Scientists may have found a cure for gray hair and baldness by accident

The researchers were trying to determine how tumors form, but they stumbled upon a finding that may have even wider implications: why hair turns gray and sometimes falls out.

Scientists at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center had identified cells that allow hair to grow as well as the mechanism that can turn it gray. A protein commonly associated with nerve development, KROX20, turns on in skin cells that turn into a hair shaft. These cells then produce a protein called stem cell factor, which researchers said was key to pigmentation in hair.

“With this knowledge, we hope in the future to create a topical compound or to safely deliver the necessary gene to hair follicles to correct these cosmetic problems,” said Dr. Lu Le, an associate professor of dermatology UT Southwestern.

Using mice, Le and his team deleted the stem cell factor in hair cells and found this caused the mice to turn white. When they deleted the cells that produce KROX20, the mice went bald.

Findings of the study were published in the journal Genes and Development.

Le said the team’s next step will be to determine whether KROX20 and stem cell factors stop working as people get older, causing them to go gray and eventually lose their hair. According to UT Southwestern, the research could also help scientists understand why people age in general.

This story was originally published May 9, 2017 at 6:14 PM with the headline "Scientists may have found a cure for gray hair and baldness by accident."