Gray hair is a natural but inevitable sign that we’re aging. But new research suggests that it might not be so inevitable after all. By using drugs that stimulate part of the immune system, researchers think they may be able to restore pigment to hair that’s gone gray to prevent or even reverse the process.
How it Works
The idea started with an unexpected finding in cancer patients. In a study published in JAMA Dermatology in 2017, researchers found that 14 lung cancer patients who were treated with an immunotherapy drug also experienced the re-pigmentation of their gray hair.
Hair goes gray as we age due to changes in the pigment-making stem cells called melanocytes that live in and around your hair. Every hair goes through a normal cycle consisting of a growth phase followed by a resting phase, then finally falling out over the course of years.
Stress can also lead to graying by causing your body to release norepinephrine, a hormone. This chemical spurs the melanocytes to leave the hair follicle, contributing to gray hair.
Researchers believe that losing melanocytes as we age is the major reason why we gray. Getting the pigment back is a matter of rejuvenating that pigmentation system by reactivating those stem cells.
Original reporting: NBC4 Los Angeles — read the source article.
