New hair loss treatment on the horizon?

PHOENIX - Scientists studying a gastrointestinal disease recently discovered a medical breakthrough … in hair loss. The resulting treatment, discovered by accident, offers promising results in treatment and prevention of baldness and alopecia.

According to reports , researchers came across the discovery when testing a chemical compound on genetically-altered mice. The mice's bodies had been programmed to overproduce a stress hormone, called corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF), which, in addition to other things, caused them to lose their fur as they aged.

As part of the study, the balding mice were given five daily injections of a recently-developed anti-stress hormone, astressin-B, and then returned to their habitat. Three months passed, and when scientists returned to collect the rodents for follow-up studies they unexpectedly discovered the once-hairless subjects had re-grown their fur. Reports indicate the injections were 100 percent effective in re-growing hair.

Younger mice who hadn't yet lost their fur were given the anti-stress hormone injections as part of a follow up study; research showed the treatment prevented their hair loss.

Additionally, scientists found the effects of the anti-stress hormone were more than fur deep. Initial test results also indicate the hormone had a positive impact in the gastrointestinal system and other areas of the body were receptors are located, including the cardiovascular system.

According to researchers, the most encouraging part of this hair-raising discovery is that the hormone triggered the mice's follicles to start working again. Some scientists are hopeful the same mechanism can potentially be applied to treat other forms of hair loss including alopecia, pattern baldness and hair loss from chemotherapy.

Only time and science will tell if the potential treatment will help humans prevent and reverse hair loss. Researchers say the next steps will be to find out how the anti-stress hormone works to re-trigger follicles and pinpoint what cells are affected.

The complete study has been published in the online journal PLoS One .