As the quest to end baldness continues in laboratories all over the world, U.S. researchers say the breakthrough may be rooted in using human stem cells, according to findings published in the journal PLOS ONE, reports the U.K. paper The Telegraph.

Scientists at the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute in San Diego, California developed a method that caused human stem cells to create new cells, called dermal papilla cells, capable of growing hair. Dermal papilla cells regulate the formation of the hair follicles and the growth cycle of human hair.

Researchers confirmed the ability of the dermal papilla cells to grown hair after they transplanted these cells into mice. “Our next step is to transplant human dermal papilla cells derived from human pluripotent stem cells back into human subjects,” said Alexey Terskikh, PhD, an associate professor at Sanford-Burnham.

Terskikh believes the procedure might lead to more effective hair transplants for those suffering from hair loss. According to Terskikh, this stem cell method “provides an unlimited source of cells from the patient for transplantation and isn’t limited by the availability of existing hair follicles.”

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