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Did UCLA Just Cure Baldness?
- Traubenfuchs 2y agoThe majority of men can fully stop hair loss with oral finasteride. Some need the stronger dutasteride for it. Both medications are known to stop and even revert hair loss, but the real regrowth usually happens if you additionally take oral minoxidil. I am on dut+min for years now. Neither of those three is without side effects though and they can‘t revive „truly dead“ follicles, so this is great news.
- kelnos 2y agoTried both finasteride and dutasteride in my 20s, and neither one did anything for me. Looking back on it, I'm lucky I didn't end up with permanent libido issues or erectile dysfunction.
- pstuart 2y agoHopefully this works for those of us who do experience side effects from finasteride.
- arrowsmith 2y agoWhy bother? I don't really care about going bald. If baldness was as unattractive to women as many men think it is, male pattern baldness wouldn't have evolved.
- apeescape 2y agoMany people do care about it though, just see the market size of hair implants and Rogaine.
- barrenko 2y ago> men care.
- stavros 2y agoMen care because women care. I don't think it's that far-fetched that women prefer men with hair, and, as someone who had hair, then didn't, and now does again, I can definitely confirm it.
- thaumasiotes 2y agoWomen are free with their opinions on men's looks. They want to see height, chest hair, facial hair... but they seem pretty consistent in stating that they don't really care about baldness. They don't know what men care about either. https://www.basicinstructions.net/basic-instructions/2011/12/27/how-to-make-fun-of-the-opposite-sex.html https://www.basicinstructions.net/basic-instructions/2011/12... > How many times have you heard women complain about high heels, insinuating that it's men's fault they wear them? > Many. > How many times have you rejected a woman because her shoes were too flat?
- arrowsmith 2y agoDamn, I haven't read Basic Instructions in a loooong time. Glad to see it's still going strong!
- thaumasiotes 2y agoWell, it reached a stopping point, reran the entire history of the comic, and then started up again once that was finished.
- tempestn 2y agoUnless most procreation was done before it developed.
- CalRobert 2y agoIt usually sets in past your prime years though. Maybe it was an advantage on a societal level to make men less attractive in middle age compared to young men. (I say this as a 42 year old who misses my hair)
- root_axis 2y agoNot necessarily true. It could be that MPB evolved because it allowed females to select for younger males.
- Slava_Propanei 2y ago[dead]
- thaumasiotes 2y agoNo, that's not a possibility. The fact that a trait is harmful to you can never be the reason you evolved it.
- AnthonyMouse 2y agoThe more likely explanation is something like, higher temperatures impair cognitive function and older men were more likely to be in the village conducting business around the fire or in the presence of indoor heating than freezing their butts off in the wilderness as the younger men did, so they evolved to start having less insulation on their heads after they leave adolescence.
- Ekaros 2y agoOr that some random mutations do not have evolutionary consequences. Also lot of powerful people have had lot of offspring despite baldness.
- AnthonyMouse 2y ago"Nature did this for no reason" is in general not the default assumption. It's not that it can never happen, but rather that as soon as there are two phenotypes, evolution is going to start selecting for one of them over the other in any given environment unless the difference has zero effect on evolutionary fitness, which is unusual.
- 2y ago
- DamnYuppie 2y agoI am not sure that makes sense, historically people were marrying and having children much younger. I am talking about under 20 years of age. As such I don't think it would have much impact on mate selection as it was done when they were younger and had more "follicle vibrancy".
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- otikik 2y agoEvolution only “cares” (it doesn’t care; you know what I mean) about attractiveness during the time the male is able to procreate. Which is, <= 30 years. After that, the human animal is dead of sickness, malnutrition or a fight. The human person lives way longer thanks to modern medicine and tech. Evolution might “cares” about the male sticking around defending/teaching the family/tribe until he dies. He doesn’t need to be attractive by that point.
- AnthonyMouse 2y agoIn the before times there were more things that could kill you early, but many people still lived into old age, e.g. the Roman Emperor Augustus (born in 63 BC) lived to the age of 75, and not all old men get ED.
- otikik 2y agoThe human animal is the one the evolution cares about. It’s the one that lives in caves, hunts by exhausting its prey and uses only rudimentary tools. Ausgustus is far removed from that.
- cosmic_cheese 2y agoI think it depends a lot on factors like head size/shape, proportionality to the rest of the body, etc. Some guys look amazing bald, but having been almost bald (very close cut) I find it quite awkward looking on myself.
- bufferoverflow 2y agoShort men are really unattractive to women, yet there are lots of them.
