Common food product named as effective remedy for baldness

There is sweet hope for balding people

For balding people there is hope for a cure for baldness. Sugar, which occurs naturally in the human body, stimulates hair growth, scientists have found in a study that could benefit millions of men. Scientists have discovered a natural sugar that promotes healthy growth. This product is said to stimulate blood vessels in the skin.

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The fear of going bald is something that weighs on the minds and scalps of millions of men around the world, writes the Daily Mail. But if you're anxiously eyeing your hairline, there's finally good news: scientists have found a potential cure for male pattern baldness.

Researchers from the University of Sheffield and Pakistan's COMSATS University have found that a sugar that naturally occurs in our bodies can stimulate hair growth in mice.

The sugar, 2-deoxy-D-ribose (2dDR), was as effective at restoring hair in balding rodents as the commercially available drug minoxidil, also known as Rogaine.

Professor Sheila McNeil, from the University of Sheffield, said: «This could offer a different approach to treating the condition, which can affect men's self-esteem and confidence.»

The researchers were not initially aiming to find a cure for baldness, but rather to investigate whether 2dDR sugar could help improve wound healing.

When applied to the skin as a gel, the sugar causes increased blood vessel growth, which they hoped would lead to cuts healing more quickly.

However, the researchers soon noticed that the mice's hair grew back much faster in the areas around the wound where the gel had been applied. Intrigued, the research team decided to conduct an experiment to determine whether 2dDR could affect male pattern baldness.

The mice were treated with testosterone to induce «testosterone-induced hair loss,» which is similar to male pattern baldness. The mice were then shaved and treated with either 2dDR, minoxidil, or a combination of the two.

The researchers found that after 20 days of treatment, both the sugar gel and minoxidil helped restore hair growth by 80-90% in mice with male-pattern baldness. However, combining the two treatments did not produce any noticeable improvement.

Professor McNeil said: «Our research suggests that the solution to hair loss could be as simple as using the natural sugar deoxyribose to boost blood flow to hair follicles and stimulate hair growth.»

Male pattern baldness, or androgenetic alopecia, is thought to affect between 40 and 50 percent of men worldwide, the Daily Mail reports.

The condition is caused by a combination of genetic factors and sex hormone levels that gradually lead to the permanent loss of hair follicles on the scalp.

Other studies have recently shown that «the body's complex response to stress» can lead to slower growth and hair loss.

For example, as we age, the cells in the follicle can become stressed and less able to produce hair properly, which slows hair growth.

And when this mechanism is over-activated, the hair follicle can even die and stop growing.

However, as Professor McNeil notes, «there are currently only two drugs licensed by the FDA to treat this condition.»

Patients can use topical minoxidil treatment, which can be slow-acting and may not be suitable for everyone with hair loss, the Daily Mail notes.

Researchers hope their breakthrough with 2dDR sugar gels could provide a safer, natural alternative to these treatments.

2dDR sugar is naturally produced in the body as a component of our DNA, which helps form deoxyribose, which makes up deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), the Daily Mail reports.

And rather than altering sex hormone levels like existing drugs do, the treatment simply increases the amount of blood that can reach the hair follicles.

In tests, the researchers found that the treatment resulted in longer, thicker, healthier hair growth on individual hair follicles.

Professor Muhammad Yar, from COMSATS University in Pakistan, said: «This pro-angiogenic deoxyribose sugar is naturally occurring, inexpensive, and stable, making it an attractive candidate for further study as a treatment for male pattern hair loss.»