms.

Image source: Data query on the website of the State Medical Products Administration

Finasteride is more complex, with some high-dose products for pre-existing symptoms of prostatic hyperplasia and some low-dose products for the treatment of androgenetic alopecia in men.

Finasteride is a type 2 inhibitor of 5α-reductase, which reduces the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone, thereby slowing the process of hair follicle shrinkage and hair loss.

Androgenetic alopecia in men is often treated with a combination of two drugs. It has been reported in the literature that the treatment of male androgenetic alopecia with finasteride combined with minoxidil liniment for 6 months has an effective rate of 41.67%.

brief summary

With the economic development, the continuous improvement of living standards and the continuous increase of work pressure, as well as people's increasing attention to their appearance, "baldness" has become the "top priority" of all age groups.

Whether it is drug treatment, combination therapy, or emerging stem cell therapy, the anti-hair loss market has become one of the fastest growing markets at home and abroad, and we look forward to a good way to completely treat hair loss and save hair loss in the future.