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."
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.
Geez, he’s as bad as Clinton was with the makeup.
WOW! That’s great news!! Thanks!!
That would be nice.
LOL!
I don’t have near the problem with hair that turns grey, as I do the traitorous bastards that keep abandoning ship!
I just want to stay alive!
If this gets on the market I will use it for sure.
My stasche went gray before the top of the head
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.
A couple more years and it just might be downright hoary.
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.
I guess I must be in prime condition.....assuming I am a wild boar and all
Who cares. In a few more years, won’t have enough to give a damn.
> Well, mines 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. Were talking my self-esteem here. Pony up, you sorry bastidges.
LOL
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.
I know plenty of gray-haired bores and they’re not in their prime.
Are we really comparing pigs to men?
The gray hair never bothers me. The loss of muscle tone, and the stiffness in the joints, The arthritis,that bothers me.
If my hair gets much more gray, I’ll start dyeing it, because I don’t like to drive that slow.
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