Beauty is under threat
The struggle for the rudiment
Galina Kostina, "Expert Online"Evolutionists believe that in three hundred years humanity will be bald.
(What kind of evolutionists are they, ask the author of the article. Perhaps these are the same mythical scientists who have been referred to for the second decade in the retellings of the newspaper duck about the extinction of blondes coming exactly 200 years later – in the meantime, scientists are looking for ways to preserve hair and rely on stem cells.
Man has branched off from primates – this version is still one of the others. So, when, due to increased competition in the forests, he got down from the tree, where he plucked juicy and fragrant fruits together with gorillas, chimpanzees and capuchins, he went out into the savannah, where he turned into a hunter-gatherer. And he became, in the apt phrase of the famous British zoologist and ethologist Desmond Morris, a "naked monkey".
There are no convincing versions of why he lost his skin yet, but there are many hypotheses, among which there are several very curious ones. According to one of them, the descendant of a man did not go out into the field, but in search of a more comfortable niche entered the water. Well, not so much like a flounder, I lay down on the bottom, I just spent quite a lot of time there. Becoming aquatic, animals practically lose their hair. This hypothesis is supported by the location of the hairs on our body – at an angle to the spine, and the hairs are smoothed by the oncoming flow of water. In addition to the aquatic hypothesis, there is also a parasitic hypothesis. After climbing down from the tree, the hunter monkey changed his nomadic lifestyle to a sedentary one. And in her lair, a lot of all kinds of parasites have divorced – ticks, fleas, bedbugs and other small biting and harmful creatures. The future person could get rid of them only by undressing: the parasites lost their comfortable fur environment. The weaker version is sexy. It is known that evolutionarily sex, that is, sexual relations without the purpose of procreation, appears in primates and develops widely in humans. Bare skin allows a person to get more pleasure than wool. In short, at a new stage of evolution, the hair covering all over the human body was no longer only unnecessary, but also harmful, or energetically expensive.
Why did the hair remain on the head and in some other places? This is also not a fully solved riddle. It is believed that the hair under the armpits and in the groin area "announced" to others about puberty. In addition, the hair in the groin carried a smell that attracted the opposite sex. The main version of why the hair on the head remained is protection from the sun, and it does not matter whether a person was walking in the desert or stuck up to his neck in water. However, evolutionists suggest that gradual baldness is associated with the same thermoregulation: in early tropical hominids, intense sweating became the main mechanism of thermoregulation. The hairline made it difficult to give off heat and was lost. Perhaps we are observing this process of hair loss. In addition, civilization has helped to solve the issues of thermoregulation with the help of clothing. But a person is so used to seeing himself with hair and even considers it one of the attributes of beauty that he stubbornly does not want to agree with the evolutionary trend.
They live in cyclesHair for a person has really become something more than a kind of sun hat.
Samson, for example, drew his extraordinary strength from them until the insidious Delilah cut him off in favor of the enemy. Long braids of girls were considered a guarantee of health and beauty, while shorn ones meant either abuse or renunciation of worldly life. Naturally, the maintenance of this treasure in our time has given rise to a huge industry: the line of hair care includes dozens of products – from the usual shampoo to a means that prepares for the use of shampoo, or a means that protects split ends. Since humanity realized the threat of baldness, another industry has developed – hair treatment and restoration. Expensive remedies continue to compete with folk recipes – rubbing pepper, burdock oil, decoction of onion husks and burdock, honey, beer, etc. into the scalp. However, it is difficult to imagine that a shampoo or conditioner that we wash off from our hair in a minute could have an effect on fundamental problems. "Of course, it will not work on fundamental problems, but these funds can have a short local effect, for example, to help with seborrhea," says Maria Haldina, trichologist, chief physician of the BioMi Vita Hair in–depth study clinic and coordinator of educational programs of the International Association of Trichologists in Russia. – Folk remedies also have a local irritating effect: for example, red pepper excites blood vessels and improves the supply of blood to the bulb, burdock oil gives lipids that the hair shaft needs. Doctors are not inclined to trust folk remedies, but I believe that we will return to them again, only at a higher scientific level. For example, scientists have recently isolated capsaicin from red pepper. Laboratory studies have shown that it can really improve the condition of the hair."
The problem, however, is that the public, as usual, diagnoses itself and treats itself. Whereas hair diseases can be very different. There are few trichologists, specialists dealing with hair. While science was not very interested in hair, there were no specialists. Basically, dermatologists and cosmetologists used to be responsible for hair, hairdressers often took it up. Now a lot of knowledge has accumulated in this area, so this specialty should be firmly established.
