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Has Science Cured Gray Hair?
Discovery ^ | 05/06/2013 | Y MARC LALLANILLA, ASSISTANT EDITOR, LIVESCIENCE

Posted on 05/07/2013 9:10:37 PM PDT by SeekAndFind

Gray hair -- one of the classic signs of aging that can lead to a midlife crisis for some -- may some day be a thing of the past, much to the chagrin of hair-dye manufacturers and Corvette salesmen.

A team of European researchers claims to have found not only the root cause of gray hair, but also a treatment for the condition. Additionally, their treatment may help people with vitiligo, a condition that causes the loss of pigment in patches of skin, they say.

It's been known for years that hair turns gray due to a natural buildup of hydrogen peroxide in hair follicles, which causes oxidative stress and graying. (Hydrogen peroxide solutions have been used for years as a cheap and easy way to "go blonde.")

In younger people, an enzyme called catalase breaks down hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen. But lower levels of this enzyme, combined with lower levels of enzymes called MSR A and B that repair hydrogen peroxide damage, cause hair to turn gray as people age.

The researchers, whose findings are published in the experimental-biology publication FASEB Journal, analyzed 2,411 people with vitiligo.

By looking at people with two different kinds of vitiligo -- strictly segmental vitiligo (SSV) and non-segmental vitiligo (NSV) -- they discovered that both kinds resulted from oxidative stress.

And by applying a topical treatment, a substance called PC-KUS, the researchers successfully treated the discolored skin and eyelashes of people with vitiligo.

Though gray hair isn't always a welcome sign of aging, some evidence suggests it can be an indicator of good health.

Researchers in 2012 found that wild boars with significant graying hair "were actually those in prime condition and with the lowest levels of oxidative damage," researcher Ismael Galván of the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales in Spain said in a statement.

"Far from being a sign of age-related decline, hair graying seems to indicate good condition in wild boars," Galván said.

Nonetheless, many people will go to extreme lengths to hide any hint of aging, including gray hair.

"For generations, numerous remedies have been concocted to hide gray hair," Dr. Gerald Weissmann, editor-in-chief of FASEB Journal, said in a statement. "But now, for the first time, an actual treatment that gets to the root of the problem has been developed."

The treatment will be welcome news to people with severe or unsightly cases of vitiligo. "This condition, while technically cosmetic, can have serious socio-emotional effects," Weissmann said. "Developing an effective treatment … has the potential to radically improve many people's lives."


TOPICS: Science
KEYWORDS: cure; grayhair
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Mine is just getting a tad thin, other wise all is thick and gray. At 67 I guess I’m blessed to have a full head of hair.


21 posted on 05/07/2013 9:42:42 PM PDT by doc1019 (There is absolutely no difference between pro-choice and pro-abortion.)
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To: null and void

Geez, he’s as bad as Clinton was with the makeup.


22 posted on 05/07/2013 9:47:43 PM PDT by Cyber Liberty (I am a dissident. Will you join me? My name is John....)
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To: SeekAndFind

WOW! That’s great news!! Thanks!!


23 posted on 05/07/2013 9:48:37 PM PDT by Greetings_Puny_Humans
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To: SeekAndFind

That would be nice.


24 posted on 05/07/2013 9:52:28 PM PDT by TBP (Obama lies, Granny dies.)
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To: doc1019
I'm so wise it hurts.


25 posted on 05/07/2013 9:53:01 PM PDT by dr_lew
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To: dr_lew

LOL!


26 posted on 05/07/2013 9:53:51 PM PDT by doc1019 (There is absolutely no difference between pro-choice and pro-abortion.)
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To: SeekAndFind

I don’t have near the problem with hair that turns grey, as I do the traitorous bastards that keep abandoning ship!


27 posted on 05/07/2013 9:55:52 PM PDT by zeugma (Those of us who work for a living are outnumbered by those who vote for a living.)
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To: SeekAndFind

I just want to stay alive!


28 posted on 05/07/2013 10:17:17 PM PDT by Wiggins
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To: SeekAndFind

If this gets on the market I will use it for sure.


29 posted on 05/07/2013 10:25:15 PM PDT by garjog (Heroes Died. Obama Lied.)
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To: doc1019

My stasche went gray before the top of the head


30 posted on 05/07/2013 10:28:17 PM PDT by Fai Mao (Genius at Large)
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To: SeekAndFind

My wifes hir turned pure white by the time she was 40 and it’s beautiful!!

I don’t think it has anything to do with aging, she’s 75, still working and going strong.


31 posted on 05/07/2013 10:33:02 PM PDT by dalereed
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To: SeekAndFind

A couple more years and it just might be downright hoary.

32 posted on 05/07/2013 10:49:24 PM PDT by Slyfox (The red face of shame is proof that the conscience is still operational.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Back in high school, one of my classmates had a condition which whitened his hair. We were 17 and he had white hair on his sides.

We called him daddy groovy, and he was everyone’s best friend because he was always the dude who went to the liquor store for us.


33 posted on 05/07/2013 10:55:47 PM PDT by max americana (fired liberals in our company after the election, & laughed while they cried (true story))
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To: SeekAndFind

I guess I must be in prime condition.....assuming I am a wild boar and all


34 posted on 05/07/2013 11:02:03 PM PDT by Nifster
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To: SeekAndFind

Who cares. In a few more years, won’t have enough to give a damn.


35 posted on 05/07/2013 11:11:02 PM PDT by doorgunner69
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To: Billthedrill

> Well, mine’s about as grey as it comes at age 60, but I earned every one of them. Nevertheless, this article highlights the fact that I am a victim and somewhere in there just HAS to be a government check. We’re talking my self-esteem here. Pony up, you sorry bastidges.

LOL


36 posted on 05/08/2013 3:37:09 AM PDT by jsanders2001
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To: SeekAndFind

Now if they’d only find a cure for the nation’s top health defect - the mental illness which produces Leftist *ssclowns like Obama and Company.


37 posted on 05/08/2013 3:37:38 AM PDT by Jack Hammer (American)
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To: SeekAndFind

I know plenty of gray-haired bores and they’re not in their prime.

Are we really comparing pigs to men?


38 posted on 05/08/2013 4:27:11 AM PDT by 1010RD (First, Do No Harm)
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To: Greetings_Puny_Humans

The gray hair never bothers me. The loss of muscle tone, and the stiffness in the joints, The arthritis,that bothers me.


39 posted on 05/08/2013 4:43:12 AM PDT by Venturer
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To: SeekAndFind

If my hair gets much more gray, I’ll start dyeing it, because I don’t like to drive that slow.


40 posted on 05/08/2013 5:21:03 AM PDT by HartleyMBaldwin
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