The Most Efficient Follicular Regenerating Unit and the Smallest Follicular Regenerating Unit: Potential Treatments for Hair Loss

December 2009 in “ Medical hypotheses ”

Sen Wang, Yu Liu, JI Ying-chang, Cheng Huang Lin, Cheng Man, Xiaoxuan Zheng

TLDR Identifying specific hair follicle parts could lead to better hair loss treatments.

The document discussed hair loss treatments, particularly focusing on hair transplantation. Traditional hair transplantation, which involves moving hair from one part of the scalp to another, does not increase the total number of hairs. The authors hypothesized that more efficient and smaller follicular regenerating units (EFRU and SFRU) could be identified within hair follicles, allowing for a one-to-many transplantation approach. This method, called hair follicle micro-dissection (HFM), aimed to segment hair follicles into parts that could each regenerate new hair, potentially doubling or tripling the number of hairs. If proven practical, this approach could offer a more effective treatment for hair loss.

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