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."
I don’t worry about the gray hair. I’m more worried about losing the hair.
My sixth grade teacher’s hair turned white as snow overnight in Vietnam. He was in his twenties.
Don’t care about greying. Let me know when they find a topical cure for receding hairline.
greying = graying
RE: Im more worried about losing the hair.
Then this news is for you:
See here:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/260122.php
Restoring hair growth on the bald patches of patients’ heads by injecting them with platelet-rich plasma is possible, Italian and Israeli scientists reported in the British Journal of Dermatology, May 2013 issue.
CLICK ABOVE LINK FOR THE REST
VN tended to do that to many. My hair started to turn gray in my early thirties, nothing to do with VN I would hope, just stated to turn gray. By the time I was fifty, all my hair was gray including my stash. ;-)
RE: Let me know when they find a topical cure for receding hairline.
See link in Post #6 above.
Obviously not because way in the future Jean-Luc Picard is bald.
RE: Obviously not because way in the future Jean-Luc Picard is bald.
Hey, maybe like Yul Bryner, Telly Savalas and Michael Jordan, he likes it that way :)
Gray hair is a sign of impending wisdom (I hope!) ;-P
I found a long gray hair on my arm the other day.
Impending? I would hope gray would show wisdom. ;-)
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.
Well my friends are gone
and my hair is gray
I ache in the places where I used to Play ...
—Leonard Cohen, Tower of Song
I just tell my barber to cut out the gray. He’s down to using a #2 on the electric razor and buzz cutting me. ;-)
Or as my Dad said when the Dr asked him how he was getting up in the morning, “Well, Doc, what used to be limber is stiff and what used to be stiff is limber...”
I didn’t see a touch of gray until my late forties. Haven’t lost a bit of hair, so there’s that.
You also don’t see much gray when he’s scheduled to talk to younger audiences.
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