The hair industry is relying on a new solution against alopecia: the vaccine. Alopecia and hair loss has established itself as one of the main concerns for men in terms of their personal image. Therefore, solving and remedying hair loss has become one of the goals of the hair care industry.
Meanwhile, dietary supplements, non-invasive solutions and hair transplants take turns as the only possible alternative to end baldness. In 2021, almost 3.4 million people worldwide underwent some form of hair transplantation. According to the latest statistics from Global Market Insights, the hair transplant market size is estimated to be between US$5 billion and US$8 billion, but is expected to grow even further: it could reach US$37 billion by 2032. Turkey is the country of choice for this type of surgery, and 10% of patients are Spanish.
Last month, numerous media outlets reported the breakthrough of a vaccine as a treatment for baldness and alopecia. Maksim Pilkus and other researchers led by the University of California, Irvine, published a study in 2022 that claimed that the precise mechanism by which the cells located at the bottom of each hair follicle promote new growth was associated with the existence of a molecule. This molecule, called SCUBE3, is responsible for promoting hair growth and may become a therapeutic treatment for androgenetic alopecia. The author of the study states that the same cells in the dermal papilla (the lower part of the hair follicle) were able to send signals that trigger new hair growth: "the SCUBE3 molecule is the messenger used to 'tell' the cells in the dermal papilla to produce naturally, it is the messenger used to 'tell' the neighbouring hair stem cells to start dividing, which heralds the start of new hair growth".
But how would this molecule be administered? The researcher leading this study believes it could be injected directly into the scalp or perhaps as a vaccine that modifies the RNA. All this would be established after studying the viability and safety of the molecule as a drug, something that Amplifica, which has begun clinical trials, is already doing, as reported in the specialised journal New Scientist.
For the time being, there are still personalised and non-invasive treatments available to ease the wait for this long-awaited cure for baldness that is not a transplant. For example, infiltrations of platelet-rich plasma (PRP), low-power laser, exosome treatment and minoxidil microinjections. Another that has gained popularity in recent months is hair mesotherapy, which is a medical procedure in which small doses of beneficial substances are injected directly into the scalp.