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THE TORONTO STAR, WENESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 1999
GENE A BIG HAIRY DEAL
NEW YORK (AP)-Hair's some hopeful news for men concemed about
baldness.
Gene therapists at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University
report that they have used injections of a gene, nicknamed Sonic
hedgehog, to force resting hair follicles in mice into a growth
phase.
The animals' black fur was bleached blond, and a few days
after the injections tufts of new black hair sprouted, apparently
after their follicles were forced back into the active phase.
"My guess is that maybe someday we will be using Sonic
hedgehog as part of a cocktail of growth factors to make hair
grow," said Dr. Ervin Epstein, a dermatologist.
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