Is Prostaglandin PGD2 the Key to Curing Baldness?
There is a new frontier for hair loss research. Recent reports from several news sources, online forums, and medical journals speculate over the possibility of inhibiting prostaglandin activity as the cure for hair loss. Particularly, the prostaglandin PGD2, which genetic scalp tissue analysis shows is more prominent in balding areas than in non-balding areas.
What is PGD2?
The body uses PGD2, an important enzyme, for various bodily functions, including new cell growth, the contraction of smooth muscles, and possibly sleep regulation. But a closer look at this protein in relation to the stem cells of the hair follicle reveals that it disrupts the normal growth cycle of healthy hair. What is ironic about this new discovery is that it has been a long-known fact that other prostaglandins, like PGE2 and PGF2, promote hair growth. In fact, these particular proteins are essential for hair to be able to thrive and are the foundation of the hair loss drugs Latisse and Rogaine.
PGD2-Inhibiting Drugs
Other uses for a PGD2-inhibitor would include the treatment of asthma, as this prostaglandin is suspected in causing airway constriction. Moves are already being made to develop a pill for this purpose. The next hope would be to develop a similar drug to target hair loss. However, on this front, there are some skeptics.
One online source points out that there have been anti-inflammatory drugs developed in the past that inhibited PGD2, but did not put a consistent stop to hair loss. Some doctors reason that discovering the link between pattern baldness and PGD2 is only the beginning. The likely cure for baldness will be something that targets the many mechanisms of hair loss, which take into account various prostaglandin activities that both help and hinder hair growth; as well as the DHT element. Hair loss, unfortunately, is a dynamic problem that will require an equally dynamic solution.
Leading pharmaceutical companies Merck and Actelion may have PGD2-inhibiting drugs underway, but nothing is definitive. Until further development, our hair restoration drug options rest in minoxidil and finasteride, with hair transplant always as a permanent surgical option.
What is PGD2?
The body uses PGD2, an important enzyme, for various bodily functions, including new cell growth, the contraction of smooth muscles, and possibly sleep regulation. But a closer look at this protein in relation to the stem cells of the hair follicle reveals that it disrupts the normal growth cycle of healthy hair. What is ironic about this new discovery is that it has been a long-known fact that other prostaglandins, like PGE2 and PGF2, promote hair growth. In fact, these particular proteins are essential for hair to be able to thrive and are the foundation of the hair loss drugs Latisse and Rogaine.
PGD2-Inhibiting Drugs
Other uses for a PGD2-inhibitor would include the treatment of asthma, as this prostaglandin is suspected in causing airway constriction. Moves are already being made to develop a pill for this purpose. The next hope would be to develop a similar drug to target hair loss. However, on this front, there are some skeptics.
One online source points out that there have been anti-inflammatory drugs developed in the past that inhibited PGD2, but did not put a consistent stop to hair loss. Some doctors reason that discovering the link between pattern baldness and PGD2 is only the beginning. The likely cure for baldness will be something that targets the many mechanisms of hair loss, which take into account various prostaglandin activities that both help and hinder hair growth; as well as the DHT element. Hair loss, unfortunately, is a dynamic problem that will require an equally dynamic solution.
Leading pharmaceutical companies Merck and Actelion may have PGD2-inhibiting drugs underway, but nothing is definitive. Until further development, our hair restoration drug options rest in minoxidil and finasteride, with hair transplant always as a permanent surgical option.
