Loading ...
Caffeine could be a new and effective hair loss treatment according to a new study published in the International Journal of Dermatology.
The study found that caffeine works by blocking the effects of a DHT, the hormone that causes Male Pattern Baldness and damages the hair follicles. The scientists discovered that caffeine stimulates the growth of human hair when tested on hair follicles in the lab.
Dr Fischer, who conducted the trial, took scalp biopsies from 14 men in the early stages of hair loss. He extracted the hair follicles and then placed them in test tubes with solutions containing different levels of caffeine.
The samples were left in the laboratory for up to eight days to monitor growth. At the end of the experiment, caffeine had boosted the length of the hairs by between 33 per cent and 40 per cent. In contrast, other test tubes containing hair follicles mixed with testosterone showed that they grew much more slowly.
”Hair follicles that were treated with caffeine showed a highly significant growth rate at 24 hours, and still showed further significant growth at eight days,” said Dr Fischer.
This finding could lead to new treatments for male pattern hair loss (MPB) but unfortunately it will require buying and using a new topical product containing caffeine rather than simply drinking endless cups of steaming cappuccinos every day.
[Details of the published study below]
Int J Dermatol. 2007 Jan;46(1):27-35.
Effect of caffeine and testosterone on the proliferation of human hair follicles in vitro.
Department of Dermatology and Allergology, Friedrich-Schiller-University, Jena, Germany.
Background Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is a common problem in men of all ages, affecting approximately 50% at 50 years of age. The underlying cause is an androgen-dependent miniaturization of genetically predetermined hair follicles. Here, the hair organ culture model was used to investigate the effects of testosterone and caffeine; the latter being a promising candidate for hair growth stimulation. Methods Hair follicles from 14 biopsies, taken from the vertex areas from male AGA patients, were cultivated for 120-192 h in vitro with normal William’s E medium (control) or William’s E medium containing different concentrations of testosterone and/or caffeine. Hair shaft elongation was measured daily and at the end of cultivation, cryosections of follicles were stained with Ki-67 to evaluate the degree and localization of keratinocyte proliferation. Results Significant growth suppression was found in hair follicles treated with 5 microg/ml testosterone. This was counteracted by caffeine in concentrations of 0.001% and 0.005%. Moreover, caffeine alone led to a significant stimulation of hair follicle growth. These results were confirmed immunohistochemically by Ki-67 staining. Conclusions Androgen-dependent growth inhibition of ex vivo hair follicles from patients suffering from AGA was present in the human hair organ culture model, a constellation which may serve for future studies to screen new substances against androgen-dependent hair loss. Caffeine was identified as a stimulator of human hair growth in vitro; a fact which may have important clinical impact in the management of AGA.]
(3 votes, average: 3.33 out of 5)
Loading ...