Yonsei Pharmacy Professor Sung Jong-hyuk’s research team has discovered a promising approach to treating hair loss by using adipose-derived stem cells.  In their research, the team found that a platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF-D) enhances the hair-regenerative potential of adipose-derived stem cells (ASC)—adipose tissue being body fat.  Joining Professor Sung in the research were Yonsei College of Pharmacy Professors Kim Ji-hye and Kim Wang-kyun.

The project was funded by the National Research Foundation (NRF), and, on October 21, the article “Functional regulation of adipose-derived stem cells by PDGF-D” was published in Stem Cells. The article has already garnered significant attention, as it suggests a possible solution for treating the common, but often upsetting, condition of hair loss. According to the research team, their tests on laboratory mice showed remarkable hair growth and regeneration with the stimulation of PDGF-D. The results are particularly promising, the Yonsei professors explained, for the reason that a future treatment will require only a small amount of adipose-derived stem cells, which are rather expensive to produce.