Researchers have discovered an unexpected potential treatment for androgenetic alopecia after a sugar-based gel demonstrated robust hair regrowth in preclinical studies. The biodegradable gel, containing deoxyribose—a natural sugar component of DNA—matched the effectiveness of minoxidil in promoting hair recovery in male mice with testosterone-driven hair loss.
The discovery emerged serendipitously during wound healing research conducted by scientists at the University of Sheffield and COMSATS University in Pakistan. While studying how deoxyribose sugars heal wounds in mice when applied topically, researchers noticed that fur around treated lesions was growing back faster than in untreated animals.
Comparable Efficacy to Established Treatments
In the study published in Frontiers in Pharmacology in June 2024, researchers tested the deoxyribose gel on male mice with induced hair loss. Daily application of the gel to exposed skin areas resulted in "robust" regrowth within weeks, with fur showing long, thick individual hairs.
Both the deoxyribose gel and minoxidil promoted 80-90% hair regrowth in mice with male pattern baldness. Notably, combining the two treatments did not significantly improve results beyond what either achieved individually.
"Our research suggests that the answer to treating hair loss might be as simple as using a naturally occurring deoxyribose sugar to boost the blood supply to the hair follicles to encourage hair growth," said tissue engineer Sheila MacNeil from the University of Sheffield.
Addressing Treatment Limitations
The findings come as androgenetic alopecia affects up to 40% of the population, yet the FDA has approved only two drugs for the condition. While minoxidil can slow hair loss and promote some regrowth, it doesn't work for all patients experiencing hair loss.
For cases where minoxidil proves ineffective, male patients may turn to finasteride, an oral medication that inhibits testosterone conversion to dihydrotestosterone. However, finasteride requires continuous use and can cause unwanted side effects including erectile dysfunction, testicular or breast pain, reduced libido, and depression.
"The treatment of androgenetic alopecia remains challenging," MacNeil and her colleagues write in their published paper, led by biomaterial researcher Muhammad Anjum from COMSATS.
Mechanism and Safety Profile
The deoxyribose gel offers several potential advantages as a natural, eco-friendly treatment with no reported side effects. The biodegradable, non-toxic formulation proved easy to apply in the animal studies.
While researchers haven't fully determined how deoxyribose stimulates hair growth, they observed increased blood vessels and skin cell activity around treated sites. "The better the blood supply to the hair bulb, the larger its diameter and the more hair growth," the researchers explain.
Future Applications and Research Directions
Dr. Muhammad Anjum, co-author of the study, believes the treatment could potentially help patients regrow hair, lashes, or eyebrows following chemotherapy. The current experiments focused exclusively on male mice, but future research may investigate whether natural sugars could also benefit female mice experiencing testosterone-driven alopecia.
"This is a badly under-researched area, and hence new approaches are needed," the authors note.
MacNeil emphasized the preliminary nature of the findings: "The research we have done is very much early stage, but the results are promising and warrant further investigation." Human trials will be necessary to confirm the treatment's safety and efficacy in clinical applications.
