A cure for baldness? Scientists identify how chronic stress leads to hair loss

The follicular findings have wider implications for our understanding of stem cells, as Andy Gregory reports

Hair to the throne: the balding Prince William (Justin Tallis - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Scientists are hailing their discovery of the elusive mechanism by which chronic stress leads to hair loss.

Bringing hopes for a cure for baldness closer to reality, the work by Harvard University researchers adds significant weight to a long-suspected link between stress and hair loss – which it now appears could be a more significant factor than old age.

As one of the few tissues found in mammals that can undergo rounds of regeneration throughout their life, hair follicles naturally cycle between growth and rest, in a process fuelled by hair follicle stem cells.