Wed 21 Jul 2010
A research team working at the University of Sweden identified a new gene that may prove important in the fight against hair loss. Scientists found that the gene, Lhx2, is crucial in regulating hair growth during a hair follicle‘s expansion, or Anagen, phase.
Hair follicles undergo three natural phases, or cycles – the Anagen, or growth phase (where follicles are active and hair growth occurs), the Catagen, or transition stage (where the growth cycle stops), and the Telogen, or resting phase (where follicles are no longer active and the static hairs shed). After the resting stage is complete (usually a period of 3 months) a new growth phase begins and the follicular cycle continues.
Researchers have discovered that Lhx2 is present during the Anagen (growth) phase, follicles cannot produce new hair in the absence of Lhx2, and the gene can actually activate the growth cycle. These findings make Lhx2 and its effect on follicular cycles and genetic hair growth an important tool in future balding research.
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Blake Bloxham -aka Future_HT_Doc
Editorial Assistant and Forum Co-Moderator for the Hair Transplant Network, the Hair Loss Learning Center, the Hair Loss Q&A Blog, and the Hair Restoration Forum
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Technorati Tags: hair loss, Lhx2, hair growth, hair follicle, follicular cycles, genetic hair growth, balding
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February 5th, 2011 at 12:23 am
hi.. iam lossing my hair an i use to drink beer every weak end is it problem from this………..
February 8th, 2011 at 2:25 pm
Kumar,
Drinking a beer at the end of each week has no effect on hair loss. It’s likely that the loss is being caused by something else (ie: genetics) and I recommend making an appointment with a dermatologist, discussing the situation, and investigating preventive medications like finasteride/Propecia (https://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/product/PROF/PropeciaFinasteride/) and minoxidil/Rogaine (https://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/category/ROGA/Rogaine-Products/). Good luck!
Blake (Future_HT_Doc)
Editorial Assistant
April 5th, 2011 at 10:03 pm
Hi,
I’m working on a school project.
Do you know what the inhibitor is to stop hair growth?
Or perhaps, stop the production of LHX2?
April 6th, 2011 at 6:08 pm
Nicolle,
While I definitely recommend reviewing a scholarly source and including a citation with this information in your school paper, ‘stopping’ hair growth is normally caused by the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone (DHT) by an enzyme called 5-alpha-reductase 2.
Once this testosterone is converted to DHT, it affects the hair follicles and ‘stops’ their function, essentially stopping hair growth in the sense that the follicles die off and no longer produces hairs.
I suppose this is as close to inhibition as you can come, but as far as LHX2 is concerned, I’m unsure if they have isolated what inhibits this gene (probably some type of DNA transcription regulator inhibitor) as it’s newly identified.
I hope this helps, but I do want to stress the fact that this is not the type of information you want to include in any sort of school project without linking it back to a scholarly resource (which shouldn’t be hard to find).
Good luck, and study hard!
Blake (Future_HT_Doc)
Editorial Assistant