A cure for baldness could be on the horizon with a simple patch that helps people grow back hair. Scientists say the patch, made from tiny needles and created by artificial intelligence, could help people reclaim their lost hair.
Researchers in China have developed a prototype which effectively regenerated hair in mice. Within 13 days the creatures regained thick hair strands more effectively than other mice treated with testosterone or the chemical minoxidil, which is used in anti-balding products.
The patch works by neutralising highly reactive chemicals that cause hair to thin out and eventually disappear. Most bald people have the condition androgenic alopecia, which is also called male or female-pattern baldness.
The hair follicles of people with the condition can be damaged by male sex hormones, inflammation or by having too many reactive oxygen species, such as highly reactive free radical molecules, in their hair. When there are too many of these free radical molecules, they can overwhelm the body’s antioxidant enzymes that normally keep them in check.
One such enzyme is called superoxide dismutase and the researchers have recently created mimics of it called nanozymes. However, existing nanozymes have not been very good at neutralising the nasty free radicals.
The team wanted to see whether artificial intelligence could produce a better nanozyme for treating hair loss. They tested machine-learning models with 91 different combinations.
The team predicted manganese phosphorous trisulfide (MnPS3) would be the most powerful tool to make the process work. Tiny sheets of the manganese phosphorous trisulfide were made using manganese, red phosphorus and sulphur powders through a process called chemical vapour transport.
Initial tests on human skin showed they significantly reduced the amount of free radicals without causing harm. The study’s corresponding author Lina Wang from Qingdao University of Science and Technology said: “Hair loss is undesirable for many men — and women — because one’s hairstyle is often closely tied to their self-confidence.
“While some people embrace it, others wish they could regrow their lost strands. We have used artificial intelligence (AI) to predict compounds that could neutralise baldness-causing reactive oxygen species in the scalp.”
The findings were published in the journal Nano Letters.
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