Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

This Sugar Could Be A Cure For Male Pattern Baldness – And It’s Been In Our Bodies All Along
IFL Science ^ | July 10, 2025 | Maddy Chapman

Posted on 07/16/2025 11:35:34 AM PDT by Red Badger

A mouse study has found the sugar 2-deoxy-D-ribose stimulates hair regrowth.

Put down the rosemary oil and pause the red light therapy, research suggests the secret to curing male pattern baldness could lie in a sugar that occurs naturally in our bodies.

In a mouse model of testosterone-driven hair loss, the sugar, called 2-deoxy-D-ribose, stimulated hair regrowth just as effectively as existing treatment minoxidil – the active ingredient in Rogaine.

Though commonly referred to as male pattern baldness, the condition, also known as hereditary-patterned baldness or androgenetic alopecia, affects women too. In fact, up to 40 percent of people experience it, making it the most common cause of hair loss worldwide. Symptoms typically begin in a person's 20s and 30s, or after menopause. We still don’t know for sure what causes it, but it’s thought that a combination of genetics, hormones, and aging all play a part.

Treatment options are currently limited, so breakthroughs like this one, even if they’re limited to mice for now, are very promising.

“Male pattern baldness is such a common condition, affecting men all over the world, but at the moment there are only two FDA licensed drugs to treat it,” Professor Sheila MacNeil, Emeritus Professor of Tissue Engineering at the University of Sheffield, said in a statement.

“Our research suggests that the answer to treating hair loss might be as simple as using a naturally occurring deoxy ribose sugar to boost the blood supply to the hair follicles to encourage hair growth.”

You might remember the name deoxyribose from science class – it’s the sugar that, along with phosphate, makes up the backbone of DNA. As a result, it plays an important role in DNA stability, replication, and repair.

The team were initially investigating its capacity to speed up wound healing by promoting blood vessel formation, before noticing that mice treated with the sugar had much faster hair regrowth.

Pivoting to study its potential as a hair loss treatment, the researchers smeared a small dose of the sugar, in gel form, onto balding male mice. They also tested some mice using minoxidil, and some with both deoxyribose and minoxidil.

Within weeks, minoxidil and the sugar gel promoted a similar level of hair regrowth (80 to 90 percent), however no significant benefit was observed by applying the two in combination.

The scientists still don’t understand quite how the deoxyribose gel stimulates longer and thicker hair growth in mice, though they suggest it could have something to do with increased blood supply to the hair follicles. Because of this, it may also work on other causes of hair loss, such as chemotherapy-induced alopecia.

It remains to be seen if the same effects can be replicated in humans, but if they can, this could prove an inexpensive alternative to the current treatment options for male pattern baldness.

"This is a badly under-researched area, and hence new approaches are needed," write the authors.

“The research we have done is very much early stage, but the results are promising and warrant further investigation,” concluded MacNeil. “This could offer another approach to treating this condition which can affect men’s self-image and confidence.”

The study is published in Frontiers in Pharmacology.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Food; Health/Medicine; Military/Veterans
KEYWORDS: 2deoxydribose; anothermousestudy; bald; baldness; deoxyribose; dna; gel; hair; ifhfakescience; iwbg; miserablemeeces; powder; spray

Click here: to donate by Credit Card

Or here: to donate by PayPal

Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794

Thank you very much and God bless you.


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-31 next last

1 posted on 07/16/2025 11:35:34 AM PDT by Red Badger
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

God created a few perfect heads, the rest he had to cover with hair.


2 posted on 07/16/2025 11:40:24 AM PDT by FatherofFive (we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

Grow mouse hair on men?


3 posted on 07/16/2025 11:40:35 AM PDT by SkyDancer ( ~ Am Yisrael Chai ~)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger
2-Deoxy-D-Ribose Products

2-Deoxy-D-Ribose Sugar Gel, Deoxyribose Sugar Gel Hair Growth: A hair growth product that claims to prevent hair loss and promote growth, while also inhibiting oiliness. It is applied directly on the scalp using a micro-spray and left overnight for best results.

Ribogrow Hair Booster Tonic - 3 x 50ml: A hair loss treatment that contains 2-deoxy-D-ribose as an active ingredient. It is designed to stimulate the hair root in cases of hereditary hair loss and promote hair growth at the root. The tonic is applied morning and evening onto the areas affected by hair loss and massaged in gently.

