Follica's breakthrough to treat hair loss, wounds, skin disorders

Technology licensed by Boston, USA-based Follica Inc from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine has been used to generate completely new hair follicles for the first time in normal adult mammals. The paper describing the experiment was published in the May 17 issue of the scientific journal Nature.

By studying wound healing on a molecular level, George Cotsarelis and colleagues discovered that the skin has the ability to revert to a more primitive or "embryonic" state as stem cells migrate to the affected area, thereby achieving a regenerative capacity not previously appreciated to occur in adults.

The researchers were able to control the regenerative response, including the extent of new hair follicle formation, by manipulating genetic pathways during this "embryonic window" when new follicles formed. The new hair follicles functioned normally, cycled through the normal stages of hair growth and exhibited normal architecture, including a full complement of stem cells. Dr Cotsarelis and colleagues showed that the induction of this primitive state triggered corresponding embryonic molecular pathways distinct from those active in corresponding cells in adult skin, opening up new treatment options not previously thought to have therapeutic benefit in normal adult skin.