Scientists have made a breakthrough in treating androgenetic alopecia, the most common form of hair loss, using adipose-derived stem cells combined with ATP molecules. In a preclinical study, researchers at the San Carlos Clinical Hospital in Madrid found that male mice achieved significant hair regrowth when treated with low-dose stem cells and ATP. While female mice showed less improvement, medium-dose treatment combined with ATP led to higher regrowth rates, indicating potential for future human trials. Lead researcher Dr. Eduardo López Bran noted that these results represent a significant milestone in developing safe, non-chronic treatments for hair loss, though more research is needed for human application.
The findings were published in the journal Stem Cell Research & Therapy, and the study highlights the potential of stem cells and ATP in regenerative medicine. Dr. Bran emphasized the importance of cautious interpretation and the need for further clinical trials in humans, with an optimistic timeline of five years for a potential treatment to become available. Other experts, like dermatologist Dr. Brendan Camp, acknowledged the study’s promising results but stressed the need for more research before considering it a viable treatment option. The researchers also cautioned that the thinness of mouse skin posed a challenge in administering the therapy and that developing protocols to minimize experimental variability will be crucial for future studies in humans.
Until then, Camp encourages people to focus on currently available and