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Men's Health

Genetics and Hair Loss

Summary & Participants

You've probably heard people say that hair loss is passed down to men through their mother's side, or to women from their father's side, or you've heard other such genetic theories about how hair loss is inherited. But how much real science is there behind these claims? With advances in genetic research, scientists have gained new tools with which to learn about the genetics of hair loss. What have they discovered so far and what are the possible benefits of this research for hair loss patients? Join our webcast as we discuss hair loss and genetics.

Medically Reviewed On: June 19, 2008

Webcast Transcript

ANGELA CHRISTIANO, PhD:  The myth that hair loss is passed down from one side of the family or the other was actually started in 1916 by a female physician named Dorothy Osborne, who published a paper saying that pattern baldness was inherited in a certain way.  That myth has been propagated through the dermatologic literature all this time.  In fact, there is no single way to get hair loss from your parents.  We now understand that it is a complex trait, that there's a contribution most likely from both parents, so the genetics of it become more complicated as we understand more about it.

DAVID FOLK THOMAS:  And Ani, go ahead.

ANIMESH SINHA, MD, PhD:  What is clear is that baldness or male pattern baldness or angiogenic alopecia is genetically based.  What's unclear is the exact mode of inheritance.  Many models have been proposed, including sex chromosome linked, or it's one particular dominant gene, but what is falling out is that this is a complex trait or condition, and there are likely to be many genes involved, so it's a polygenic trait.  That makes it a very difficult trait or condition to study, but as Angela said, now we're starting to get better tools to address these more complex genetic conditions.

DAVID FOLK THOMAS:  Angela, I understand that you discovered the so-called "hairless gene."  Can you explain that?  And congratulations in advance on your discovery.

ANGELA CHRISTIANO, PhD:  Well, we'll see.

DAVID FOLK THOMAS:  It sounds exciting.

ANGELA CHRISTIANO, PhD:  It started a few years back.  In 1995 I lost my hair to a disease called alopecia aerata, and this prompted my lab's interest in understand genetics and hair.  At the time we were a very small and very underfunded lab, and we wanted to ask a simple question:  Can we find one family somewhere in the world with a rare form of hair loss that might just give us some insight into the process somewhere?  So our travels landed us on this gene called "hairless," and it has absolutely nothing to do with pattern hair loss as we now know it.  It does appear to control one important step in the hair cycle, so in that way it's important in regulation, but right now there's no clear connection.

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