Overview

• The study identifies five critical signaling systems that orchestrate the hair growth cycle and shows that disrupted communication among them causes androgenetic alopecia.
• Researchers demonstrated in animal models that targeted interventions can wake sleeping follicles to restart natural growth.
• Proposed treatments include boosting beneficial signals, inhibiting harmful cues, repairing faulty genes with CRISPR tools and using stem cell–based therapies to support follicle function.
• The findings, published in Stem Cell Research & Therapy, mark a shift from slowing hair loss to addressing its root cause at the molecular level.
• Investigators expect to begin first-in-human clinical trials within two years and envisage long-term regimens tailored to individual genetic profiles and biomarkers.