Japan scientists develop new method of combating baldness

At the RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research in Japan, a team led by Takashi Tsuji has been working on ways to regenerate lost hair from stem cells, Report informs, referring to EurekAlert.

In an important step, a new study identifies a population of hair follicle stem cells in the skin and a recipe for normal cyclical regeneration in the lab.

The researchers took fur and whisker cells from mice and cultured them in the laboratory with other biological ‘ingredients.’ They used 220 combinations of ingredients and found that combining a type of collagen with five factors-the NFFSE medium-led to the highest rate of stem cell amplification in the shortest period of time.

"Our culture system establishes a method for cyclical regeneration of hair follicles from hair follicle stem cells, and will help make hair follicle regeneration therapy a reality in the near future," Tsuji said.