Cause of male baldness discovered

Experts say they have discovered what they believe is the cause of male pattern baldness.

It is not simply a lack of hair, but rather a problem with the new hair that is made.

A manufacturing defect means the hair produced is so small it appears invisible to the naked eye, giving the classic bald spot or receding hairline.

The US team told the Journal of Clinical Investigation the fault lies with the stem cells that make new hair.

It may be possible to 'cure' male baldness by restoring the normal function of these cells, the experts hope.

Ultimately, they hope to be able to develop a cream that could be applied to the scalp to help the stem cells grow normal hair.

Using men undergoing hair transplants as guinea pigs, the University of Pennsylvania team compared hair follicles in bald patches and hairy areas of the scalp.

Although bald areas had the same number of hair-making stem cells as normal scalp, there were fewer of a more mature type, called the progenitor cell.

This difference means that hair follicles in bald patches shrink rather than disappear and the new hairs made are microscopic compared to normal hair.

Dr George Cotsarelis who led the research said: "This implies that there is a problem in the activation of stem cells converting progenitor cells in bald scalp.

"The fact that there are normal numbers of stem cells in bald scalp gives us hope for reactivating those stem cells."

Until now it has been unclear what the exact cause of male pattern baldness is, but experts believe the male hormone testosterone is involved and baldness also tends to run in families.

Blood test for detecting Alzheimer's

A new technique could lead to a blood test for detecting Alzheimer's, a US study claims.

The small trial, published in the journal Cell, used thousands of artificial molecules to "fish" for the disease.
Researchers hope to use this method to diagnose other diseases earlier, including lung and pancreatic cancers.
The Alzheimer's Research Trust said it could result in a new test, but more research was needed.
The technique relies on the immune system's ability to recognise foreign material.
Proteins on viruses and bacteria are recognised as alien so the body produces antibodies, and the same is true for Alzheimer's.
So if you can test for the antibody, you can test for the disease - traditionally, however, this has been very hard to do.

The team at the Florida campus of the Scripps Research Institute took blood samples from six patients with Alzheimer's, six with Parkinson's disease and six healthy individuals.

They then used 15,000 synthetic peptoids (the bait), to "fish" for antibodies.
In this very small sample size, the researchers found two antibodies which identified Alzheimer's sufferers.
Dr Simon Ridley, head of research at the Alzheimer's Research Trust, said: "This very early research poses a new way of testing blood to diagnose Alzheimer's, but much more research must be done.
"We need to know how accurate and sensitive the test is and it also needs to be trialled in larger and more diverse groups of people."
There is still no cure for Alzheimer's, but using early testing could help with finding patients for clinical trials of future treatments.
Dr Ridley believes a test will help: "Detecting Alzheimer's and other dementias early is essential to defeating the condition. We know that treatments for many diseases can be more effective if given early and this is likely to be true for dementia."
Wider applications
The method was also successful in testing mice for a condition similar to multiple sclerosis and the report's authors hope the technique can be used to detect other diseases.
Professor Thomas Kodadek, from the Scripps Research Institute, said: "If this works in Alzheimer's disease, it suggests it is a pretty general platform that may work for a lot of different diseases. Now we need to put it in the hands of disease experts to tackle diseases where early diagnosis is key.
"Of course, this kind of simple diagnostic technology would have the biggest effect in diseases where early detection will have a significant effect on therapy, for example in various cancers."
The researchers are now investigating whether the method works in lung and pancreatic cancers.