Vitamin D and Hair Growth
35 million men in the US have male pattern baldness along with several million women who have hair loss. The Wall Street Journalreported on studies throughout the world that indicate that the ‘sunshine vitamin’ does have a positive effect on receptors that directly relate to hair growth.
Various studies are ongoing into vitamin D’s possible ability to help regrow hair by activating the appropriate receptors. Although too much vitamin D can have harmful side effects, Dr. Hausler suggests that for some individuals obtaining the full recommended daily dose of vitamin D, “from foods such as fatty fish or from being in the sun—may generally improve health and aid hair growth,”
There have been some reports on the effect of vitamin D receptors and hair growth recently. Here is some information about one of the most recent studies on vitamin D and its effect on hair growth. Aoi et. al. at Department of Plastic Surgery of University of Tokyo did a study on dermal papilla cells (DPCs) which are one of the two main stem cells responsible for the growth of human hair (Aoi N, 2012).
Prior studies have shown that Wnt signaling is involved in the initiation of hair follicle regeneration from stem cells. We also know that vitamin D3 (1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D 3) or VD3 which is the active form of vitamin D is involved in the expression of transforming growth factors TGF which is one of the important growth factors in the process of wound healing and hair growth.
The study of this group suggests that vitamin D3 may be essential in promoting differentiation of dermal papilla cells or hair follicles stem cells. The result of this study suggests that vitamin D3 may have a major role in hair regeneration treatments in the future.
At US Hair Restoration we make our best efforts to keep abreast of the latest developments in the field of hair restoration. We pride ourselves on keeping our patients better informed on present options for hair restoration, as well as, advancing possibilities.
Bibliography
Aoi N, I. K. (2012, Aug). 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 modulates the hair-inductive capacity of dermal papilla cells: therapeutic potential for hair regeneration. Retrieved from Pubmed: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23197867