PGD2 Blockers
The purpose of this site is to provide methods and tools at
reversing hair loss by
blocking the activity of PGD2 - the main protein responsible for baldness.
The news came in as the researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have found elevated levels of PGD2 in balding scalps. When PGD2 was applied topically, the researchers found that PGD2 inhibited hair growth. This suggests a target for a treatment - products that
inhibit or reduce the activity of PGD2 should have a positive effect for this condition. Scientists can't confirm if
PGD2 blockers would reverse all of the lost hair, although they said this
We really do think if you remove the inhibition [caused by PGD2}, you get longer hair.
Thus there is hope for everyone, even those who are now completely bald.
There are currently no products on the market that are able to
inhibiting PGD2 although a few pharmaceutical companies are currently in progress of testing and eventually releasing such products.
PGD2 and Hair Loss
Prior to this new discovery,
PGD2 inhibitors were used to treat allergic diseases such as asthma. The connection between PGD2 and Hair Loss has been established a long time ago. A patent detailing methods of treating hair loss by
reducing the activity of PGD2 was filed as far back as 2007:
Patent US20110021599 - METHODS AND COMPOSITIONS FOR INHIBITING OR REDUCING HAIR LOSS, ACNE, ROSACEA, PROSTATE CANCER, AND BPH
It was only recently that the news became mainstream when they announced that they have discovered a protein that appears to be elevated in a balding scalp.
We discovered a significant increase in PGD2 in the balding scalp compared to haired scalp by immunoassay. The absolute level of PGD2 was 16.3 ng/g tissue in balding scalp and 1.5 ng/g tissue in haired scalp.
To understand how significant this PGD2 discovery is, we need to go back to 2001 and remember this study:
Male Pattern Balding May Be Due to Stem Cell Inactivation, According to Penn Study
What the scientists have found is that the bald subjects had the
same number of stem cells in their scalp as non-balding subjects.
Using cell samples from men undergoing hair transplants, the team compared follicles from bald scalp and non-bald scalp, and found that bald areas had the same number of stem cells as normal scalp in the same person.
The study was hopeful because if the stem cells were destroyed during the balding process, then reversing baldness would be very difficult.
They did, however, find that the progenitor cells in a balding scalp were significantly depleted, and that implies that there is a problem with the activation of stem cells converting to progenitor cells. This may also suggest that there exists an inhibitor that prevents stem cells from being activated.
Fast forward to 2012, if that inhibitor is in fact PGD2(very likely), then removing it would allow follicle stem cells to operate normally and start growing hair. In theory,
blocking PGD2 activity would completely reverse balding.
PGD2 Receptor
Prostaglandin D2 binds to two receptors -
PTGDR(also known as DP-1) and
GPR44(DP-2 or CRTH2). Both receptors have been found near follicle sites, however during the studies they found that only GPR44 was involved in hair loss.
These data suggest that GPR44, rather than PTGDR, is the receptor for PGD2-mediated inhibition of hair lengthening and could therefore be a therapeutic target for AGA
Therefore, drugs that act as antagonists to this specific
PGD2 receptor will be most useful.
Products capable of blocking PGD2 are coming soon!