Male-pattern baldness: has a new cure been found?

Researchers have discovered a new potential cause for male-pattern baldness that may help them get to the root of the problem, reported CBS News. According to the study, published in Science Translational Medicine, men with a high level of a protein called prostaglandin D2 (PGD2) on their scalps are more likely to go bald. PGD2 and other proteins like it have been known to block hair growth.

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The scientists plucked hair follicles from the pates of 22 men with male-pattern baldness and a group of mice, said the Los Angeles Times. They found an important difference between patches where hair was growing and patches where it was thinning or bald: In men, PGD2 was abundant in areas of the pate that were bald. In mice, that same protein was plentiful when the rodents were in the shedding phase of their normal hair follicle cycle.

"The next step would be to screen for compounds that affect this receptor and to also find out whether blocking that receptor would reverse balding or just prevent balding — a question that would take a while to figure out," Professor George Cotsarelis, of the department of dermatology that led the research, said to BBC News.

CBS reported that the only current treatments for male-pattern baldness are minoxidil, commonly known as Rogaine, and Propecia, a prescription pill originally developed to treat enlarged prostate glands.