- seanthemon 2y agoWould love to hear the side effects, i'm balding and was considering this or just going full chop
- Springtime 2y agoFrom what I've read finasteride can cause general psychological adverse events, including suicidal ideation[1], in mostly younger people. Heard someone saying their suicidal thoughts began when taking it and stopped when not, leading them to find more info about it. [1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33175100/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33175100/
- raffraffraff 2y agoAlso loss of libido, erectile dysfunction. It's a gas. Imagine being 60 years old, working out, doing Botox, taking finasteride, looking great, attracting glances from women 20 years younger. Can't get it up and keep thinking about killing oneself. It's a deal
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- IlPeach 2y agoOh yeah. Full chop be it!
- UberFly 2y agoGo full chop and live like you don't care (which you shouldn't).
- littlecranky67 2y agoOther opinion here: Women really find hair attractive, and without it you will have harder time dating. Lot of bald man compensate this somehow (career,gym, etc.).
- chakintosh 2y ago> The majority of men can fully stop hair loss with oral finasteride. I did that, and it completely ruined my libido for almost 3 years. Never again.
- baldieburner 2y agoSame. I took finasteride (propecia) for a week and it caused ED for 60 days in my early 20s when libido was usually strong. Would not recommend finasteride. Hair did grow back thick, but it was not worth it. Scariest 60 days of my life. Also felt strange because I think it reduces testosterone; I felt more easily upset and different to usual. Difficult to describe and I'm no expert. I was suddenly very happy to be bald, as the finasteride alternative was far worse and a scary experience.
- chakintosh 2y agoFor me it wasn't just ED. It outright shut down my libido. I had absolutely no interest in sex whatsoever.
- zdc1 2y agoI've been taking 1mg orally for 2-3 years with noticeable side effects
- stavros 2y agoWhat are the side effects you've noticed?
- Traubenfuchs 2y agoThe funny thing is, the same happened for me. I could only get it up with tadalafil. Yet half a year later I decided to take the deal with the devil: What good is my libido if I can't get hookups anymore due to hair loss? I'd rather keep my hair and lose my libido. And so I went on finasteride again. The most feared and vilified medication in existence. I just took the finasteride and swallowed lots of tadalafil every day and things just worked that way. Half a year ago I decided to switch to dutasteride because I felt like I was slowly losing ground again. I still couldn't get it up without my penis pills and was always nervous about timing them correctly to not be embarrassed during sex. But then I ended up in a relationship which kind of reduced this stress. If I can't get it up, I can't get it up and I don't care. There are other ways to satisfy my partner. And guess what: My penis actually works and I can have sex -any time I do not plan it. What I want to say is: I read all this nightmare fuel about fin and dut and suffered from severe nocebo. People worrying about hair loss are neurotic. Those that take fin or dut after reading all their scary side effects must be super neurotic. We are easy prey to the nocebo effect and playing mind games with ourselves.
- swat535 2y agoThey really can't , not to mention there are other diseases like "Lichen Planus Pilaris" that currently have no cures.
- BMc2020 2y ago[flagged]
- eggsandbeer 2y agoYeah, but imagine how bad he'd look bald.
- cocoggu 2y agoactually https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Spector#/media/File:Phil_Spector,_mugshot_(2009).jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Spector#/media/File:Phil_...
- eggsandbeer 2y agoI say that's FAR worse than with his hair. you be the judge, internet -- https://www.reuters.com/news/picture/wigs-of-phil-spector-idUSRTR24JQF/ https://www.reuters.com/news/picture/wigs-of-phil-spector-id...
- djmips 2y agoI guess you'll be wearing wigs then?
- eggsandbeer 2y agoI am too cheap and lazy.
- apeescape 2y agoMany people balden in their 20s or 30s.
- tehjoker 2y agowear sunscreen :)
- XorNot 2y ago
- plun9 2y agoDoes Betteridge’s law of headlines apply here?
- eru 2y ago[flagged]
- pindab0ter 2y agoReading the article, it doesn't seem so. The drug looks promising, even though it will probably not work in all cases.
- kettleballroll 2y agoI disagree. This article is typical embellishment from the university that produced the research. The reality is that they're likely pre-trial stage. Even if they make it through all stages of clinical trials (historically, chances of a drug candidate doing that are 2-5%), that usually takes the better part of a decade. So the answer is "no, we're very far from curing it".
- hagbard_c 2y agoThey're at phase 2a trial stage, study start was at 2024-06-05, completion estimated 2025-12: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06393452?term=pp405&rank=1 https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06393452?term=pp405&rank...
- kettleballroll 2y agoYes. The tldr is that this is a drug that showed promise that is in the early pretrial stages. Most drugs fail before they reach the market. Even if this one doesn't, it will take a decade at least before this will be available.
