Recent News and Articles on the Keywords: gene + baldness + bald  Related to the article below (Last Update: 8/7/2008)

Human fingerprint endangers nature Allentown Morning Call, PA - According to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the Bald Eagle Act, and probably other federal and state wildlife laws, it is unlawful to kill or wound ... Huffington Post Roger and Gene Huffington Post, NY - Aug 1, 2008 But even after Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel (the fat guy and the bald dude, respectively) left PBS for their various syndicated shows (& the Movies, ... New Genetic Test Offers Insight On Hair Loss cbs4denver.com, CO - Jul 11, 2008 "Both my uncles on my father's side are bald or going bald, but my dad's not at all," Heath explained. With DNA from a simple cheek swab, Heath and Raymond ... Washington Times Fishing workshop aims to lure women Washington Times, DC - Aug 5, 2008 For children, there will be a youth archery clinic, live raptors - including a bald eagle - a 20-foot-tall inflatable deer head, a gem-mining station, ... Nice Silver Lake Run trip Post Searchlight, GA - Aug 5, 2008 He saw a bald eagle's nest and the eagle, an osprey, great blue heron, little blue and an alligator on that trip. Dave Lardal of Redwood Falls, Minn., ... New Fishing Sites WBGH, NY - Jul 14, 2008 A haven for trout and bald eagles - Delaware County now offers three brand new fishing access sites for avid anglers along the East Branch of the Delaware ... Under the microscope: Alopecia goodtoknow, UK - Jul 12, 2008 You may need to see your doctor if this is how the condition is affecting you. With great difficulty. If you have the baldness gene, then there's not much ... Colby Cosh: Roger Ebert, once and future king of critics National Post, Canada - Jul 22, 2008 He is still pursuing the conviction that originally endowed him and Siskel with the faith that people would flock to watch a fat guy and a bald guy ... Boston Globe Exit strategy Boston Globe, United States - Jul 22, 2008 Disguised in a bald cap, glasses, and a goatee, and posing as a reporter, Leno posed the first question to co-presidents Ben Silverman and Marc Graboff. ... Fake cop pulls over teen abc13.com, TX - Jul 31, 2008 He is bald, wearing a brown shirt with gold piping and tan pants with piping and a gold overlay. He has been driving an unmarked white Crown Victoria with ...

Could gene therapy banish baldness forever?

Men worry about going bald. Although many women couldn't care less about the position of their partner's hairline, for men it's big news. And big business, too, with 7.5 million men in the UK losing their hair.

Not even the shaven heads of celebrity style icons can convince men that baldness can be cool. Lots of men learn to live with it, but for some it becomes a real problem and it's most often younger men that are so worried by their thinning locks that they go in search of a cure, say experts.

Until now, the range of cures and treatments has been unscientific to say the least. The two cures that are known to work - Finasteride and Minodidil - emerged out of treatments for other problems and the 'miracle' cures on offer at the back of newspapers, like suction pads and herbal creams, are dismissed by experts as a waste of money.

But many scientists now believe new research, published today in the New Scientist, could lead to a far more effective treatment - gene therapy - within ten years.

The breakthrough comes from researchers at the University of Melbourne who think they have moved a step closer to discovering a baldness gene. A study is due to start in the next few weeks to pinpoint the gene responsible. Once the gene is found, it's hoped they will be able to alter it to reverse hair loss.

The main type of baldness in men is male pattern baldness, where the hairline recedes back at the temples and on the crown, forming a characteristic M-shape. This is thought to be due to increased sensitivity of certain hair follicles to DHT, a hormone produced from testosterone.

In everyone, hair naturally falls out over time. Most of us have around 100,000 hairs and can expect to lose 40 to 100 strands every day in its natural growth cycle. Each hair follicle grows for about 18 months and then falls dormant for about six months before shedding its hair, allowing a new hair to sprout and entering a new growth cycle.

But in male pattern baldness, the theory is that as the old hair falls out new hair growth is blocked by DHT accumulating in the follicle. This means that the new hair that grows to replace the old is thin and weak and, over time, localised patches of thinning or recession occur.

Bald men don't have more hormones in their blood than hairy men, but it has been shown that follicles in areas of baldness have high levels of 5-alpha-reductase, the enzyme that transforms testosterone into DHT.

Nobody is quite sure why only certain areas of the scalp are affected, but the sensitive follicles are concentrated on the sides and top of the head.

The new gene therapy will work on the principle that if these follicles can be treated directly to alter their genetic makeup and make them more like the follicles at the back and sides of the head the hair will resume its normal growth.

Scientists still have to overcome the problems of how to treat specific areas without involving the rest of the body.

But in the USA a hair specialist at the University of Philadelphia has done exactly that in mice by creating a lotion that can implant a gene directly into the hair follicle of mice without affecting their skin.

It's still too early to say how any gene therapy treatment for baldness would be administered, but it could be by using cream, lotion or injection.