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A few days ago, scientists reported about discovering a new possible clue for male type baldness treatment, which gives hope to millions of today’s men suffering from hair thinning and loss. A group of scientists at the University of Pennsylvania found out that hair loss in men is connected with elevated levels of a certain protein, known as prostaglandin D synthase, which is now called “hair loss protein”. Some experts consider it a revolutionary discovery, some say that it is nothing out of ordinary and still there’s too long way ahead of us to identifying a 100 per cent effective hair loss treatment. Well, time will tell…
For many decades experts have been trying to give the most competent answer to the question, what causes hair loss and what are the factors linked to this very common problem. Hormonal shifts and our genetics are considered the most important and influential issues associated with male or female types hair loss. Daily stresses, our lifestyle, bad habits, nutrition, hair care and the quality of hair care products are supposed to be less important but also quite serious factors to bring to hair loss in modern people. 
Thus, if you are wondering what causes hair loss in your particular situation, you should check on the mentioned issues and at least try to change what you can: certainly, we can not alter our genetics or hormones, but learning proper stress management techniques or using better quality hair shampoos can really help.
Being back to newly discovered hair loss protein: the experts at the University of Pennsylvania started their experiments with lab rats by giving the animals a certain treatment with prostaglandin D synthase. As a result, all the rats have shown the signs of getting bald. Further studies involved using hair loss protein to see how it can affect the development of transplanted hairs. After treating transplanted hair follicles with the protein, hair stopped growing. “Essentially we showed that prostaglandin protein was elevated in the bald scalp of men and that it inhibited hair growth. So we identified a target for treating male-pattern baldness,” said Prof George Cotsarelis, a dermatology specialist and the leader of the study group.
Therefore, a new treatment could be directed on inhibiting the production of the mentioned hair loss protein which can give us a chance to stop and possibly even reverse hair loss. Currently, there are several medications and special medical technologies which have a property to control production of prostaglandin D synthase in the body, but further studies are necessary to see the effects of hair loss protein inhibition. In fact, many hair loss specialists are convinced that this discovery will help to answer the questions about what causes hair loss and what can be the most effective hair loss treatments. Read more about the findings of this study, opinions and comments of the experts, in the latest issues of the journal Science Translational Medicine.
Author Info: Hi! My name is Carla and I am a 5th year medical student at HYMS. I am interested in alternative medicine and I have done months researching the topic of herbal medicine. Besides, I like interviewing people and learning more about their experiences with one or another type of herbal treatments. I am willing to contribute to this site with my knowledge, and I would be happy to help you out to the best of my ability with any specific questions or problems related to alternative medicine.
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