In order to treat hair, you need to know exactly what is happening to them. Hair is an appendage of the skin, in which there are rapid biochemical processes. What we call the hair itself, the rod, is biologically inert, it consists of keratinocytes, cells that have already lost the nucleus. Nevertheless, these cells also need nutrition – proteins, lipids, etc. But all the main processes occur in the root or in the follicle.
Follicles are laid at birth, a small child already has that amount of hair, which will not be more, only less. Someone thought that blondes had the most hair – about 140 thousand, brunettes about 100 thousand, redheads about 80 thousand. The follicles work in cycles. The active phase – anagen, when the hair grows, lasts from two to five years, then comes a short transitional phase of rest – catagen (two to three weeks), and then comes the telogen phase (about three months), during which the hair leaves the follicle, it moves towards the skin and eventually falls out. In a healthy body, approximately 75-90% of all hair is in the active phase, the rest are in the catagen and telogen phases. Normally, a person loses about 100 hairs every day. The rate of daily hair loss depends on the thickness of the hair – the thicker they are, the more hair has the right to fall out in a day. A new one usually grows in place of a fallen hair: a new cycle begins in the follicle.
Rub and transplantNot only is evolution preparing Homo bald, we ourselves contribute to this.
In particular, experts say that constant stress, an unimportant state of the environment, improper nutrition, hair coloring, diseases and taking certain medications, a general weakening of the immune system, etc. lead to baldness. And now more and more scientific facts confirm this. In particular, Korean scientists have found out that the hormone dexamethasone, released during stress, reduces the number of viable cells of the dermal papilla of the hair follicle. Scientists from the University of Tokyo have found a clear correlation between cardiovascular diseases and early baldness. It is unlikely that we are able to greatly reduce the stress load and improve the overall atmosphere, but the menu can be adjusted. Doctors say that hair likes nuts, salmon, carrots, beef, bananas, prunes, eggs and green tea. Or rather, they like proteins from these products, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins E, D, A and B, trace elements iron and zinc. This is a support for the life of the hair, but, alas, not a cardinal solution to the problem.
The search for elixirs for lush hair comes from studying the anatomy, physiology and genetics of hair. It is believed that the main cause of baldness (in 90% of men) is the so–called androgenetic alopecia. Scientists say that almost all people are susceptible to androgenetic alopecia – some more, some less. The process of hair loss can begin at an early age – from about 12-13 years. By the age of fifty, almost half of men are noticeably balding. The most common hypothesis of the development of androgenetic alopecia is an increased sensitivity of follicles to androgens, especially to dihydrotestosterone. It is considered one of the main male sex hormones, but women also have it. Dihydrotestosterone affects the follicles in such a way that they decrease, "loses weight" from cycle to cycle and the hair itself, until it becomes almost a baby fluff. The hormone also shortens the phase of active hair growth. In men, baldness is usually more noticeable than in women: the fact is that their follicles are located more densely and thin out, as experts say, "clearings". Women usually have thinning hair all over their heads, but this is especially noticeable in the parting.
Until recently, there was not even a hope that this process could be stopped. There are no more follicles, so it was necessary to work only with what is there, mainly to slow down the process of hair loss. The international recommendations so far contain only two drugs used for this purpose – minoxidil and finasteride. "These are the only drugs approved by the FDA and recognized worldwide,– says Maria Haldina. – Finasteride reduces the effect of dihydrotestosterone on the receptors of hair follicles, minoxidil enhances their blood supply. Both, by the way, came from other fields of application: the first drug was originally used to treat certain prostate dysfunctions, the second as a means of lowering blood pressure. As befits medicines, they have passed serious clinical trials and have shown their effectiveness." However, many years of experience using these tools shows that they are not effective for everyone, and sometimes they give side effects. In particular, the use of minoxidil by women could lead to excessive growth of facial hair, and finasteride sometimes temporarily reduced sexual potency in men.
Despite the fact that minoxidil, in particular, can be bought without a prescription, it should be used, like any medicine, as prescribed by a doctor. It's logical: first you need to find out what exactly is happening with the hair. "The problems and causes of hair loss can be different, and it is not always necessary to throw heavy artillery into battle," says Maria Haldina. – Examination by a doctor and the results of tests suggest which strategy to choose. As a rule, treatment is complex and prolonged. Hair reacts delayed – both to the bad, such as stress, and to the good. Therefore, hair treatment lasts at least three months."
In addition to medicines, there are many cosmetics on the market. Some of them can be effective enough to slow down the process: some products include so-called analogues of minoxidil, there are also original products patented by manufacturers. It's good that there is a choice, because people's sensitivity to different means is individual. Many lotions and gels contain substances that are actively used by trichologists. For example, the same capsaicin that was isolated from red capsicum and is now being studied again by scientists.