Pure D-Ribose Powder, 1 KG (2.2 Pound & 200 Servings): A dietary supplement that contains D-ribose, a simple sugar molecule naturally produced within the body. It is used for cellular energy support and is popular among athletes for energy enhancement and muscle recovery.

2-Deoxy-D-Ribose (Chem-Impex): A product used in research focused on energy production, genetic research, medical applications, supplement industry, and pharmaceutical development. It is a vital sugar in energy metabolism, essential for ATP production.

2-Deoxy-D-Ribose Alginate Gel: A gel prepared from sodium alginate, propylene glycol, 2-phenoxyethanol, and 2dDR. It is used for the delivery of bioactive agents that promote wound healing and has antimicrobial activity against various bacteria.

2-Deoxy-D-Ribose Products

4 posted on 07/16/2025 11:41:01 AM PDT by Enterprise ( These people have no honor, no belief, no poetry, no art, no humor, no patriotism.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger
deoxyribose gel

You can buy it on E-bay for 10 bucks.

5 posted on 07/16/2025 11:42:15 AM PDT by ROCKLOBSTER (Show me a RAT, I'll show you a felon.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

Why does male pattern baldness need a cure?


6 posted on 07/16/2025 11:52:06 AM PDT by GSWarrior
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: GSWarrior

Just because.


7 posted on 07/16/2025 11:56:54 AM PDT by FamiliarFace (I got my own way of livin' But everything gets done With a southern accent Where I come from. TPetty)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: SkyDancer

“Grow mouse hair on men?”

I have one friend who would gladly take it.


8 posted on 07/16/2025 11:57:28 AM PDT by bk1000 (Banned from Breitbart)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

I must have the opposite condition. I’ve been on chemo and radiation so much I’ve lost all my body hair over the last ten years or so. Except for scalp and beard.


9 posted on 07/16/2025 11:58:44 AM PDT by ComputerGuy
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

I found shaving my head cured my male pattern baldness.


10 posted on 07/16/2025 11:59:06 AM PDT by Organic Panic (Democrats. Memories as short as Joe Biden's eyes.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger
The scientists still don’t understand...... [ FILL-IN-THE-BLANK ]

Truer words were never written or stated.

11 posted on 07/16/2025 12:10:03 PM PDT by Ronaldus Magnus III (Do, or do not, there is no try - AND - Every Time You Fall Down, Get The Frak Up! )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

Can you use the oral supplement or does it have to be applied to the scalp?


12 posted on 07/16/2025 12:11:25 PM PDT by Flaming Conservative ((Pray without ceasing))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger
You might remember the name deoxyribose from science class

Not really, but I do remember Karen Schemansky.......She had the biggest...

13 posted on 07/16/2025 12:12:41 PM PDT by Hot Tabasco
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: GSWarrior

Because guys are unhappy with having their head sunburned?


14 posted on 07/16/2025 12:14:11 PM PDT by Harmless Teddy Bear ( Not my circus. Not my monkeys. But I can pick out the clowns at 100 yards.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: Hot Tabasco

deoxyribose nucleic acid..................


15 posted on 07/16/2025 12:17:53 PM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: bk1000

Fuzzy gray stuff .... LOL


16 posted on 07/16/2025 12:19:30 PM PDT by SkyDancer ( ~ Am Yisrael Chai ~)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: ComputerGuy

That is unusual, CG. Of course, losing body hair is normal after 70. Are you past the seven-0? Ask your Doctors about a Niacinimide supplement. My wife and I started using it and it has thickened our hair, apparently.


17 posted on 07/16/2025 12:22:43 PM PDT by silent majority rising (When it is dark enough, men see the stars. Ralph Waldo Emerson)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: silent majority rising

I turned 79 last week. I still have a full head of hair, but that’s about it.


18 posted on 07/16/2025 12:26:47 PM PDT by ComputerGuy
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

To: Flaming Conservative

Post #4 has some information.


19 posted on 07/16/2025 12:27:16 PM PDT by Enterprise ( These people have no honor, no belief, no poetry, no art, no humor, no patriotism.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger
deoxyribose nucleic acid..

Who cares, I learned more from Karen Schemansky than I ever learned about DNA.......

20 posted on 07/16/2025 12:32:24 PM PDT by Hot Tabasco
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-31 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson