Pure hair!

Today, hair loss has become one of the most troublesome problems of contemporary young people, because hair loss has greatly affected the image of young people
.

Fortunately, some recent studies have shown that scientists can treat baldness by genetically engineering cells to reprogram them
.
Ernesto Lujan, a biologist from Stanford University, says his company dNovo can genetically "recombine" ordinary cells, such as blood or fat cells, and convert them directly into hair stem cells

Researchers at the company have transplanted hair stem cells into mice, allowing hairless mice to grow human hair
.

Figure | Hairless mice grow a tuft of human hair after transplanting hair stem cells
.
(Source: DNOVO)

Hair stem cells can indeed "secondarily develop" skin hair follicles and grow new hair, but the puzzle is why ordinary cells can become hair stem cells?

"In biology, we can understand a cell as a 'state' rather than a fixed identity, and genetic programming is about transforming a cell from one state to another," Ernesto Lujan said
.

This approach to "cell state switching" achieved a key breakthrough in the early 2000s, when researchers in Japan discovered a simple "formula" that could transform any type of tissue into a functional, embryo-like form
.
in stem cells

In practice, however, methods for making specific types of cells have been elusive and have faced difficulties in returning lab-grown cells to humans
.

In addition to the "cell state transition" approach, Professor Karl Kohler of Harvard University uses a completely different approach - growing hair stem cells by growing organoids
.
When Professor Kohler initially worked on treating deafness, he wanted to grow hair-like cells inside the ear, but the organoids he grew ended up being skin with hair follicles

It was an accident, but also a surprise, that allowed Prof.
Kohler to grow spherical skin organoids that can grow for around 150 days and are about 2 mm in diameter with a clearly visible tubular hair follicle
.

Beyond that, the researchers are looking at cells from other donors to see if the organoids can give hair its unique color and texture
.

Figure | Skin organoids are covered with hair follicles
.
(Source: Harvard Medical School)

Professor Kohler said that while the hair produced by this method was endogenous, it also offered an important avenue for tackling baldness
.

From this perspective, while scientists have been working hard to find a way to treat hair loss and baldness, there is still a long way to go, and Professor Kohler said that treating hair loss with this approach requires customization (after all, everyone's DNA is different) , and requires a high cost
.

Therefore, it is not feasible for ordinary people to rescue hair loss by transplanting hair stem cells
.
All we can do now is find the cause of the hair loss and prescribe the right medicine

Causes of hair loss

With the increase of work and life pressure, hair loss has become a common phenomenon in our country
.

According to the survey, there are currently more than 250 million people in China suffering from hair loss, that is to say, 1 in 6 people suffer from hair loss
.

What is even more frightening is that among the people with hair loss, the post-90s generation accounted for 39.
9%! Among them, women accounted for about 43.
7% and men accounted for about 51.
4%
.
Unexpectedly, they have already embarked on the road of hair loss at a very young age

However, hair is not something you can't say without it

1) Androgenetic alopecia (seborrheic alopecia): This type of hair loss is related to heredity and male hormones and belongs to permanent hair loss
.
The main manifestations are the receding hairline, the gradual reduction and thinning of the hair on the top of the head, and a few manifested as diffuse thinning of the hair;

2) Immunodeficiency alopecia: Immunodeficiency alopecia is alopecia areata
.
The main feature is short-term scarless alopecia with retention of hair follicles;

3) Nutritional abnormal hair loss: When the hair follicles do not get enough nutrients or some nutrients are too toxic to the cells, the hair may fall off;

4) Drug-induced alopecia: During the course of chemotherapy drug treatment in cancer patients, chemotherapy will damage normal cells other than cancer cells, such as hair follicle cells, resulting in hair loss;

5) Endocrine disorders and hair loss: postpartum, menopause, oral contraceptives, etc.
will cause estrogen deficiency for a certain period of time, resulting in hair loss;

6) Mental hair loss: Due to excessive mental stress (including staying up late), the hair and hair muscles of the scalp contract, resulting in disordered blood circulation in the head, resulting in hair loss
.
Studies have also shown that excessive stress secretes the stress hormone corticosterone, which suppresses the expression of the GAS6 gene, thereby keeping hair follicles in a quiescent state for a long time

Relevant studies have shown that the main reasons for hair loss after the 1990s are staying up late and stress, followed by lack of exercise and poor eating habits
.

For the "maintenance" after hair loss, preventing hair loss is more important, after all, hair transplantation is expensive
.

Self-diagnosing hair loss and preventing hair loss

To prevent hair loss, you first need to determine if you have a hair loss problem
.

A normal person loses 50-100 hairs a day
.
If you're losing more than 100 hairs a day, it means your hair may have left your scalp and is ready to "set sail

Besides calculating how much hair you've lost, there's an easy way to test for hair loss: Using your thumb, forefinger, and middle finger, lightly grab a small section of hair from the root, then gently pull upwards while continuing to repeat this motion 5 - 6 times on different parts of the scalp
.
If you lose more than 3 hairs at a time, you are suspected of baldness
.

In addition to hereditary hair loss, other hair loss caused by external factors can also be avoided by a number of methods, including but not limited to:

1) Adjust mentality: prevent hair loss caused by excessive stress, walking and proper exercise are beneficial to hair growth;

2) Ensure adequate sleep: improving sleep quality helps to improve hair loss; 3) Pay attention to nutritional balance: increase high-protein foods in the diet;

4) Comb your hair every day: Massage the scalp to promote blood circulation in the head
.

After reading this article, have you decided to get a good night's sleep?

Quote:

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