Dr. Luis Garza of the Garza Laboratory at Johns Hopkins is a renowned US-based hair loss researcher. He recently published quite a thorough article regarding PGD2 and its link to hair loss.
Prostaglandin D2 and Male Pattern Baldness
Prostaglandin D2 (PGD2) has been shown to be elevated in the bald scalp of men with androgenetic alopecia (AGA). It has the capacity to decrease hair lengthening.
This latest review by Dr. Garza and Ahsley Nieves discusses the
current knowledge surrounding PGD2 and hair loss. Moreover, it analyzes the future steps needed to translate new findings into novel therapies for patients with AGA.
The material in this article is fairly scientific, and an image on the last page is probably far more confusing than useful for most laypeople. In any event, the full summary is worth a read:
Does Prostaglandin D2 hold the cure for male pattern baldness?
Dr. Garza’s team has probably done more research on PGD2 and its link to hair loss than any other group in the world, but their conclusion at the end of the above article is a bit discouraging:
“The tools are limited, but the task is simple: just find the needle in the haystack.”
The section in the article on outstanding questions that still need to be addressed is quite lengthy. So I am therefore not very optimistic about this particular avenue of research leading to any hair loss cure within the next few years.
Nevertheless, it is worth following Dr. Garza’s updates on his website and his students’ ongoing research projects.