Of course, there are other means in the arsenal of fighters with baldness: mesotherapy, during which a cocktail of vitamins that promote the vital activity of the hair is injected into the scalp, massages. All of this can be used in complex treatment, depending on the diagnosis. There is also a more powerful remedy – hair transplantation. It is effective, but, unfortunately, not everyone can afford it. Except for Prince William, who began to go bald as a student – according to foreign media, he decided on this operation at the insistence of his young wife, the Duchess of Cambridge. She was ready to pay 10 thousand pounds for it.
A new niche"Indeed, the fact that there are only two medications to combat such a widespread phenomenon as baldness is depressing,– says Maria Haldina.
"But scientific knowledge is constantly accumulating and gives scientists the opportunity to look for ways to solve this problem." For example, scientists from the Swedish Umeå University investigated the Lhx2 gene, which, in their opinion, is an important regulator of hair growth. They found out that it is active in the anagen phase (when the hair grows) and turns off when the follicle enters the resting phase. Studying the nuances of the mechanisms of genes and their products helps to look for means to control hair growth cycles and create new drugs.
Now more and more laboratories are betting on cellular technologies. French professor Bruno Bernard, who has been working at the L'Oreal concern for many years, has been researching hair cells for more than twenty years. One of his research interests was the search for molecules that could affect follicles that had fallen into a kind of lethargic sleep. It is known that the resting phase usually lasts no more than two weeks, but it happens that the follicles freeze in this state. Bernard studied signals that can act on cellular processes, including from stem cells. He found that surrounded by the hair follicle there is not one niche of stem cells in the area of the sebaceous glands, which was previously known, but two. The second niche is located in the lower part of the follicle. "It turned out that these two niches are different from each other, although they interact," says Bruno Bernard. Studying this niche, he found that normally its characteristic feature is a low oxygen content – hypoxia. It is hypoxia that ensures the optimal functioning of stem cells, which removes the hair follicle from the resting phase. "It turned out that the resting phase is much more complicated than we thought," Mr. Bernard continues. "During this period, there is a struggle between factors that stimulate hair growth and factors that inhibit this growth." Scientists have found out that the necessary signals to exit the resting phase are possible only if there is a hypoxic environment in the niche. If this condition is violated, then the resting phase lasts longer than usual. "When the hair is in a long dormant state, it waits for the right impulse to re–enter the active stage," says Dr. Bernard. "And we found a substance that becomes such a kind of alarm clock for the follicles." Tests of a molecule called stemoxidine have shown that this substance mimics the state of the hypoxic environment in the stem cell niche and recreates the signals necessary for the normal functioning of stem cells. More than a third of such "sleeping" follicles were awakened after a three-month course of using a new remedy. "Now it is registered as a cosmetic product, not as a medicinal product," says Maria Haldina. – Although it has every reason to become a medicine, because it, in fact, changes the state of the organ it affects." Perhaps the cosmetics company did not set itself such a goal. Hair products based on stemoxidine have already entered the European and Russian markets.
Scientists in different laboratories are actively exploring the possibilities of stem cells to combat baldness. In particular, in one of the laboratories of the University of Tokyo, they were able to grow hair from a special line of bald mice. The researchers created their cocktail of surface stem cells from mouse hair follicles and stem cells from a deeper niche surrounded by human follicles. As a result, the mice had quite human tufts. Another impetus for work in this direction was given in connection with the production of so-called induced pluripotent cells (IPCs). Adult cells reprogrammed in the IPC, for example skin cells, can then be directed with the help of special factors to differentiate the necessary cells, including for the growth of new hair. So this direction may well become the leading one in the search for a cardinal means of preserving hair. In the more distant future, hair gene therapy may also appear. Now scientists have a better understanding of which genes are involved in all phases of hair life. There is a prospect that "improved" genes can be delivered to the scalp to preserve the hair.
But will such therapy be needed in the future? And is humanity really going to go completely bald in a couple of centuries? Unfortunately, there are no historical statistics regarding baldness. There are only some facts, and then recently. According to the American Association of Hair Loss Problems, about 35 million men and 21 million women in the United States face the problem of thinning hair and baldness. About 40% of men begin to go bald at the age of 35, by the age of 60 their share increases to 65%.
According to British researchers, the number of patients wishing to treat hair loss with the help of professionals doubled from 2004 to 2008. Does this mean that the "epidemic" is growing? Or are new technologies coming?
If we agree with evolutionists who believe that a person can change significantly in the next three centuries, then we need to accept that a person will be bald. It is only necessary to go through a transitional period during which aesthetic ideas about beauty will undergo changes. Surely fashion will offer various options for the design of a leather skull. Men will probably find it easier to come to terms with the laws of nature. Women will certainly encourage scientists to look for effective means, because the transition period will take more than one hundred years, and walking half bald is somehow ugly.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru23.08.2013