Predicting hair loss: L’Oréal files patent on alopecia prognosis, diagnosis and treatment
International beauty major L’Oréal has developed a method to identify the molecular signature of a person’s scalp in a common alopecic state, enabling prognosis and diagnosis, along with the development of efficacious cosmetic treatments for such hair loss.
Writing in its international patent, L’Oréal said it had developed a method for the in vitro prognosis and/or diagnosis of a “common alopecic state of the scalp” by measuring the expression level of very specific genes* involved in the intercellular junctions of the scalp and/or hair follicle. It also outlined an in vitro method to evaluate the efficacy of treating a common alopecic state, including testing cosmetic treatments like hair lotions, gels, shampoos and conditioners made using gene modulators and certain active compounds.