Ageing scalp cues cure for baldness

The Times - Australia

The search for a cure for baldness has taken a significant step forward with the discovery that two-thirds of men lose their hair because their scalps age prematurely.

Research, which involved more than 8000 people over eight years in France, has found that ageing skin cells on the scalp constrict hair follicles as they lose their flexibility, pushing their roots nearer to the surface and eventually destroying their ability to sustain thick, healthy hair.

The findings suggest antioxidants - chemicals that combat ageing in many types of tissue - are likely to protect against baldness.

A handful of compounds is being analysed in more detail by scientists at cosmetics company L'Oreal.

The research used data from the Suvimax study, an epidemiological investigation of the effects of antioxidants and vitamins on humans. These chemicals help to prevent and repair damage to cells from oxygen molecules known as free radicals.

The first data from the study, which aims primarily to investigate links between diet and heart disease and cancer, were released at the weekend when scientists found out which of the 12,000 volunteers had taken dietary supplements and which had taken a placebo.

As the information is analysed, the team will be able to determine more precisely the changes that underlie the scalp ageing process.

Lead researcher Olivier de Lacharriere has already been able to chart a clear process of deterioration in the scalps of balding men - and women - that begins long before hair loss is obvious.

First, two types of marks start to appear around the root of an apparently healthly follicle. Cupulae, small bulges in the scalp, grow around the follicle as ageing skin cells squeeze it and force its roots towards the surface.

Later, coloured blotches or "halos" can be seen around follicles as they become distressed and inflamed.

Eventually, the follicles lose their healthy roots altogether and produce only very fine, downy hairs.