- bigmattystyles 2y agoI guess it's all a matter of perspective but having suffered from some very mild pain and lifelong depression and OCD, I would trade my thick ass 43-year old beautiful blond locks for some baldness if only to be free of my other ills. My point, and I know I have no right to, but when I see all these otherwise super healthy men spend so much time worried about their (lack of) hair, it's hard to sympathize. But hey, everyone has a cross to bear I suppose.
- bigbacaloa 2y ago[dead]
- nico 2y agoLooks like they might be close to a generally available treatment. It says they've had successful human trials and they are expanding them Also: > the scientists have co-founded a medical development company called Pelage Pharmaceuticals. Backed by Google Ventures, last year the company raised $16.4 million in funding to shepherd further trials and win official clearances
- andrewstuart2 2y agoI'll bet it's cheap! Only $1299/mo USD.
- Gud 2y agoThankfully there will be copies made in India and China for a tenth of the price.
- nico 2y agoHow much are the alternatives, like finasteride or follicle implants? It will probably need to be somehow competitive with those
- xnx 2y agoFinasteride is pennies a day, but doesn't do 1 percent of what this new drug might.
- penguin_booze 2y agoSee also: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c05p1pnvymvo https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c05p1pnvymvo.
- swat535 2y agoLet's not forget that Finasteride has horrific side effects for men and can induce permanent / major sexual dysfunctions and drops in libido.
- apples_oranges 2y agoI had a hair transplant. Watched soap operas on a bed for 5 hours while they worked on me, and now I have hair like 80s Richard Dean Anderson. (Was nearly Patrick Stewart before.) Until this treatment is ready I recommend what I did. :)
- stavros 2y agoThe result will vary and the hair will thin eventually. Still, much better than the alternative, I would also very much recommend it.
- anal_reactor 2y agoWhen I was 16 I had full afro. When I was 20 I had like one tenth of an afro, and since then, I just shave my head. Looks good actually, the only problem is that shaving can be annoying.
- TimByte 2y agoStill, if this UCLA treatment actually delivers, I'd be curious to see how it compares to transplants in terms of results and cost
- extragalaxial 2y agoHow much was it if you don't mind answering?
- sarreph 2y agoIf the later trials succeed and this gets turned into a commercially-viable product, the amount of money this will generate is going to be nuts.
- xnx 2y agoAgree. Probably somewhere between Viagra and Ozempic.
- readthenotes1 2y agoAnd it will cause the sale of both of those to increase as well
- hagbard_c 2y agoThe amount of spam it will generate is going to be just as nuts. Generic PP405, get it here! Herbal PP405, get your herbal PP405. PP406 because that is PP405+1 and thus better.
- slashyellow 2y agoIt's always disappointing when the subject of baldness comes up. It's an unpleasant issue that affects men, and nobody takes it particularly seriously. The article (from the university that developed this even) use it as a place to make bad jokes about LA traffic. Also kind of not great to see people in this thread with very over-confident but incorrect advice (just use oral finasteride - not saying it can't help but it has side effects and isn't a cure-all). Believe me, before I struggled with it, I had all the same comments, like just cut it off etc. But you don't really ever know how something will affect you until it happens. If there are men, and it is mostly men, who are struggling with this in this thread I know it can really suck. I hope this treatment works and helps.
- tasuki 2y ago> Believe me, before I struggled with it, I had all the same comments, like just cut it off etc. But you don't really ever know how something will affect you until it happens. If there are men, and it is mostly men, who are struggling with this in this thread I know it can really suck. Why is baldness a problem for you? Why are you "struggling with it"? I'd say baldness is not a problem, your attitude towards it is the problem. (Source: I'm bald, not a problem)
- slashyellow 2y ago> Why are you "struggling with it"? > your attitude towards it is the problem. Totally agree this the best way to handle a lot of issues in your life. But that doesn't stop it from being a negative experience. If you have something that you liked about yourself and lose it, it's negative. You can overcome that (and I feel somewhat better about it than I have previously), but doesn't somehow make it a positive experience. It would be better if you could spend that time and mental energy on making your life better, instead of dealing with a random flaw in your genes.
- senordevnyc 2y agoI spent twenty years feeling ashamed about my very crooked teeth. I told myself that it didn't matter, that it wasn't a problem, but I was very self-conscious of it. People used to give me shit for not smiling in photos, but it was because I hated the way my teeth looked. Then in my late 30s, I finally just gave up and got braces. 18 months later, they came off, and now I love the way my teeth look. I have a huge smile in all my photos. So yeah, accept the things that you need to in life. But it's also OK to avoid needless suffering.
