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| Thursday 16 October, 2008 |
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Is baldness in your DNA?
NEW GENE TEST | Company says men with one genetic variant have 60 percent chance of going bald by age 40It used to be that checking out the hairlines of other men in the family was the usual way to predict whether a man might expect to lose his hair one day.
Now, there"s a DNA test.The test, called Hair DX, looks for a genetic variant found in most bald men.
Men who test positive for the variant have a 60 percent chance of going bald by
age 40, according to the company that offers it, also called Hair DX, which
says the test also identifies a less-common variant of the same gene that, if
present, means a man has an 85 percent chance of not going bald. Scientists haven"t identified all of the genes that contribute to male-pattern baldness. But Hair DX says the DNA test is the first to analyze a gene known to be strongly associated with the condition: the androgen receptor.
No independent research has been done on the accuracy of the Hair DX test itself, which has been offered since January, though studies have shown that men who have certain variants of the androgen receptor gene are at higher risk for male-pattern baldness.
"It"s not 100 percent . . . [but] this is a great marker," said
Andy Goren, Hair DX"s chief executive. The test costs $149. It involves taking a swab of cells from inside the cheek and sending it to Hair DX headquarters in Irvine,Calif. The company says results come back in three to four weeks.
Bosley Medical, one of the nation"s big hair-restoration businesses, began
offering the test at its Chicago office on Michigan Avenue last month. "Lots of people use fancy soaps and lotions to prevent hair loss, but, if it"s not really in the cards for them, they can bypass this," said Dr.William Yates, a Bosley Medical Chicago physician who started going bald in his 20s.
Men who test positive for the hair-loss gene variant can start exploring their treatment options early, which can lead to better results, Yates said.
Those options include medications such as Rogaine and Propecia, which slow or
stop hair loss, and surgical hair transplants. Dr. Kevin Pinski, a Chicago dermatologist, said that medication works better when it"s used early -- to prevent hair loss rather than to try to regrow lost hair.
Still, Pinski said: "Even if you have this 60 percent chance of baldness or thinning, we don"t know what degree that"s going to amount to. To me, it"s tough to make the argument to put someone on treatment for the rest of their life, with some expense and very minimal side effects, without knowing they"re going to continue to progress."
A month"s supply of Rogaine, sold generically as minoxidil, costs about $30.
Propecia, whose generic name is finasteride, is more costly and, for a small
percentage of men, can affect sexual function. Critics also have questioned the reliability of a test that only looks for one of what could be several genes linked to hair loss.
Provillus solution was designed to grow hair with the only FDA approved ingredient on the market and stop hair loss with our revolutionary dihydrotestosterone (DHT), hormone
blocker. Provillus blocks DHT (dihydrotestostrone) from getting to your body,
which is one of the major causes of hair loss. The Breakthrough formula of Provillus was designed to
block DHT and supply the proper nutrients to your body
specifically tailored to prevent hair loss and to help you regrow hair
naturally. Strong, healthy hair begins with the proper nutritional building
blocks. You don"t have to wait until there"s a problem to prevent it! Provillus
supplements your body"s natural supply of these nutrients and lets the tiny
follicles beneath your scalp receive exactly what they need to create
beautiful, full-bodied hair. Source: http://www.suntimes.com/
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