(Science Daily) — Researchers have uncovered a molecular mechanism behind why obesity can lead to hair thinning. They found that stem cells within hair follicles in mice given a high-fat diet behaved differently from those in mice with a standard diet.
It’s well known that obesity is linked to the development of numerous diseases in humans. Heart disease, diabetes, and other ailments are extremely common in obese individuals. However, it’s not fully clear how body organs specifically deteriorate and lose functionality from chronic obesity.
In a recent article published in Nature, a group of researchers from Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) used mouse model experiments to examine how a high-fat diet or genetically induced obesity can affect hair thinning and loss. The authors found that obesity can lead to depletion of hair follicle stem cells (HFSCs) through the induction of certain inflammatory signals, blocking hair follicle regeneration and ultimately resulting in loss of hair follicles. (…)