June 3, 2005—Men who start to go bald even before a mid-life crisis may have their mothers to blame, according to a new study. Researchers have found that the main construction manual for a full head of hair is located on the X chromosome, which sons always inherit from their mothers.
This genetic storage space contains the so-called androgen receptor gene, a long time balding suspect. Looking at men who were losing their hair at a relatively young age, a team led by Markus Nothen, PhD, of the Life & Brain Center at Bonn University, Germany systematically examined all of the genetic patterns within the X chromosome to see why certain hairlines recede faster than others.
It's not a pretty picture. The study, published in the American Journal of Human Genetics, claims that a single alteration in the androgen-receptor gene is the major reason why some men end up going bald before their fathers.
Nearly half of bald men would not be bald if they did not have this genetic variation, said Nothen. The hair loss in these younger men, he added, was much more severe than in the men who still had a reason to use a comb in their 60s.
There are clearly other genetic factors involved with balding, said Nothen, "which is obvious when we look at non-affected men over 60 years of age." About 40 percent had the same genetic alteration, yet managed to keep their hair, he said. Still, the findings help define why some vulnerable men may be at risk for early hair loss.
Copyright 2009 NBC Health
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