- kbrkbr 2y agoWhat became of d-ribose? Half a year ago this was praised in a similar way, if I remember correctly [1]. [1] https://www.sciencealert.com/surprise-hair-loss-breakthrough-sugar-gel-triggers-robust-regrowth https://www.sciencealert.com/surprise-hair-loss-breakthrough...
- skeledrew 2y agoWild. How about just, you know, normalizing hair loss as a part of life? Get things to the point where women don't focus on what's on a man's head, but what's in it. Would alleviate so many problems.
- debugnik 2y agoWhy do you assume most men are worried by hair loss mainly because of women pressure? I and most men I've discussed this with just prefer how we look with hair and wish our hair was thicker. Otherwise I'd just shave.
- littlecranky67 2y ago> where women don't focus on what's on a man's head You can't pick what is attractive. Attraction is not decided by rational thinking, therefore it is pointless to tell women what they should find attractive. Just as it won't work to tell a man that he should find the personality, not the looks of a woman, to be attractive.
- 9dev 2y agoI can only speak for myself here, but looking in the mirror every morning as a semi-young guy and seeing your hair getting thinner and thinner is disheartening. It looks both like growing into one of those teachers that should have cut their hair years ago, and into my father. It doesn’t match the image of myself. This has nothing to do with women at all!
- happytoexplain 2y agoWhat's wild is using the word "just" before a suggestion to change a culture's norms regarding looks (including self-perception). Yes, it would make things a lot easier for everybody. If you can figure that out, please give is a hint. Until then, let's not look down on earthly solutions yet.
- TimByte 2y agoAs a long-time member of the bald brotherhood, I've got mixed feelings about this. On one hand, it's fascinating to see science finally fighting back against my hairline's slow but inevitable retreat. On the other, I've spent years perfecting the clean shave, embracing the low-maintenance lifestyle and enjoying the money saved on fancy shampoos. Not sure I'm ready to give all that up just yet.
- fileeditview 2y agoJust keep doing it as a statement brother! No need to instantly start growing hairs again just because it is possible ;)
- TimByte 2y agoAhahah, okey... So at this point, going back would feel like a betrayal of everything I've built
- kelnos 2y agoI'm with you on that. My hairline started receding when I was about 20 years old (for my dad it was even earlier), and at 27 I gave up after Rogaine, finasteride, dutasteride, etc. all failed, and started shaving it all off. That was more than 15 years ago, and I really haven't minded not having to ever pay for a haircut, or deal with washing or drying my hair (or paying for shampoo), or having a bad hair day, or just dealing with bed hair and cowlicks and everything in the morning. I'm lucky, though, that I have a pretty symmetrical, normal-shaped head with no weird lumps or anything. But every now and then I do miss having hair. If this drug does bear fruit (er, hair), I suppose I could give it a go, but (assuming it works) still go back to shaving if I get tired of it. I guess it would just be nice to have the option! (It's also a little funny/wild to me that most of my friends, as well as my wife, have never seen me with hair.)
- TimByte 2y agoYeah, having the option is definitely an interesting thought... You made me think... Out of my surroundings, only my parents have seen me with hair in person...
- dnel 2y ago"one-fourth of all women" is this a Americanese thing? It reads like a gross simplification of just saying "a quarter" which is quite jarring coming from a prestigious university.
- p3rls 2y agoImagine they put down "a fourth" which sounds more natural and grammarly or its human rendition swapped it for more precision. Definitely awkward.
- dnel 2y agoit almost sounds robotic, if I didn't expect that even AI would prefer generally accepted terms even just to try sound more authentic.
- pindab0ter 2y agoImagine reading "one-second(th?) of all women". It seems absolutely ridiculous. Yet "one-third" or "one-fifth" are perfectly normal. Language is weird and I like that.
- dnel 2y agoI'm sure there is a historical reason we have "half" and "quarter" and no others but it's not my area of expertise but still, not using them when they're appropriate just seems...odd.
- fingerlocks 2y agoWe do have others. You might be familiar with an octave, which is 1/8, or a decimal which is 1/10.
- kelnos 2y agoWeird nit to pick. I would probably write "a quarter" as well, but "one-fourth" (or, similarly, "a fourth") sounds pretty normal and idiomatic to me. (Also weird to label something "Americanese", given that out of the countries where English is the primary language, the US is the most populous [unless you count India, which I'm not sure I would]. I'd say that makes us, if not authoritative, at least trend-setting.)
- penguin_booze 2y agoNuclear fusion, plastic-eating bacteria, male pattern baldness: all are pressing problems of our times whose solutions are always 20 years away. FWIW, I've come to terms with the last.
- jkmcf 2y agoI’m fine with balding and baldness, but I do need a permanent color solution