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Biotech / Medical : Ligand (LGND) Breakout! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: dwight martin who wrote (13976)	1/30/1998 10:42:00 PM
From: Henry Niman	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 32384

Here's CNBC's version of the hairless story: Scientists discover gene for baldness Find opens door for therapies to grow a fuller head of hair By Charlene Laino MSNBC New York scientists have homed in on a gene that causes hair loss, a finding that opens the door for more effective treatments for the common types of baldness that send millions of Americans scrambling for toupees, wigs, creams and pills. Existence of speech gene proven Faulty Alzheimer's gene pinpointed Should you be genetically tested? `The discovery of this new gene gives us endless possibilities that may allow us to effectively treat hair loss and possibly baldness within the next five years.' - ANGELA M. CHRISTIANO Columbia University THE NEW GENE, called hairless, is linked to a rare form of inherited baldness known as alopecia universalis that is marked not only by baldness, but also by the absence of eyebrows and eyelashes and hair loss on other parts of the body. Nevertheless, the gene appears to be the switch that turns on the entire human hair cycle, offering clues into all types of hereditary baldness, reported researchers at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons in New York City. When working properly, the gene triggers a series of events that stimulate hair growth, according to the report in Friday's issue of the journal Science. When faulty, hair growth is stunted. The researcher pinpointed the gene by studying a family from a Pakistani village that has been plagued by the disorder for generations. "The discovery of this new gene gives us endless possibilities that may allow us to effectively treat hair loss and possibly baldness within the next five years," said study author Angela M. Christiano, a dermatology professor at Columbia-Presbyterian. "It is now within our reach to design ways to grow hair, remove hair, even dye hair genetically and - best yet - this can all be accomplished topically, reducing possible side effects." The work was sparked by the observation of striking similarities between the hairless mice that have been used in dermatology research for nearly 50 years and alopecia universalis. Moving to humans, Christiano identified a Pakistani family that had been victims of the disease for five generations, of which four affected men and seven affected females are still alive. Using advanced DNA and cloning techniques, Christiano was able to map the gene to one region of Chromosome 8. But there was so much other "junk" DNA in the region that she could not be sure exactly which gene she was after. To further narrow the location of the flawed gene, Christiano compared the known mouse "hairless" gene with genes of the family members. She was rewarded with an 80 percent match between the mouse gene and an area on human Chromosome 8. Fairly sure she had found the human gene, Christiano compared genes of the Pakistani family with those of 150 people with a full head of hair: All the bald relatives had a single mutation she couldn't find in the others. If the gene is mutated, it can't make the protein that facilitates the formation of hair follicles, Christiano explained. "The real basis of hair loss can begin to be understood." Androgenetic alopecia, or genetic hair thinning, is estimated to afflict some 80 percent of men as well as nearly 20 million American women. The market of hair-loss products is one of the largest worldwide, with millions of Americans spending billions of dollars in a quest for the fountain of youth - or at least a fuller head of hair. Just this month, the first oral medication to fight male-pattern baldness, a once-a-day pill that promises to help men regrow hair and prevent more from falling out, has begun arriving at drug stores. But all the current treatments focus on the regulation of the hormones involved in hair loss, Christiano said, and none of these approaches have provided any relief without significant side effects. The new finding could change all that, she said. "We can now look at the cause - the genes themselves - with the understanding that hormones are important but not primary." "Hair follicles, like all cells, have cycles," she said. "This finding is the first indication that we may be able to regulate that cycle, triggering the growth of new hair."