Researchers using mice to examine a pesticide's effects on skin cancer also developed data they say indicates baldness may be linked to the presence of a female hormone, not the absence of a male one.
Dr. Robert Smart and graduate assistant Hye-Sun Oh were studying the pesticide's impact when they found that the shaved skin of mice grew hair when treated with an estrogen blocker."Estrogen was playing some fundamental role in skin biology," Smart said.
The discovery by the North Carolina State University researchers was published in Tuesday's edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The discovery is being tested for possible application in humans, but any commercial use could be five years away, Smart said.
Smart said the studies also provided insights into skin cancer, but a scientist who wasn't involved in the research said it was too soon to suggest the data may lead to cures for either condition.
"It may well be that whatever effect estrogen has is going to be much more significant in the mouse than the human," said Dr. Barbara Gilchrest, chairwoman of the dermatology department at Boston University.
Another researcher said the finding is a good start for understanding hair-loss conditions.
"What's interesting and frustrating about the hair follicle is it requires the interaction of a lot of signals. This is such a clear demonstration of an agent that it's new and it's exciting," said Dr. Ulrike Lichti, hair follicle investigator at the National Cancer Institute.
Smart said the estrogen blocker acts as a switch to turn on hair growth in the lab mice. He said research to determine if the same switch exists in humans is underway at Wake Forest University's Bowman-Gray School of Medicine.