February 16, 2017.
No less than 287 groups of genes are linked to the onset of baldness. Researchers are interested in this phenomenon and hope to create a method for early diagnosis of hair loss in men.
Baldness, a defect transmitted by the mother?
Baldness is an almost exclusively male problem, and yet the gene is believed to be carried by women! This is what researchers at the University of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom have just concluded, including the latest study focused on men’s hair loss, which is often a source of complex.
To establish this conclusion, which has just been published in the journal PLOS Genetics, these researchers carried out a genetic analysis by examining no less than 287 groups of genes linked to hair loss. It turns out that most of these groups come from the X chromosome, the one passed down from the mother..
Towards a personalized and early diagnosis of hair loss
But behind this discovery, the researchers first and foremost tried to find a way to prevent baldness. However, the identification of these groups of genes is a big step in this direction, since the study of the DNA of the 52,000 men who took part in the experiment made it possible to develop a formula to determine whether or not a man will suffer from hair loss.
The authors of this study do not want to come forward yet and talk about individual diagnosis, but the idea is launched. It should interest many men, since baldness, which can sometimes occur from the age of 20, affects millions of French people. It could also ultimately allow the manufacture of more effective treatments than those currently marketed.
Sybille Latour
Read also: What treatments for baldness?
